The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a

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 ...

dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental

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 engine ...

as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is located in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States, adjacent to

Wittman Regional Airport Wittman Regional Airport is a county-owned public-use airport located two nautical miles (4 km) south of the central business district of Oshkosh, a city in Winnebago County, Wisconsin, United States. A large portion at the south en ...

, home of the museum's sponsoring organization, the

Experimental Aircraft Association The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, United States. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 200,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapt ...

(EAA), and the organization's

EAA AirVenture Oshkosh EAA AirVenture Oshkosh (formerly the EAA Annual Convention and Fly-In), or just Oshkosh, is an annual air show and gathering of aviation enthusiasts held each summer at Wittman Regional Airport and adjacent Pioneer Airport in Oshkosh, Wisconsi ...

event (the world's biggest fly-in and airshow) that takes place in late July/early August. With over 200 aircraft, indoors and outdoors, and other exhibits and activities (including occasional aircraft rides nearby), the AirVenture Museum is a key tourist attraction in Oshkosh and is a center of activity throughout the AirVenture fly-in and airshow each summer. The museum is open year-round with the exception of a few holidays.

History

EAA founder

Paul Poberezny Paul Howard Poberezny (September 14, 1921 – August 22, 2013) was an American aviator, entrepreneur, and aircraft designer. He founded the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) in 1953, and spent the greater part of his life promoting hom ...

proposed the idea of the EAA Air Museum-Air Education center in August 1958. In the late 1970s, his son, EAA president

Tom Poberezny Thomas Paul Poberezny (October 3, 1946 – July 25, 2022) was an American aerobatic world champion, as well as chairman of the annual Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Fly-In and Convention (now named AirVenture) from 1977 to 2011 and pr ...

, led the campaign to build the current updated EAA museum and headquarters, which was officially opened in 1983. The museum opened an Education Center in July 2022. The new building includes a Pilot Proficiency Center.

Features and exhibits

The museum's collection displays more than 200 aircraft"Visitor Information"
topic, EAA AirVenture Museum section, EAA official website and 20,000 artifacts,"Collections"
topic in "EAA Museum" section, official EAA website including civilian and military aircraft of historic importance, and aircraft popular with aviation hobbyists—vintage, homebuilt, racing and stunt aircraft. Some of the more historic and unusual planes include a

Curtiss Pusher The 1911 Curtiss Model D (or frequently "Curtiss Pusher") was an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot's seat. It was among the first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity, during an era ...

, Bleriot XI,

Curtiss Jenny 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 ...

Pitcairn PCA-2 The Pitcairn PCA-2 was an autogyro (designated as "autogiro" by Pitcairn) developed in the United States in the early 1930s.Taylor 1989, p.735 It was Harold F. Pitcairn's first autogyro design to sell in quantity. It had a conventional design fo ...

autogyro,

Sikorsky S-38 The Sikorsky S-38 was an American twin-engined ten-seat sesquiplane amphibious aircraft. It was Sikorsky's first widely produced amphibious flying boat, serving successfully for Pan American Airways and the United States military. Design and de ...

amphibian flying boat, and the

Taylor Aerocar Aerocar International's Aerocar (often called the Taylor Aerocar) was an American roadable aircraft designed and built by Moulton Taylor in Longview, Washington in 1949. Although six examples were made, it never entered large-scale production. I ...

flying car, as well various warbirds and Golden Age aircraft. Other exhibits include functional replicas of the

Wright Flyer The ''Wright Flyer'' (also known as the ''Kitty Hawk'', ''Flyer'' I or the 1903 ''Flyer'') made the first sustained flight by a manned heavier-than-air powered and controlled aircraft—an airplane—on December 17, 1903. Invented and flown b ...

and its predecessor,

Octave Chanute Octave Chanute (February 18, 1832 – November 23, 1910) was a French-American civil engineer and aviation pioneer. He provided many budding enthusiasts, including the Wright brothers, with help and advice, and helped to publicize their flying ...

's hang glider, French and German

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 ...

fighters, Lindbergh's Ryan NYP "

Spirit of St. Louis The ''Spirit of St. Louis'' (formally the Ryan NYP, registration: N-X-211) is the custom-built, single-engine, single-seat, high-wing monoplane that was flown by Charles Lindbergh on May 20–21, 1927, on the first solo nonstop transatlant ...

" replica (flown in the movie), and a replica of the historic

Laird Super Solution The Laird LC-DW300 and LC-DW500 Super Solution aka "Sky Buzzard" was a racing biplane built in the early 1930s by Matty Laird for the Cleveland Speed Foundation, Laird was already famous in the air racing circuit. It had a large radial engine ...

1931 racer. A large section on

Burt Rutan Elbert Leander "Burt" Rutan (; born June 17, 1943) is a retired American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur noted for his originality in designing light, strong, unusual-looking, and energy-efficient air and space craft. He designed the recor ...

's aircraft includes a portion of his homebuilts, replicas of his globe-circling

Rutan Voyager The Rutan Model 76 Voyager was the first aircraft to fly around the world without stopping or refueling. It was piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager. The flight took off from Edwards Air Force Base's 15,000 foot (4,600 m) runway in the Moja ...

and the first private spacecraft,

Space Ship One SpaceShipOne is an experimental air-launched rocket-powered aircraft with sub-orbital spaceflight capability at speeds of up to 3,000 ft/s (900 m/s, 3240 km/h), using a hybrid rocket motor. The design features a unique "feathering" at ...

, crafted by Rutan's own shop. The museum has a variety of donated aircraft, including the Church Midwing,

Funk B __NOTOC__ The Funk Model B was a 1930s American two-seat cabin monoplane designed by Howard and Joe Funk. Originally built by the Akron Aircraft Company later renamed Funk Aircraft Company. Development The Model B was the first powered aircra ...

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 ...

, and many homebuilt and

kitplane Homebuilt aircraft, also known as amateur-built aircraft or kit planes, are constructed by persons for whom this is not a professional activity. These aircraft may be constructed from "scratch", from plans, or from assembly kits.Armstrong, Kenn ...

aircraft (some foreign)—many built by the original designers. Notable homebuilts on display consist of Van's Aircraft's

Van's RV-3 The Van's RV-3 is a single-seat, single-engine, low-wing kit aircraft sold by Van's Aircraft.Vandermeullen, Richard: ''2012 Kit Aircraft Buyer's Guide'', Kitplanes, Volume 28, Number 12, December 2011, page 74. Belvoir Publications. Unlike m ...

, designed by

Richard VanGrunsven Richard E. "Dick" VanGrunsven (born 1939) is an American aircraft designer and kit plane manufacturer. The number of VanGrunsven-designed homebuilt aircraft produced each year in North America exceeds the combined production of all commercial ge ...

, Christen Industries'

Christen Eagle II The Christen Eagle, which later became the Aviat Eagle in the mid-1990s, is an aerobatic sporting biplane aircraft that has been produced in the United States since the late 1970s. Design Designed to compete with the Pitts Special by Frank Ch ...

, designed by Frank Christensen, and Cirrus Aircraft's first model, the Cirrus VK-30, designed by the

Klapmeier brothers The Klapmeier brothers, Alan Lee Klapmeier (born October 6, 1958) and Dale Edward Klapmeier (born July 2, 1961), are retired American aircraft designers and aviation entrepreneurs who together founded the Cirrus Aircraft, Cirrus Design Corporati ...

Pioneer Airport

Pioneer Airport is an old grass airstrip immediately behind the museum.

Rides

Aircraft rides are offered through various EAA programs at the Museum's Pioneer Airport, or at the adjoining Wittman Field, especially during AirVenture Fly-In and Airshow, typically in late summer.

Ford Tri-Motor rides

A 1920s/1930s vintage

Ford Tri-Motor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It w ...

airliner sells rides occasionally at adjoining Wittman Field.Ford Tri-Motor Tour
topic, "Flight Experiences" section, EAA official website, as retrieved April 2, 2015 A particular program is the Fall Colors Flights, short flights to view colorful fall foliage in the area.
''Wisconsin Traveler'' Wisconsin Natural Resources magazine, October 2009, as retrieved April 2, 2015

Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress rides

The EAA's 1940s-vintage Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress World War II bomber, the ''Aluminum Overcast,'' sells rides occasionally at adjoining Wittman Field.B-17 Aluminum Overcast Tour
topic, "Flight Experiences" section, EAA official website, as retrieved April 2, 2015

Helicopter rides

Helicopter rides, typically in

Bell 47 The Bell 47 is a single-rotor single-engine light helicopter manufactured by Bell Helicopter. It was based on the third Bell 30 prototype, which was the company's first helicopter designed by Arthur M. Young. The 47 became the first he ...

("MASH") helicopters are available occasionally at adjacent Pioneer Airport, or from adjoining Wittman Field.

Children's section

The museum includes a children's section which provides extensive hands-on aviation-related exhibits and activities, most notably, a 1/2 scale

F-22 Raptor The Lockheed Martin F-22 Raptor is an American single-seat, twin-engine, all-weather stealth tactical fighter aircraft developed for the United States Air Force (USAF). As the result of the USAF's Advanced Tactical Fighter (ATF) program, th ...

model, numerous flight simulators, and a "control tower" observation platform overlooking Pioneer Airport.

Library

The EAA library has been open to EAA members since 1985.

Location

The EAA Museum is near the northwest corner of the grounds of Wittman Regional Airport, on the southeast side of the interchange connecting

Interstate 41 Interstate 41 (I-41) is a north–south Interstate Highway connecting the interchange of I-94 and U.S. Route 41 (US 41), located south of the Wisconsin–Illinois border at the end of the Tri-State Tollway in metropolitan C ...

with Wisconsin state highways 44 and 91.

References

External links

*
EAA Young Eagles website
{{authority control Experimental Aircraft Association Aerospace museums in Wisconsin Museums in Oshkosh, Wisconsin Military and war museums in Wisconsin Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums