The Virginia Aviation Museum was an aviation museum in unincorporated Henrico County, Virginia, adjacent to

Richmond International Airport Richmond International Airport is a joint civil-military airport in Sandston, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community (in Henrico County). The airport is about 7 miles (11 km) southeast of downtown Richmond, the capital of ...

(formerly "Richard Evelyn Byrd Flying Field"). Erected in 1986, the museum housed a collection of some thirty-four airframes, both owned and on-loan, ranging from reproductions of Wright Brothers kite gliders to the still state-of-the-art SR-71 Blackbird. It was a subsidiary of the

Science Museum of Virginia The Science Museum of Virginia is a science museum located in Richmond, Virginia. Established in 1970, it is an agency of the Commonwealth of Virginia. It is housed in the former Broad Street Station, built in 1917. History Early proposals In 1 ...

. The museum was housed in the Martha C. West Building, a hangar named after Martha C. West, a pioneering aviator and the first president of the Richmond Women’s Flying Club. This building was originally planned to be a temporary storage facility until the actual museum building finished construction. That never happened and the museum closed June 30, 2016 after issues with the roof and climate control became insurmountable, issuing a terse statement stating " he building hadreached the end of its useful life." The SR-71 was moved to the Science Museum of Virginia where it is on display. The Shannon collection (acquired in 1981 when Sidney Shannon Jr died) was returned to Shannon Air Museum the year after closure. This collection includes the Pitcairn Mailwing and the Vultee V-1, among others.

Exhibits and artifacts

(arranged chronologically by date of original manufacture)

WWI and Golden Age of Aviation

SPAD S.VII The SPAD S.VII was the first of a series of highly successful biplane fighter aircraft produced by ''Société Pour L'Aviation et ses Dérivés'' (SPAD) during the First World War. Like its successors, the S.VII was renowned as a sturdy and r ...

, ''B9913'', built 1917 by Mann Egerton,

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

- one of 19 that went to

Rockwell Field Rockwell Field is a former United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) military airfield, located northwest of the city of Coronado, California, on the northern part of the Coronado Peninsula across the bay from San Diego, California. This airfield ...

Pursuit Gunnery School,

San Diego, California San Diego ( , ; ) is a city on the Pacific Ocean coast of Southern California located immediately adjacent to the Mexico–United States border. With a 2020 population of 1,386,932, it is the eighth most populous city in the United Stat ...

in 1918 (later

NAS North Island Naval Air Station North Island or NAS North Island , at the north end of the Coronado peninsula on San Diego Bay in San Diego, California, is part of the largest aerospace-industrial complex in the United States Navy – Naval Base Coronado (N ...

). * Standard E-1, no registration or serial, built 1918, rescued from barn near Dayton, Ohio in 1950s and restored. *

Curtiss JN-4D The Curtiss JN "Jenny" was a series of biplanes built by the Curtiss Aeroplane Company of Hammondsport, New York, later the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company. Although the Curtiss JN series was originally produced as a training aircraft for th ...

, Signal Corps ''2975'', c/n 450, built 1918, on loan from Ken Hyde, Warrenton, Virginia. * Pitcairn PA-5 Mailwing, ''NC3835'', c/n 9, built 1927 - in

Eastern Air Transport Eastern may refer to: Transportation *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai *Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 1926 to 1991 *Eastern Air Li ...

markings, on loan from the

. * Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, ''NX237'', c/n 187, built 1928 as a CH-300 Pacemaker, salvaged from a glacier in 1976 and converted to CH-400 and marked as "Columbia", the original of which was destroyed in a hangar fire. *

Travel Air 2000 The Travel Air 2000/3000/4000 (originally, the Model A, Model B and Model BH were open-cockpit biplane aircraft produced in the United States in the late 1920s by the Travel Air Manufacturing Company. During the period from 1924–1929, Tra ...

, ''NC6282'', c/n 721, built 1927. * Fairchild FC-2W2, ''NX8006'', c/n 140, built 1928, "Stars And Stripes" -

Richard Evelyn Byrd Richard Evelyn Byrd Jr. (October 25, 1888 – March 11, 1957) was an American naval officer and explorer. He was a recipient of the Medal of Honor, the highest honor for valor given by the United States, and was a pioneering American aviator, p ...

's Arctic exploration aircraft, on loan from the National Air and Space Museum. *

Heath Super Parasol The Heath Parasol is an American single or two seat, open-cockpit, parasol winged, homebuilt monoplane. Design and development In 1926, Edward Bayard Heath, a successful American air racer and the owner of an aircraft parts supply business, b ...

, ''N1926'', c/n 31919, built 1928, donated by Dr. E. C. Garber, Fayetteville, North Carolina. *

Pietenpol Air Camper The Pietenpol Air Camper is a simple parasol wing homebuilt aircraft designed by Bernard H. Pietenpol. The first prototype that became the Air Camper was built and flown by Pietenpol in 1928.Bowers, Peter M.: ''Guide to Homebuilts'', 9th ...

and Sky Scout, ''N9040N'', c/n 410,

Ford Ford commonly refers to: * Ford Motor Company, an automobile manufacturer founded by Henry Ford * Ford (crossing), a shallow crossing on a river Ford may also refer to: Ford Motor Company * Henry Ford, founder of the Ford Motor Company * Ford F ...

-powered homebuilt, 1928, built and donated by Charles F. Duff. * Brunner-Winkle Bird BK, c/n 2025, built 1929, on loan from

Dolph Overton Dolphin Dunnaha Overton III (2 April 1926 – 25 March 2013) was a United States Air Force aviator who became a flying ace during the Korean War. Overton's controversial tour in Korea led to his being removed from combat and denied his medals and ...

. * Curtiss-Robertson J-1D Robin, ''NC532N'', c/n 733, built 1929, restored by Francis Clore. *

Fleet Model 1 The Fleet Model 1 (originally the Consolidated Model 14 Husky Junior) and its derivatives were a family of two-seat trainer and sports biplanes produced in the United States and Canada in the 1920s and 1930s. They all shared the same basic desig ...

, ''NC766V'', c/n 347, built August 1930 - marked as USAAC YPT-6. *

Aeronca C-2 The Aeronca C-2 is an American light monoplane designed by Jean A. Roche and built by Aeronca Aircraft. Development Roche Monoplane Jean A. Roche was a U.S. Army engineer at McCook Field airfield in Dayton, Ohio. Roche developed an aircraf ...

N Razor Back, ''N11417'', c/n 151, originally built 1932 as C-1 Clipped Wing Cadet, converted 1932 to C-2N; rebuilt 1962. * Taylor E-2 Cub, ''NC12628'', c/n 33, built 1932. * Aeronca C-3 ''NC14640'', c/n 426, built 1935, donated by Kenneth Brugh, Greensboro, North Carolina. * Waco YOC, ''NC17740'', c/n 4279, built 1935, on loan from the Virginia Aeronautical Historical Society - once owned by Hollywood artist Walter Matthew Jeffries who designed the Starship Enterprise. * Curtiss-Wright A-14D Speedwing, ''NC12329'', built 1936, on loan from Allen H. Watkins. Vultee V-1A Spcl NC16099 VA Avn Msm 21

* Vultee V-1AD Special, ''NC16099'', c/n 25, built 1936, "Lady Peace II" - once owned by publisher

William Randolph Hearst William Randolph Hearst Sr. (; April 29, 1863 – August 14, 1951) was an American businessman, newspaper publisher, and politician known for developing the nation's largest newspaper chain and media company, Hearst Communications. His flamboya ...

, only one known in existence. * Fairchild 24-G, ''N19123'', c/n 2983, built August 1937. * Stinson SR-10G Reliant, ''NC21135'', c/n 5903, built 1937 for

American Airlines American Airlines is a major airlines of the United States, major US-based airline headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, within the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. It is the Largest airlines in the world, largest airline in the world when measured ...

- on loan from the

. * Waco EGC-8, c/n 5062, built for by R. G. LeTourneau, 1938, one of seven total sold - now owned by David Tyndall, Mechanicsville, Virginia - undergoing restoration in the museum shop. * Bücker Bü 133C Jungmeister, ''N133BU'', c/n 251, built 1941 - marked as aircraft of Beverly "Bevo" Howard. *

Piper J-3 Cub The Piper J-3 Cub is an American light aircraft that was built between 1938 and 1947 by Piper Aircraft. The aircraft has a simple, lightweight design which gives it good low-speed handling properties and short-field performance. The Cub is Pi ...

, ''N42535'', c/n 14812, built 1943.

Modern

Grumman F-14 Tomcat The Grumman F-14 Tomcat is an American carrier-capable supersonic, twin-engine, two-seat, twin-tail, variable-sweep wing fighter aircraft. The Tomcat was developed for the United States Navy's Naval Fighter Experimental (VFX) program after the ...

Douglas A-4 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 ...

* Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird *

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 ...

References

Data from the display placards in the museum. {{authority control Aerospace museums in Virginia Museums in Henrico County, Virginia Defunct museums in Virginia Military and war museums in Virginia Museums established in 1986 1986 establishments in Virginia Museums disestablished in 2016 2016 disestablishments in Virginia

Exhibits and artifacts

WWI and Golden Age of Aviation

Modern

See also

References