Arkansas Air & Military Museum

Arkansas Air & Military Museum
Exterior of the Arkansas Air & Military Museum
Exterior of the Arkansas Air & Military Museum
Location within Arkansas
Established 1986
Location Drake Field, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Coordinates 36°00′26″N 94°10′23″W / 36.007136°N 94.172987°W / 36.007136; -94.172987
Type Aviation and military museum
Visitors 6,000 (2014)
Website www.arkansasairandmilitary.com

The Arkansas Air & Military Museum is an aviation and military museum located at Drake Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas.[1] It is the largest aviation museum in Arkansas.[1][2]

The Arkansas Air & Military Museum's collection of aircraft largely dates to the 1920s and 1930s, many of which were racing aircraft, as well as military aircraft dating from World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War.[3][4] It includes a Boeing-Stearman NS2S (PT-17), a Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior, a Dassault Falcon 20, a Douglas A-4 Skyhawk, a Howard DGA-11, a Howard DGA-18K, a Learjet 23, a Piper Tri-Pacer, a Stinson Junior, and a Travel Air Model R "Mystery Ship" replica; the museum also houses a variety of helicopters, including a Bell AH-1S Cobra, a Bell UH-1H Huey, and a Piasecki H-21C Shawnee.[2][5][6][7] The museum also displays Walmart founder Sam Walton's first aircraft, an Ercoupe 415C.[2][7] Many of the museum's aircraft are still airworthy,[2][4] and its Stinson Junior provides flights to the general public.[6]

The wooden hangar in which the Arkansas Air & Military Museum is housed is one of the few surviving such buildings from the 1940s and is listed on the Arkansas Registry of Historic Places;[2][4][7] it previously served as the headquarters for a military aviation training post during World War II.[4][7] In addition to aircraft, the museum also displays a variety of aviation engines, including a Curtiss OX-5, a Rolls-Royce Spey, and a Westinghouse J34.[1][8] Other collections and exhibits include a 1940 Packard automobile, military vehicles (including ambulances, jeeps, trucks, and a British Ferret armored car), and smaller military artifacts (such as uniforms, helmets, and even pieces of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero).[2][7][9] Additionally, the museum features biographical exhibits on notable Arkansan aviators, including Commander Richard O. Covey, Field Eugene Kindley, Captain Pierce McKennon, and pioneering female pilot Louise Thaden, who won the Women's Air Derby in 1929 and the Harmon Trophy in 1936.[2][7][9]

The Arkansas Air & Military Museum was established in 1986. In 2014, its board of directors noted that a decrease in visitors had resulted in the museum struggling to stay financially viable: that year, its monthly profits were roughly $5,000, compared to monthly expenses of around $7,000. Also in 2014, the museum only had one paid employee, with the remainder of its personnel consisting entirely of volunteers. According to board member Russell Smith, the museum's number of annual visitors shrunk from approximately 26,000 to 6,000 after the opening of Interstate 540 and Northwest Arkansas Regional Airport replaced Drake Field as the region's principal airport in 1998.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Visitor's Guide to Northwest Arkansas. Fayetteville, Arkansas: Experience Fayetteville. 2016. p. 20.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Lockcuff, Mel (March 23, 2015). "Aviation History at Arkansas Air and Military Museum". Only In Arkansas. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  3. 1 2 Pruna, Jocelyne (June 20, 2014). "AR Air & Military Museum Struggles Financially". KFSM-TV. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  4. 1 2 3 4 "Arkansas Air & Military Museum". City of Fayetteville, Arkansas. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  5. ↑ "Aircraft". Arkansas Air & Military Museum. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  6. 1 2 Hunt, Nicholas (June 2016). "Day Tripper". Arkansas Life. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Schnedler, Jack (July 9, 2015). "Are We There Yet: Air museum houses planes, tidbits of history". Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  8. ↑ "Engines". Arkansas Air & Military Museum. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
  9. 1 2 "Exhibits". Arkansas Air & Military Museum. Retrieved June 3, 2017.
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