The Museum of Flight is a private

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 ...

air The atmosphere of Earth is the layer of gases, known collectively as air, retained by Earth's gravity that surrounds the planet and forms its planetary atmosphere. The atmosphere of Earth protects life on Earth by creating pressure allowing f ...

and

space Space is the boundless three-dimensional extent in which objects and events have relative position and direction. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physicists usually cons ...

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 thes ...

in the

Seattle metropolitan area The Seattle metropolitan area is an urban conglomeration in the U.S. state of Washington that comprises Seattle, its surrounding satellites and suburbs. It contains the three most populous counties in the state—King, Snohomish, and Pierce ...

. It is located at the southern end of King County International Airport (Boeing Field) in the city of Tukwila, immediately south of

Seattle Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest regio ...

."Museum of Flight."
''Yahoo Travel'' Retrieved: September 2, 2011. It was established in 1965 and is fully accredited by the

American Alliance of Museums American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

. As the largest private air and space museum in the world, it also hosts large K–12 educational programs. The museum attracts over 500,000 visitors every year, and also serves more than 140,000 students annually through its onsite programs: a Challenger Learning Center, an Aviation Learning Center, and a summer camp (ACE), as well as outreach programs that travel throughout Washington and

Oregon Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

."Museum of Flight/Aviation High Press Release"
Museum of Flight. Retrieved: September 8, 2011.

History

The Museum of Flight can trace its roots back to the Pacific Northwest Aviation Historical Foundation, which was founded in 1965 to recover and restore a 1929 Boeing 80A-1, which had been discovered in Anchorage, Alaska. The restoration took place over a 16-year period, and after completion, was put on display as a centerpiece for the museum. In 1968, the name "Museum of Flight" first appeared in use in a 10,000-square-foot facility, rented at the

Seattle Center Seattle Center is an arts, educational, tourism and entertainment center in Seattle, Washington, United States. Spanning an area of 74 acres (30 ha), it was originally built for the 1962 World's Fair. Its landmark feature is the tall Space Needle ...

. Planning began at this time for a more permanent structure, and preliminary concepts were drafted. In 1975, The ''

William E. Boeing William Edward Boeing (; October 1, 1881 – September 28, 1956) was an American aviation pioneer who founded the Pacific Airplane Company in 1916, which a year later was renamed to The Boeing Company, now the largest exporter in the United S ...

Red Barn'' was acquired for one dollar from the Port of Seattle, which had taken possession of it after

Boeing The Boeing Company () is an American multinational corporation that designs, manufactures, and sells airplanes, rotorcraft, rockets, satellites, telecommunications equipment, and missiles worldwide. The company also provides leasing and p ...

abandoned it during

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 opposing ...

. The 1909 all-wooden Red Barn, the original home of the company, was barged two miles (3 km) up the Duwamish River to its current location at the southwestern end of

Boeing Field Boeing Field, officially King County International Airport , is a public airport owned and operated by King County, five miles south of downtown Seattle, Washington. The airport is sometimes referred to as KCIA (King County International Airp ...

. Fundraising was slow in the late 1970s, and after restoration, the two-story Red Barn was opened to the public in 1983. That year a funding campaign was launched, so capital could be raised for construction of the '' T.A. Wilson Great Gallery''. In 1987,

Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...

George Bush, joined by four Mercury astronauts, cut the ribbon to open the facility on July 10, with an expansive volume of . The gallery's structure is built in a space frame lattice structure and holds more than 20 hanging aircraft, including a Douglas DC-3 weighing more than nine tons.Ogden, 1986 p. 193. The museum's education programs grew significantly with the building of a Challenger Learning Center in 1992. This interactive exhibit allows students to experience a

Space Shuttle The Space Shuttle is a retired, partially reusable low Earth orbital spacecraft system operated from 1981 to 2011 by the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) as part of the Space Shuttle program. Its official program ...

mission. It includes a mock-up

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...

mission control, and experiments from all areas of space research. Completed in 1994, the 132-seat Wings Cafe and the 250-seat Skyline multipurpose banquet and meeting room increased the museum's footprint to . At the same time, one of the museum's most widely recognized and popular artifacts, the

Lockheed M-21 The Lockheed A-12 is a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Lockheed's Skunk Works, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The aircraft was designated ...

, a modified Lockheed A-12 Oxcart designed to carry the Lockheed D-21 reconnaissance drones, was placed on the floor at the center of the Great Gallery, after being fully restored. The first jet-powered Air Force One (1959–1962, SAM 970), a Boeing VC-137B, was flown to Boeing Field in 1996; it arrived in June and was opened to visitors in October. Retired from active service earlier that year, it is on loan from the Air Force Museum. Originally parked on the east side of the museum, it was driven across East Marginal Way and now resides in the museum's Airpark, where it is open to public walkthroughs. In 1997, the museum opened the first full scale, interactive

Air Traffic Control Air traffic control (ATC) is a service provided by ground-based air traffic controllers who direct aircraft on the ground and through a given section of controlled airspace, and can provide advisory services to aircraft in non-controlled airs ...

tower exhibit. The tower overlooks the Boeing Field runways, home to one of the thirty busiest airports in the country. The exhibit offers a glimpse into what it is like to be an

air traffic controller Air traffic control specialists, abbreviated ATCS, are personnel responsible for the safe, orderly, and expeditious flow of air traffic in the global air traffic control system. Usually stationed in air traffic control centers and control ...

. The next major expansion was opened in 2004, with the addition of the ''J. Elroy McCaw Personal Courage Wing'', named after J. Elroy McCaw, an area businessman, entrepreneur and World War II veteran. North of the Red Barn, the wing has of exhibit space on two floors, with more than 25

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

and

aircraft. It also has large collection of model aircraft, including every plane from both wars. Many of these aircraft were from the collection of the

Champlin Fighter Museum The Champlin Fighter Museum was an aircraft museum located at Mesa, Arizona. It specialized in airworthy World War I and World War II fighters. After 22 years of operation, the Museum was closed on May 26, 2003, and its collection was moved to t ...

, formerly in Mesa, Arizona, which closed in 2003. The wing opened on June 6, the sixtieth anniversary of D-Day. In June 2010, the museum broke ground on a $12 million new building to house a

it hoped to receive from

, named the

Charles Simonyi Charles Simonyi (; hu, Simonyi Károly, ; born September 10, 1948) is a Hungarian-American software architect. He started and led Microsoft's applications group, where he built the first versions of Microsoft Office. He co-founded and led Int ...

Space Gallery."Photo Gallery: How to display a retired space shuttle."
''Collect Space.'' Retrieved: February 4, 2011. The new building includes multisensory exhibits that emphasize stories from the visionaries, designers, pilots, and crews of the Space Shuttle and other space related missions. The gallery opened to the public in November 2012. Though the museum did not receive one of the four remaining Shuttles, it did receive the Full Fuselage Trainer (FFT), a Shuttle mockup that was used to train all Space Shuttle astronauts. Because it is a trainer and not an actual Shuttle, small group (no more than six persons, minimum age 10, maximum height 6' 4"
guided tours of the interior
are available, for an extra charge. The FFT began arriving in various pieces beginning in 2012. The cockpit and two sections of the payload bay arrived via NASA's Super Guppy."Museum of Flight Awarded Full-Fuselage Shuttle Trainer."
''The Museum of Flight.'' Retrieved: 13 April 2011. During the 50th anniversary celebrations for

Apollo 11 Apollo 11 (July 16–24, 1969) was the American spaceflight that first landed humans on the Moon. Commander Neil Armstrong and lunar module pilot Buzz Aldrin landed the Apollo Lunar Module ''Eagle'' on July 20, 1969, at 20:17 UTC, ...

in 2019, the Museum of Flight hosted a traveling Smithsonian exhibit with the

Apollo Command Module The Apollo command and service module (CSM) was one of two principal components of the United States Apollo spacecraft, used for the Apollo program, which landed astronauts on the Moon between 1969 and 1972. The CSM functioned as a mother shi ...

''Columbia'', which was used during the first moon landing.

Aircraft on display

The Museum of Flight has more than 150 aircraft in its collection, including: City of Everett 02

;

Lockheed Model 10-E Electra The Lockheed Model 10 Electra is an American twin-engined, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2. The type gained considerable fame as one was fl ...

:faithfully restored by pilot

Linda Finch Linda (Dueler) Finch, also known as Linda Finch Doctor (born March 13, 1951), is an American businesswoman, aviator, and aviation historian from San Antonio, Texas. Finch had 30 years of experience in the construction industry, making prefabricat ...

to match the aircraft Amelia Earhart was piloting when she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean ; Boeing 747: the first flight-worthy B747, ''City of Everett''. Its registration number i
N7470
and it was named after the city of

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 ...

. Its first flight was on February 9, 1969, and was retired in 1990. (Open for walkthrough) ; Boeing VC-137B SAM 970: the first presidential jet, which served in the presidential fleet from 1959 to 1996 (open for walkthrough) ;

Concorde The Aérospatiale/BAC Concorde () is a retired Franco-British supersonic airliner jointly developed and manufactured by Sud Aviation (later Aérospatiale) and the British Aircraft Corporation (BAC). Studies started in 1954, and France an ...

214:(

British Airways British Airways (BA) is the flag carrier airline of the United Kingdom. It is headquartered in London, England, near its main hub at Heathrow Airport. The airline is the second largest UK-based carrier, based on fleet size and passengers ...

), registration G-BOAG (open for walkthrough). This is one of only four Concordes on display outside Europe, with the other three being near Washington, in New York, and in Barbados. ;

Caproni Ca.20 The Caproni Ca.20 was an early monoplane fighter. Developed by Giovanni Battista Caproni in 1914. The only prototype made is today on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington, United States. History of the design The Ca.20 was der ...

: the world's first

fighter plane Fighter aircraft are fixed-wing aircraft, fixed-wing military aircraft designed primarily for air-to-air combat. In military conflict, the role of fighter aircraft is to establish air supremacy, air superiority of the battlespace. Domination o ...

from

. The one on display at the Museum of Flight was the only one ever built. ;

de Havilland Comet The de Havilland DH.106 Comet was the world's first commercial jet airliner. Developed and manufactured by de Havilland in the United Kingdom, the Comet 1 prototype first flew in 1949. It featured an aerodynamically clean design with four ...

: The world's first jet airliner. First flew 1949, in production 1952 to 1964. This is currently stored at their restoration center at Paine Field in Everett. ; Lockheed D-21: unmanned reconnaissance drone, displayed mounted on the M-21 ;

: the sole surviving M-21 a variant of the

Lockheed A-12 The Lockheed A-12 is a high-altitude, Mach 3+ reconnaissance aircraft built for the United States Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) by Lockheed's Skunk Works, based on the designs of Clarence "Kelly" Johnson. The aircraft was designat ...

. ; Lockheed SR-71 Blackbird: The surviving cockpit section of 61-7977, an SR-71 that crashed in 1968. ;

Boeing 737 The Boeing 737 is a narrow-body aircraft produced by Boeing at its Boeing Renton Factory, Renton Factory in Washington (state), Washington. Developed to supplement the Boeing 727 on short and thin routes, the twinjet retains the Boeing 707, 7 ...

: the prototype Boeing 737-100, formerly operated by NASA as

NASA 515 NASA 515 is a heavily modified Boeing 737 for NASA use as a continuing research facility. The aircraft was the first 737 built and was used by Boeing to qualify the 737 design. NASA 515 was maintained and flown by Langley Research Center as part ...

. ;Boeing 787 Dreamliner: N787BX, The third 787-8 prototype. Open for walkthroughs. ;Lockheed Martin RQ-3 DarkStar: the second DarkStar UAV prototype Gossamer Albatross II at the Museum of Flight

Gossamer Albatross II at the Museum of Flight

;MacCready Gossamer Albatross II, MacCready ''Gossamer Albatross II'':human-powered aircraft. ;Aerocar International's Aerocar:one of five surviving Aerocars, (automobiles with detachable wings and propeller). ;LearAvia Lear Fan:prototype N626BL ;Douglas DC-2: one of only two remaining airworthy DC-2s. ;Boeing 80A:the only surviving 80A, flown by Robert Campbell Reeve, Bob Reeve in Alaska. ;Boeing 727, Boeing 727-100 (E1):An ex-United Airlines B727-100, The Original Prototype. ;Lockheed L-1049G Super Constellation:An ex-Trans-Canada Air Lines Super Constellation, located originally at the Toronto Pearson International Airport which was purchased in a controversial transaction in 2005. It is currently on display at the airpark. ;Lamson L-106 Alcor:the world's first pressurized sailplane."Alcor Lamson."
''Activate Media,'' 2006. Retrieved: 20 May 2011.Said, Bob: ''1983 Sailplane Directory, Soaring Magazine'', p. 46. Soaring Society of America November 1983"Lamson L-106 Alcor Glider."
''Museum of Flight,'' May 2011. Retrieved: 20 May 2011.

Exhibits and facilities

On its grounds is the Personal Courage Wing (PCW) with 28 World War I and World War II aircraft from several countries including Germany, Russia, and Japan. Boeing Building No

There is also the "Red Barn", a National Register of Historic Places listings in King County, Washington#Seattle, registered historic site also known as Building No. 105. Built in 1909, the building was used during the early 1900s as

's original manufacturing plant. Through photographs, film, oral histories, and restoration of work stations the exhibits in the Red Barn illustrate how wooden aircraft structure with fabric overlays were manufactured in the early years of aviation and provides a history of aviation development through 1958. In June 2007 the museum opened a new space exhibit: "Space: Exploring the New Frontier", which traces the evolution of space flight from the times of Dr. Robert Goddard to the present and into future commercial spaceflight.

Restoration facility

The museum maintains a restoration facility at Paine Field in Everett with about 39 ongoing projects including a de Havilland Comet, de Havilland Comet 4 jet airliner, a Jetstar, and the Boeing 2707 mockup, among many.

Museum of Flight Library and Archives

The Harl V. Brackin Library at the Museum of Flight was founded in 1985. As of 2011, it contains 66,000 books and subscribes to 100 periodicals. It specializes in aerospace and aviation. There is also an online catalog. The Museum of Flight Archives is accessible to the public via the Kenneth H. Dalhberg Aviation Research Center. It includes millions of photographs and thousands of linear feet of manuscript materials. Highlights of the collections include the Gordon S. Williams photographic collection, the Peter M. Bowers Photographic Collection, the David D. Hatfield Aviation History Collection, the Norm Taylor Photographic Collection, the Elrey B. Jeppesen Aviation History and Navigation Collection, the American Fighter Aces Association Archives, the Lear Corporation Archives, and the Wright Airplane Company Collection. In December 2017, the Archives launched a digital repository. The site features digitized materials from archival, library, and artifact collections. In April 2019 the Archives began to make archival collections available and searchable online.

Other facilities

Museum of Flight Airpark & Aviation HS-01

In September 2013, Raisbeck Aviation High School (formerly Aviation High School) opened in a new facility directly north of the museum's Airpark. The school is operated by Highline Public Schools as a STEM fields, STEM school with a focus on aviation. The school operates in partnership with the museum (which owns the land), Boeing, and other members of the local aviation industry. The facility will also be used for the museum's summer education programs when school is not in session. The new Aviation Pavilion spans the gap between the high school and the Space Gallery. The cover allows aircraft which were seasonally brought out, such as the museum's Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress and Boeing B-29 Superfortress, to be put permanently on display. The Pavilion, constructed as part of the museum's comprehensive "Inspiration Begins Here!" campaign, opened to the public in June 2016 and contains 18 of the museum's most iconic aircraft. The 140,000 square foot building doubles the museum's exhibit space, and was built with help from Sellen Construction and Seneca Real Estate Development. In late May 2019, the museum opened the featuring the fully restored B-52 ''Midnight Express'' as the culmination of Project Welcome Home. The park is free to the public.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography * Ogden, Bob. ''Great Aircraft Collections of the World.'' New York: Gallery Books, 1986. .

External links

*
Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service ''Discover Our Shared Heritage'' Travel Itinerary
* {{Authority control Aerospace museums in Washington (state) Historic American Buildings Survey in Washington (state) Museums established in 1965 1965 establishments in Washington (state) Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums, Museum of Flight Boeing, Museum of Flight Science museums in Washington (state) Museums in Seattle Industry museums in Washington (state) Space Shuttle tourist attractions, Museum of Flight Libraries in Seattle, Museum of Flight Association of Science-Technology Centers member institutions, Museum of Flight