The Empire State Aerosciences Museum (commonly referred to as ESAM) is a

non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

museum A museum ( ; plural museums or, rarely, musea) is a building or institution that cares for and displays a collection of artifacts and other objects of artistic, cultural, historical, or scientific importance. Many public museums make these ...

which strives to "educate, entertain and excite with experiences in air and space". Established in 1984 and chartered by the

New York State Department of Education The New York State Education Department (NYSED) is the department of the New York state government responsible for the supervision for all public schools in New York and all standardized testing, as well as the production and administration o ...

, the museum is located on of land on the western perimeter of the

Schenectady County Airport Schenectady County Airport is a county-owned, public-use airport located three nautical miles (6 km) north of the central business district of Schenectady, a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States. It is included in the Na ...

Glenville, New York Glenville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Schenectady County, New York, Schenectady County, New York (state), New York, United States. It was incorporated in 1820 from Schenectady, New York, Schenectady. As of the 2020 Unite ...

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. ESAM sponsors an annual

air show An air show (or airshow, air fair, air tattoo) is a public event where aircraft are exhibited. They often include aerobatics demonstrations, without they are called "static air shows" with aircraft parked on the ground. The largest air show m ...

at the Schenectady Airport.

Exhibits

The museum has a collection of military aircraft outside the main building, in the Agneta Airpark including: *

Bell UH-1 Iroquois The Bell UH-1 Iroquois (nicknamed "Huey") is a utility military helicopter designed and produced by the American aerospace company Bell Helicopter. It is the first member of the prolific Huey family, as well as the first turbine-powered helic ...

Convair F-102A Delta Dagger The Convair F-102 Delta Dagger was an American interceptor aircraft designed and manufactured by Convair. Built as part of the backbone of the United States Air Force's air defenses in the late 1950s, it entered service in 1956. Its main purpo ...

* Douglas A-4F Skyhawk II *

Douglas F3D Skyknight The Douglas F3D Skyknight (later designated F-10 Skyknight) is an American twin-engined, mid-wing jet fighter aircraft manufactured by the Douglas Aircraft Company in El Segundo, California. The F3D was designed as a carrier-based all-weath ...

(Transferred from

Intrepid Sea, Air & Space Museum The ''Intrepid'' Sea, Air & Space Museum is an American military and maritime history museum in New York City with a collection of museum ships. It is located at Pier 86 at 46th Street, along the Hudson River, in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhoo ...

) *

Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is a single-seat, twin-turbofan, straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft developed by Fairchild Republic for the United States Air Force (USAF). In service since 1976, it is named for the Republ ...

Grumman A-6E Intruder The Grumman A-6 Intruder is an American twinjet all-weather attack aircraft developed and manufactured by American aircraft company Grumman Aerospace and operated by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps. It was designed in response to a 1957 r ...

Grumman F-14A Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic aircraft, supersonic, twinjet, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experi ...

Grumman S-2 Tracker The Grumman S-2 Tracker (S2F prior to 1962) was the first purpose-built, single airframe anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy. Designed and initially built by Grumman, the Tracker was of conventiona ...

(arrived in 2009) *

LTV A-7E Corsair II The LTV A-7 Corsair II is an American carrier-capable subsonic light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by Ling-Temco-Vought (LTV). The A-7 was developed during the early 1960s as replacement for the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk. Its design was ...

* McDonnell-Douglas F-4D Phantom II * McDonnell F-101F Voodoo *

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-15 (russian: Микоя́н и Гуре́вич МиГ-15; USAF/DoD designation: Type 14; NATO reporting name: Fagot) is a jet fighter aircraft developed by Mikoyan-Gurevich for the Soviet Union. The MiG-15 was one of ...

(

USSR The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, it was nominally a federal union of fifteen nationa ...

) (Transferred from

) *

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17F The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-17; NATO reporting name: Fresco) is a high-subsonic fighter aircraft produced in the Soviet Union from 1952 and was operated by air forces internationally. The MiG-17 ...

(

) *

Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet aircraft, jet fighter aircraft, fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan, Mikoyan-Gurevich OKB, De ...

(

) * North American RA-5C Vigilante * North American T-2C Buckeye *

Northrop F-5E Tiger II The Northrop F-5 is a family of supersonic light fighter aircraft initially designed as a privately funded project in the late 1950s by Northrop Corporation. There are two main models, the original F-5A and F-5B Freedom Fighter variants and the ...

Republic F-84F Thunderstreak The Republic F-84F Thunderstreak was an American swept-wing turbojet fighter-bomber. While an evolutionary development of the straight-wing F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F was a new design. The RF-84F Thunderflash was a photo reconnaissance version ...

* Republic F-105G Thunderchief ("

Wild Weasel Wild Weasel is a code name given by the United States Air Force (USAF) to an aircraft of any type equipped with anti-radiation missiles and tasked with the suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD): destroying the radar and surface-to-air mis ...

" variant) *

Supermarine Scimitar The Supermarine Scimitar was a single-seat naval strike aircraft designed and produced by the British aircraft manufacturer Supermarine. Operated exclusively by the Royal Navy's Fleet Air Arm, it was the final aircraft to be entirely designed a ...

(Transferred from

) ESAM's two galleries contain more fragile aircraft, detailed models, artifacts, memorabilia and photographs. Other exhibits include the

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( , born July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer and writer. Earhart was the first female aviator to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean. She set many oth ...

Exhibit, the DePischoff "flying motorcycle", and a 32' scale model of the Japanese

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

aircraft carrier An aircraft carrier is a warship that serves as a seagoing airbase, equipped with a full-length flight deck and facilities for carrying, arming, deploying, and recovering aircraft. Typically, it is the capital ship of a fleet, as it allows a ...

''Akagi''. There are also several interactive displays. In addition, the museum houses the Wallace Holbrook Restoration Center which treats aircraft in various stages of restoration. Examples on display indoors include: * Aeronca 65LB Chief *

Fisher FP-303 The Fisher FP-303 is a Canadian single-seat, low wing, conventional landing gear, single engined light kit aircraft designed for construction by amateur builders. Fisher Flying Products was originally based in Edgeley, North Dakota, USA but th ...

* Folland Gnat F.1 *

Hughes OH-6A Cayuse The Hughes OH-6 Cayuse is a single-engine light helicopter that was designed and produced by the American aerospace company Hughes Helicopters. Its formal name is derived from the Cayuse people while its "Loach" nickname comes from the acronym fo ...

* Mooney M-18LA Mite *

Peterson J-4 Javelin The Peterson J-4 Javelin is an American, single seat, mid-wing glider that was designed by Max A. Peterson in the late 1960s and produced by the Peterson Sailplane Corporation in small numbers. The glider was type certified and put into prod ...

* Rand Robinson KR-2 *

Rensselaer RP-1 The Rensselaer RP-1 (for Rensselaer Polytechnic design 1) is an American low-wing, single-seat, foot-launchable glider that was designed and produced by the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute of Troy, New York. It first flew in 1980. Design and ...

* Stits SA-7D Sky-Coupe

Research Library

The primary mission of the Janz Vander Veer Research Center/Library is to support the museum's education, exhibit and restoration programs. In addition, it serves as a resource to the general public for historical and technical aeroscience related information, such as astudent with a term paper assignment, a model builder, a media reporter or an author doing research. The library contents are made up of a broad collection of books, brochures, photographs, technical manuals, periodicals, scrapbooks, artwork and audiovisual items. Its content is particularly strong in the Pioneer, World War I, "Golden Era" and World War II periods (1910–1950). The Attil Pasquini Collection has over 2,100 photographs that can be searched using a PastPerfect software database. The Frank Coffyn Collection is a gift from the estate of Kingsland Adams Coffyn by the Green family to the Empire State Aerosciences Museum. The collection contains about 200 photos of Wright Flyers aircraft taken by Coffyn who worked for the Wright Brothers. The Rick Allen Collection has added many books and a large amount of research materials to the library catalog. The library is open on Friday and Saturday from 9 am to 12 noon. Arrangements for research may be made by contacting the library office.

Empire State Aviation Hall of Fame

The Empire State Aviation Hall of Fame, located on museum grounds, recognizes the contributions made by New York State aviation pioneers.

Hours and prices

During the summer from Father's Day to Labor day, ESAM is open Tuesday to Sunday, 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. For the remainder of the year, ESAM is open on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays from 10:00 am to 4:00 pm. Private tours for groups of 10 or more are available with reservation. General admission costs are as follows: * $8.00 for adults * $6.00 for senior citizens and military personnel (with ID) * $5.00 for children aged 6 to 16 * Those under six are admitted free of charge. * ESAM Members are granted free admission with a current ESAM membership card. The museum has a

virtual reality Virtual reality (VR) is a simulated experience that employs pose tracking and 3D near-eye displays to give the user an immersive feel of a virtual world. Applications of virtual reality include entertainment (particularly video games), educ ...

ride that costs $5.00 per person in addition to the admission charge.

References

External links