The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is a
501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the display and preservation of rare military aircraft, tanks and other military equipment. The plan is for the museum to reopen in 2023.
On rotation in the three working hangars are military artifacts from the United States, Britain, Germany, Soviet Union and Japan.
The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is housed in three working hangars on Paine Field in
Everett, WA
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
. Mechanics are typically on-site Monday through Friday working on maintaining the technology to operating condition. The museum provides guided tours seven days and features 90" touch-screens, combat simulators and life-size replicas.
The museum also features an exhibition of parachuting dogs, rare animal artifacts and animals participating in armed conflicts.
History
In 1998,
Microsoft Corporation
Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washingt ...
co-founder
Paul Allen
Paul Gardner Allen (January 21, 1953 – October 15, 2018) was an American business magnate, computer programmer, researcher, investor, and philanthropist. He co-founded Microsoft Corporation with childhood friend Bill Gates in 1975, which ...
began acquiring and preserving vintage aircraft. Allen's passion for aviation and history, and his awareness of the increasing rarity of original World War II aircraft, motivated him to restore these artifacts to the highest standard of authenticity and share them with the public.
The Collection opened to the public in 2004 at the
Arlington, Washington
Arlington is a city in northern Snohomish County, Washington, United States, part of the Seattle metropolitan area. The city lies on the Stillaguamish River in the western foothills of the Cascade Range, adjacent to the city of Marysville. It i ...
, airfield, but in 2008 moved to a newly renovated historic industrial hangar located at
Paine Field
Paine Field , also known as Snohomish County Airport, is a commercial and general aviation airport serving the Seattle metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Washington. It is located in unincorporated Snohomish County, Washington, between the ...
in
Everett, Washington
Everett is the county seat and largest city of Snohomish County, Washington, United States. It is north of Seattle and is one of the main cities in the metropolitan area and the Puget Sound region. Everett is the seventh-largest city in the ...
, United States. In 2013, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum added a 22,000 square foot expansion hangar for its expanding collection. In 2018 came another expansion featuring the opening of Hangar C which added over two dozen additional artifacts. On March 24, 2017 the Museum changed its name from the Flying Heritage Collection to the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum to reflect the transition from exclusively aircraft to a military vehicle & history Museum. In 2018, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum became a public
501c(3)
A 501(c)(3) organization is a United States corporation, trust, unincorporated association or other type of organization exempt from federal income tax under section 501(c)(3) of Title 26 of the United States Code. It is one of the 29 types of 50 ...
nonprofit. In May 2020, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum temporarily closed due to complications that arose as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
.
In April 2022, industry magazine ''Air Classics'' reported that the museum's collection was sold, promising further details in its June issue. The Dutch Aviation Society reported that the buyer was
Steuart Walton
Steuart Walton (born 1981) is an American attorney and businessman. Born into the billionaire Walton family, he is a director of Walmart, the world's largest company by revenue, co-founder of private equity firm RZC Investments, which bought Brit ...
, grandson of
Walmart
Walmart Inc. (; formerly Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.) is an American multinational retail corporation that operates a chain of hypermarkets (also called supercenters), discount department stores, and grocery stores from the United States, headquarter ...
founder
Sam Walton
Samuel Moore Walton (March 29, 1918 – April 5, 1992)
was an American business magnate best known for founding the retailers Walmart and Sam's Club, which he started in 1962 and 1983 respectively. Wal-Mart Stores Inc. grew to be the world's ...
. The sale was confirmed by
CNN
CNN (Cable News Network) is a multinational cable news channel headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. Founded in 1980 by American media proprietor Ted Turner and Reese Schonfeld as a 24-hour cable news channel, and presently owned by ...
and other media in August, 2022. The plan is for the museum to remain in Everett; reopening in 2023 under the stewardship of the
Wartime History Museum, a nonprofit established by Walton earlier in 2022.
See also
*
List of aerospace museums
This is a list of aviation museums and museums that contain significant aerospace-related exhibits throughout the world. The aviation museums are listed alphabetically by country and their article name.
Afghanistan
* OMAR Mine Museum, Kabul - inc ...
References
External links
*
Paul Allen.com, page on collection
{{DEFAULTSORT:Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum
Aerospace museums in Washington (state)
Military and war museums in Washington (state)
Museums in Snohomish County, Washington
Tourist attractions in Everett, Washington