The TAM Museum ( pt, Museu TAM), also known as the Museu Asas de um Sonho (Wings of a Dream Museum), was an aviation museum in the city of

São Carlos São Carlos (Saint Charles, in English, ; named after Saint Charles Borromeo) is a Brazilian municipality in the interior of the state of São Paulo, 254 kilometers from the city of São Paulo. With a population of 254,484 inhabitants, it is th ...

, within the state of

State of São Paulo State may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * ''State Magazine'', a monthly magazine published by the U.S. Department of State * ''The State'' (newspaper), a daily newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina, United States * ''Our S ...

, Brazil. The museum was located from central São Carlos and from

São Paulo City SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S ...

. The museum was the creation of

Rolim Adolfo Amaro Captain Rolim Adolfo Amaro (September 15, 1942 - July 8, 2001), known as "Comandante Rolim," was a Brazilian pilot and airline owner and founder of TAM Airlines. Biography At age 21, he became a pilot for a new air taxi company known as TAM – ...

, founder and president of

TAM Airlines TAM may refer to: Biology * Thioacetamide, an organosulfur compound * Tumor-associated macrophage, a class of immune cells * Transparent Anatomical Manikin, an educational model Technology * Tanque Argentino Mediano, the main battle tank of Arge ...

, and his brother João Francisco Amaro. The building is annexed to the TAM Airlines Technology Center at

São Carlos Airport SAO or Sao may refer to: Places * Sao civilisation, in Middle Africa from 6th century BC to 16th century AD * Sao, a town in Boussé Department, Burkina Faso * Saco Transportation Center (station code SAO), a train station in Saco, Maine, U.S. ...

, in the district of Água Vermelha in São Carlos.

History

In 1996, after finishing the restoration work on a

Cessna 195 The Cessna 190 and 195 Businessliner are a family of light single radial engine powered, conventional landing gear equipped, general aviation aircraft which were manufactured by Cessna between 1947 and 1954.Montgomery, MR & Gerald Foster: ...

, brothers Rolim Adolfo Amaro and João Francisco Amaro decided to buy some classic aircraft, and keep them near São Paulo, in order to make them available for flights on weekends with friends. However, once purchased, it was realised that the small collection could become a museum representative of the memory of aviation and the world. The brothers then decided to create the "Museu Asas de um Sonho" (Wings of a Dream Museum), that was maintained by the Education Service and Culture, a non-profit association founded by TAM on 23 December 1991, to administer the social programs of the company. In 2006, the museum opened with 32 aircraft and was intended to have more than 80 aircraft. The opening was part of the celebrations of 150 years of the city of São Carlos. In July 2008 the museum was closed to visitors in order to allow a complete reorganization of its installations, which included an expansion of the covered space from 9.5 thousand square metres to over 20 thousand square metres. The grand re-opening occurred in June 2010 and among the collection of 90 airplanes, held the sole surviving S.55 seaplane christened "Jahú", a

F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contract ...

, a

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

, a

Dassault Mirage III The Dassault Mirage III () is a family of single/dual-seat, single-engine, fighter aircraft developed and manufactured by French aircraft company Dassault Aviation. It was the first Western European combat aircraft to exceed Mach 2 in horizonta ...

, a Brazilian aircraft

Neiva Regente Neiva Regente is a Brazilian propeller-driven four-seat light utility aircraft manufactured by Indústria Aeronáutica Neiva. History The design was started in 1959 for a four-seat cabin monoplane aircraft with a high wing and fixed undercarriage. ...

. On January 29, 2016, TAM announced that the museum would be ceasing operations due to budget concerns.Museu da TAM encerra as atividades?
Aero Magazine. Retrieved on February 2, 2016. Closure actually happened on February 2, 2016, and on May 18, 2018, it was announced that it would be relocated close to the Brazilian Aerospace Memorial at

São José dos Campos Airport São José dos Campos-Professor Urbano Ernesto Stumpf International Airport , is the airport serving São José dos Campos, Brazil. It is named after Urbano Ernesto Stumpf (1916–1998), colonel-aviator, Aerospace Engineer, professor at several u ...

, near the

Embraer Embraer S.A. () is a Brazilian multinational aerospace manufacturer that produces commercial, military, executive and agricultural aircraft, and provides aeronautical services. It was founded in 1969 in São José dos Campos, São Paulo, where i ...

plant, but this never happened. On December 16, 2019, the president of the Brazilian Aviation Institute (IBA), Francisco Lyra, announced to an audience at the opening of the São Paulo Catarina business aviation airport that his next project would be to preserve the "Asas de um Sonho" aviation museum. It was intended by the follower

Latam Airlines Group LATAM Airlines Group S.A. is an airline holding company headquartered in Santiago, Chile. It is considered the largest airline company in Latin America with subsidiaries in Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Peru. The company filed for Ch ...

to postpone the acerve to

Campo de Marte Airport Campo de Marte Airport is the first airport built in São Paulo, Brazil, opened in 1929. It is named after Champ de Mars, in Paris, which in turn got its name from Campus Martius, in Rome. During a transitional period, the airport is jointly o ...

, which also never happened. In March 2022, it was mistakenly reported that the museum pieces had been acquired by Helisul, an

air taxi An air taxi is a small commercial aircraft that makes short flights on demand. In 2001 air taxi operations were promoted in the United States by a NASA and aerospace industry study on the potential Small Aircraft Transportation System (SATS) an ...

company, and would be displayed at the

Foz do Iguaçu Foz do Iguaçu (''Iguazu River Mouth'') () is the Brazilian city on the border of Iguaçu Falls. The city is the 7th largest in the state of Paraná. The city's population is approximately 258,000. It is approximately 650 km (400 mi) we ...

Convention Center, however the company denied the purchase, not ruling out the possibility of a future partnership.

Aircraft exhibits

:''Source: Ogden''Ogden (2008) The museum had 35 aircraft in a historical building measuring 450 metres long by 130 metres wide and 11 metres high. The exhibits planned to be accessible to visitors in 2010 were as follows: {, class="wikitable" style="text-align:left" , - ! width="200", Designation !! width="50", FAB desig!! width="100", Identity!! width="400", Notes , - ,

Aeronca C-3 The Aeronca C-3 was a light plane built by the Aeronca Aircraft, Aeronautical Corporation of America in the United States during the 1930s. Design and development Its design was derived from the Aeronca C-2. Introduced in 1931 in aviation, 1931, ...

, , , , NC14630, , , - ,

American Flea Ship The American Flea Ship (Flea Triplane) is a homebuilt triplane design of the early 1930s. It is one of the first examples of a female-designed-and-built aircraft. One example is displayed at the Wings of a Dream Museum. Development The American ...

, , , , PP-TKX, , Universal Aircraft , - ,

Boeing-Stearman Model 75 The Stearman (Boeing) Model 75 is a biplane formerly used as a military trainer aircraft, of which at least 10,626 were built in the United States during the 1930s and 1940s. Stearman Aircraft became a subsidiary of Boeing in 1934. Widely known ...

, , , , LV-FGD, , , - , Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann, , , , E3B-595, , , - ,

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 ...

, , , , PP-DYX, , , - ,

Cessna 180 The Cessna 180 Skywagon is a four- or six-seat, fixed conventional gear general aviation airplane which was produced between 1953 and 1981. Though the design is no longer in production, many of these aircraft are still in use as personal aircr ...

, , , , PT-BXZ, , , - ,

Cessna 185 The Cessna 185 Skywagon is a six-seat, single-engined, general aviation light aircraft manufactured by Cessna. It first flew as a prototype in July 1960, with the first production model completed in March 1961. The Cessna 185 is a high-wing ...

, , , , PT-KJM, , , - ,

, , , , PT-LDK, , , - ,

Cessna L-19 The Cessna L-19/O-1 Bird Dog is a liaison and observation aircraft. It was the first all-metal fixed-wing aircraft ordered for and by the United States Army following the Army Air Forces' separation from it in 1947. The Bird Dog had a lengthy ...

Bird Dog , , , , 54736, , , - ,

Bird Dog , , , , 62612, , , - ,

Bird Dog , , , , 72774, , , - ,

Douglas DC-3 The Douglas DC-3 is a propeller-driven airliner manufactured by Douglas Aircraft Company, which had a lasting effect on the airline industry in the 1930s to 1940s and World War II. It was developed as a larger, improved 14-bed sleeper version ...

, , , , N101KC, , "Rose" , - , EAY Ypiranga Paulistinha, , , , PT-ZGY, , , - ,

Fairchild 24 The Fairchild Model 24, also called the Fairchild Model 24 Argus and UC-61 Forwarder, is a four-seat, single-engine monoplane light transport aircraft designed by the Fairchild Aviation Corporation in the 1930s. It was adopted by the United Sta ...

, , UC-61A, , 2687, , , - ,

Fairchild PT-19 The Fairchild PT-19 (company designation Fairchild M62) is an American monoplane primary trainer aircraft that served with the United States Army Air Forces, RAF and RCAF during World War II. Designed by Fairchild Aircraft, it was a contempora ...

Cornell, , , , PP-GAY, , , - ,

Gloster Meteor The Gloster Meteor was the first British jet fighter and the Allies of World War II, Allies' only jet aircraft to engage in combat operations during the Second World War. The Meteor's development was heavily reliant on its ground-breaking turb ...

F.8, , F-8, , 4440, , , - , Lockheed 049 Constellation, , , , PP-PDD, , Bought in Paraguay and painted as

Panair do Brasil Panair do Brasil was an airline of Brazil. Between 1945 and 1965 it was considered to be the largest carrier not only in Brazil but in all of Latin America. It ceased operations in 1965. History NYRBA do Brasil (1929–1930) ''Panair do Bras ...

, - ,

Messerschmitt Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a German World War II fighter aircraft that was, along with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the backbone of the Luftwaffe's fighter force. The Bf 109 first saw operational service in 1937 during the Spanish Civil War an ...

G-2, , , , 12456, , , - ,

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 ...

, , , , 6247, , , - ,

MiG-17 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 w ...

, , , , 23, , , - ,

MiG-21 The Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21 (russian: Микоян и Гуревич МиГ-21; NATO reporting name: Fishbed) is a supersonic jet fighter and interceptor aircraft, designed by the Mikoyan-Gurevich Design Bureau in the Soviet Union. Its nickna ...

, , , , 17, , , - , Miles M.2H Hawk Major, , , , G-ADAS, , , - , Neiva

CAP-4 __NOTOC__ The CAP-4 Paulistinha was a military and civilian trainer aircraft built in Brazil during the 1930s and 1940s. It was originally developed by Empresa Aeronáutica Ypiranga (EAY) as an unlicensed copy of the Taylor Cub powered by a Sal ...

Paulistinha, , , , N-505, , Marinha , - , Nord 1203 Norecrin, , , , PP-EBE, , , - , Republic

P-47D Thunderbolt The P-47 Thunderbolt was a World War II fighter aircraft built by Republic Aviation from 1941 to 1945. Early designs XP-47 (AP-10) In response to a USAAC requirement for a new fighter aircraft, Republic Aviation engineer Alexander Kartveli p ...

, , , , 229265, , , - ,

Piper PA-12 The Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser is an American three-seat, high wing, single-engine conventional landing gear-equipped light aircraft that was produced by Piper Aircraft between 1946-48. The PA-12 was an upgraded and redesignated Piper J-5.Plan ...

Super Cruiser, , , , , , , - ,

IPE Quero Quero The KW-1b Quero Quero (Brazilian name for the southern lapwing bird) is a Glider (sailplane), sailplane that was produced in Brazil in the 1970s and 1980s. It is a conventional, single seat design of wooden construction. The undercarriage is a f ...

KW.1, , , , PT-PEI, , Sailplane , - ,

KW.1, , , , PT-PFJ, , Sailplane , - ,

RWD-13 The RWD 13 was a Polish touring plane of 1935, three-seater high-wing monoplane, designed by the RWD team. It was the biggest commercial success of the RWD. Development The RWD 13 was a touring plane, developed from a line of sports planes RWD ...

, , , , PT-LFY, , , - ,

Santos-Dumont 14-bis The ''14-bis'' (french: Quatorze-bis), (), also known as ("bird of prey" in French), was a pioneer era, canard-style biplane designed and built by Brazilian aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont. In 1906, near Paris, the ''14-bis'' made a m ...

, , , , , , Replica , - ,

Santos-Dumont Demoiselle The Santos-Dumont ''Demoiselle'' was a series of aircraft built in France by world aviation pioneer Alberto Santos-Dumont. They were light-weight monoplanes with a wire-braced wing mounted above an open-framework fuselage built from bamboo. The ...

, , , , , , Replica , - ,

Savoia-Marchetti S.55 The Savoia-Marchetti S.55 was a double-hulled flying boat produced in Italy, beginning in 1924. Shortly after its introduction, it began setting records for speed, payload, altitude and range. Design and development The S.55 featured many in ...

, , , , I-BAUQ, , "Jahú" , - , Schneider

Grunau Baby The Schneider Grunau Baby was a single-seat sailplane first built in Germany in 1931, with some 6,000 examples constructed in some 20 countries. It was relatively easy to build from plans, it flew well, and the aircraft was strong enough to han ...

IIb , , , , , , Glider , - ,

Supermarine Spitfire The Supermarine Spitfire is a British single-seat fighter aircraft used by the Royal Air Force and other Allied countries before, during, and after World War II. Many variants of the Spitfire were built, from the Mk 1 to the Rolls-Royce Grif ...

Mk.IX , , , , EN398, , , - ,

Vought F4U Corsair The Vought F4U Corsair is an American fighter aircraft which saw service primarily in World War II and the Korean War. Designed and initially manufactured by Chance Vought, the Corsair was soon in great demand; additional production contracts ...

, , , , 17-F-13, ,

Gallery

File:Aeroncac3.JPG, Aeronca C-3 File:Cap4paulistinha.JPG, CAP-4 Paulistinha File:Bf109G2.jpg, Bf 109G-2 File:Americanfleaship.JPG, American Flea Ship File:Constellation L-049.jpg, Lockheed 049 Constellation File:Asasdeumsonho.JPG, Internal

Notes

References

* Ogden, Bob (2008). Aviation Museums and Collections of The Rest of the World. UK: Air-Britain. * Wikipedia Portuguese article

External links