The Mid-America Air Museum is an

aerospace Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...

and

aircraft An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...

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 ...

located in

Liberal, Kansas Liberal is the county seat of Seward County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 19,825. Liberal is home of Seward County Community College. History Early settler S. S. Rogers built the first house ...

, United States. The Mid-America Air Museum is the largest aircraft museum in

Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to the ...

. It has on display over 100 aircraft (both within the museum's primary building and on the adjacent

tarmac Tarmac may refer to: Engineered surfaces * Tarmacadam, a mainly historical tar-based material for macadamising road surfaces, patented in 1902 * Asphalt concrete, a macadamising material using asphalt instead of tar which has largely superseded ta ...

), a gift store, and several displays of

photograph A photograph (also known as a photo, image, or picture) is an image created by light falling on a photosensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic image sensor, such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are now create ...

s and

ephemera Ephemera are transitory creations which are not meant to be retained or preserved. Its etymological origins extends to Ancient Greece, with the common definition of the word being: "the minor transient documents of everyday life". Ambiguous in ...

relating to the history of aviation in the region.

History

The museum is on

Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport is two miles west of Liberal, in Seward County, Kansas. It is used for general aviation and is subsidized by the Essential Air Service program. Formerly Liberal Municipal Airport, it hosts the Mid-America Ai ...

, originally known as

Liberal Army Air Field Liberal Army Airfield was a World War II Consolidated B-24 Liberator heavy bomber training base of the United States Army Air Forces' Second Air Force. It is currently the city-owned Liberal Mid-America Regional Airport. History The first tangib ...

that served as a

B-24 Liberator The Consolidated B-24 Liberator is an American heavy bomber, designed by Consolidated Aircraft of San Diego, California. It was known within the company as the Model 32, and some initial production aircraft were laid down as export models des ...

training base during the

Second World War 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 ...

. The museum is located within a

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

that formerly belonged to

Beech Aircraft Beechcraft is an American brand of civil aviation and military aircraft owned by Textron Aviation since 2014, headquartered in Wichita, Kansas. Originally, it was a brand of Beech Aircraft Corporation, an American manufacturer of general aviati ...

, where Beech produced Beech Musketeer,

Beechcraft Baron The Beechcraft Baron is a light twin-engined piston aircraft designed and produced by Beechcraft. The aircraft was introduced in 1961. A low-wing monoplane developed from the Travel Air, it remains in production. Design and development The di ...

, and

Beechcraft Duchess The Beechcraft Model 76 Duchess is an American twin-engined monoplane built by Beechcraft intended partly as a low cost introduction to twin-engine aircraft. Development Developed as Model PD289 (Preliminary Design 289), the prototype was u ...

light airplanes, in the 1960s and 1970s. The museum started with the donation, by the late Colonel Tom Thomas, Jr., of his personal collection: over 50 aircraft (valued at over $3 million) to the City of Liberal.

Collection

The Mid-America Air Museum's collection includes: * Aero Commander 520 ''N711YY / 520-76'' * Aero Commander CallAir A-9B ''N671W'' * Aero Designs Pulsar 582-N ''N62817'' *

Aeronca 7AC Champion The Aeronca Model 7 Champion, commonly known as the "Champ", or "Airknocker",Bellanca Aircraft Corp, " d: "The Champ only $4,995"" ''Flying Annual & Pilots' Guide,'' 1971 ed., pp.36–37 iff-Davis NY is a single-engine light airplane with a ...

''N2735E'' * Aeronca 65C Chief ''N23547'' * Aeronca K Scout ''N19339'' *

Aeronca L-3B Grasshopper The Aeronca L-3 group of observation and liaison aircraft were used by the United States Army Air Corps in World War II. The L-3 series were adapted from Aeronca's pre-war Tandem Trainer and Chief models. Design and development In 1941, the ...

''N48433'' * Air & Space 18C Flymobil ''N6128S'' *Armstrong Aeronaut ''N77VA'' *

Avid Flyer The Avid Flyer is a family of American single engine, high-wing, strut-braced, conventional landing gear-equipped, two seat ultralight aircraft designed for kit construction in the 1980s. Its several variants sold in large numbers. In 1987 a F ...

''N31BL'' *

Avro 504K The Avro 504 was a First World War biplane aircraft made by the Avro aircraft company and under licence by others. Production during the war totalled 8,970 and continued for almost 20 years, making it the most-produced aircraft of any kind tha ...

(replica) * Beechcraft F17D Staggerwing ''N139KP'' * Beechcraft 2000A Starship ''N1556S'' * Beechcraft 35 Bonanza ''N80441'' * Beechcraft AT-7C Navigator ''N65314'' * Beechcraft B19 Musketeer Sport ''N1978W'' * Beechcraft T-34B Mentor * Beechcraft Travel Air ''N833B'' * Bell AH-1G Cobra ''71-21038'' * Bell AH-1W SuperCobra ''160817'' * Bell OH-13H Sioux ''55-4619'' * Bell UH-1D Iroquois ''66-1204'' * Bellanca 14-13-2 Cruisair Senior ''N74456'' * Breezy RLU-1 ''N1380E'' * Bushby Mustang II ''N32DC'' *

Cessna 120 120 may refer to: *120 (number), the number *AD 120, a year in the 2nd century AD *120 BC, a year in the 2nd century BC *120 film, a film format for still photography * ''120'' (film), a 2008 film *120 (MBTA bus) *120 (New Jersey bus) *120 (Kent) C ...

''N72948'' *

Cessna 140 The Cessna 120, 140, and 140A, are single-engine, two-seat, conventional landing gear (tailwheel), light general aviation aircraft that were first produced in 1946, immediately following the end of World War II. Production ended in 1951, and ...

''N76483'' *

Cessna 175 The Cessna 175 Skylark is a four-seat, single-engine, high-wing airplane produced by Cessna between 1958 and 1962. Production history The 175 was designed to fill a niche between the Cessna 172 and the faster Cessna 182. The engine of the 17 ...

''N7205M'' * Cessna 195A ''N9864A'' * Cessna C-145 Airmaster ''NC19462'' * Cessna C-165 Airmaster ''NC32450'' * Cessna 337A Super Skymaster ''N6274F'' * Cessna UC-78 Bobcat ''N711UU'' * Cessna XT-37 ''54-0718'' * Culver Model V ''N3116K'' * Curtis Wright CW-1 Junior ''N10973'' *

Douglas A-4C Skyhawk The Douglas A-4 Skyhawk is a single-seat subsonic carrier-capable light attack aircraft developed for the United States Navy and United States Marine Corps in the early 1950s. The delta-winged, single turbojet engined Skyhawk was designed a ...

''149635'' * ERCO 415-G Ercoupe ''N94886'' * Fairchild PT-19A Cornell ''N49942'' and ''N91095'' * Fairchild PT-23A Cornell ''N63739'' * Flight Level Six Zero Der Kricket DK-1 ''N601CS'' * Fly Baby 1A * Funk B-75-L ''N24174'' * General Motors TBM-3E Avenger ''N6831C'' * Globe GC-1B Swift ''N78159'' *

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 ...

''160903'' * Grumman S2F-1 Tracker ''N5470C / 133179'' * HAL Gnat ''E1222'' *

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 ...

''66-7865'' *

Interstate L-6 Cadet The Interstate Cadet was an American two-seat tandem, high wing, single-engine monoplane light aircraft. Around 320 of these aircraft were produced between the years 1941 and 1942 by the Interstate Aircraft and Engineering Corporation based in El S ...

''N37214'' * Lakeland Flyers Inc 2/3 Scale P-51 Mustang ''N951JH'' *

Lockheed F-80C Shooting Star The Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star was the first jet fighter used operationally by the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) during World War II. Designed and built by Lockheed in 1943 and delivered just 143 days from the start of design, prod ...

''49-0710'' *

Lockheed F-104C Starfighter The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic air superiority fighter which was extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of ...

''56-0933'' *

LTV A-7D 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 ...

''73-1009'' * Luscombe 8A Silvaire ''N1172B'' * Luscombe T8F Observer ''N1580B'' * MacFam Cavalier SA102.5 ''N12RG'' *

McCulloch J-2 __NOTOC__ The McCulloch J-2 was a small, two-seat autogyro with an enclosed cabin, one of only three designs of this type of aircraft to receive a type certificate in the United States. It was built by McCulloch Aircraft Corporation. Design and d ...

''N4374G'' *

McDonnell Douglas F-4D Phantom II The McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II is an American Tandem#Aviation, tandem two-seat, twinjet, twin-engine, all-weather, long-range supersonic aircraft, supersonic jet interceptor aircraft, interceptor and fighter-bomber originally developed ...

''66-7746'' *Miller S-1 Fly Rod ''N22RM'' *

Monnett Moni __NOTOC__ The Monnett Moni is a sport aircraft developed in the United States in the early 1980s and marketed for homebuilding. Designed by John Monnett, who coined the term "air recreation vehicle" to describe it, it is a single-seat motorglid ...

''N124KB'' * Mooney M-18C Mite ''N4140'' * North American F-86H Sabre ''53-1501'' *

North American TB-25N Mitchell The North American B-25 Mitchell is an American medium bomber that was introduced in 1941 and named in honor of Major General William "Billy" Mitchell, a pioneer of U.S. military aviation. Used by many Allied air forces, the B-25 served in ...

''N9462Z / 44-30535'' * North American YOV-10A Bronco ''152880'' * Northrop Q-19 Target Drone * Northrop T-38A Talon ''60-0583'' * Pereira X-28A Osprey ''158786'' *Phoenix 6C Hang Glider * Piasecki HUP-3 Retriever ''147628'' *Pietenpol B4-A Air Camper ''N2NK'' * Piper J3C-65 Cub ''NC26815'' * Piper J-4F Cub Coupe ''NC30426'' * Piper PA-22-135 Tri-Pacer ''N1129C'' *

Piper PA-23 Apache The Piper PA-23, named Apache and later Aztec, is an American four- to six-seat twin-engined light aircraft aimed at the general-aviation market. The United States Navy and military forces in other countries also used it in small numbers. Origin ...

''N1015P'' * Piper PA-23-250 Aztec ''N4581P'' * Piper PA-24-250 Comanche ''N110LF'' *

Pober Pixie The Pober Pixie is a single-seat light aircraft that was designed in the United States in 1974 and marketed as plans for homebuilding.Plane and Pilot: ''1978 Aircraft Directory'', page 140. Werner & Werner Corp, Santa Monica CA, 1977. Tacke, Will ...

''N8509Z'' * Porterfield CP-65 Collegiate ''N32431'' *

Rand Robinson KR-1 The Rand Robinson KR-1 is a single-seat, single-engine sport aircraft designed in the United States in the early 1970s and marketed for homebuilding.Grimstead, Bo"Flight Review: The Rand KR-2" September 13, 2010, ''Kitplanes,'' retrieved Novemb ...

''N982GS'' and ''N31SB'' * Rearwin 175 Skyranger ''N32402'' * Rearwin 7000 Sportster ''NC18768'' * Rearwin 8135T Cloudstar ''N37753'' * Republic F-105G Thunderchief ''63-8266'' * Riley D-16 Twin Navion ''N3797G'' * Rotec Rally 3 Big Lifter * RotorWay Scorpion 133 * Royal Aircraft Factory S.E.5a replica ''N3922D'' *

Rutan Quickie The Rutan Quickie is a lightweight single-seat taildragger aircraft of composite construction, configured with tandem wings. The Quickie was primarily designed by Burt Rutan as a low-powered, highly efficient kit-plane. Its tandem wing desig ...

''N1176L'' *

Rutan VariEze The Rutan VariEze is a composite, canard aircraft designed by Burt Rutan. It is a high-performance homebuilt aircraft, hundreds of which have been constructed. The design later evolved into the Long-EZ and other, larger cabin canard aircraf ...

''N859'' * Ryan ST-3KR ''N46741'' *

Shober Willie II __NOTOC__ The Shober Willie II is an American two-seat sporting or aerobatic aircraft designed and built by Shober Aircraft Enterprises. The aircraft was designed to be sold as plans for amateur construction. Design The Willie II is a braced sin ...

''N113BT'' * Staib LB-5 *

Steen Skybolt The Steen Skybolt is an American homebuilt aerobatic biplane. Designed by teacher Lamar Steen as a high school engineering project, the prototype first flew in October 1970.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure ...

''N120VL'' * Stinson 10A Voyager ''N34690'' * Stinson L-5 Sentinel ''N66334 / 76-2942'' * Stinson V77 Reliant ''N9362H'' *

Taylorcraft L-2M Grasshopper The Taylorcraft L-2 Grasshopper is an American observation and liaison aircraft built by Taylorcraft for the United States Army Air Forces in World War II. Design and development In 1941 the United States Army Air Forces ordered four Taylor ...

''N49174'' *

Thorp T-18 The Thorp T-18 is an American, two-place, all-metal, plans-built, homebuilt aircraft designed in 1963 by John Thorp.Bayerl, Robby; Martin Berkemeier; et al: ''World Directory of Leisure Aviation 2011–12'', page 98. WDLA UK, Lancaster UK, 2 ...

''N35GW'' * Viking Dragonfly ''N202RG'' * Vought F-8H Crusader ''148693'' * Vought F4U-5N Corsair ''N100CV / 124447'' * Vultee SNV-2 Valiant ''N67316''

References

External links

Kansas Travel-Mid-America Air Museum
- photos and candid review

{{authority control Aerospace museums in Kansas Museums in Seward County, Kansas Museums established in 1988

History

Collection

See also

References

External links