The Virginia Aviation Museum was an aviation museum in Richmond, Virginia, adjacent to Richmond International Airport (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 is a subsidiary of the Science Museum of Virginia. The current building, known as the Martha C. West Building, was originally planned to be a temporary storage facility until the actual museum building finished construction.
The museum closed June 30, 2016. The SR-71 was moved to the Science Museum of Virginia where it is on display. The remainder of the collection will be relocated and preserved, though a new location has yet be determined.
Exhibits and artifacts
(arranged chronologically by date of original manufacture)
WWI and Golden Age of Aviation
- S.P.A.D. VII, B9913, built 1917 by Mann Egerton & Company, Ltd., United Kingdom - one of 19 to Rockwell Field Pursuit Gunnery School, San Diego, California in 1918 (later NAS North Island).
- Standard E-1, no registration, built 1918, rescued from barn near Dayton, Ohio in 1950s by Sidney L. Shannon, Jr. and restored.
- Curtiss JN-4D, 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 markings, on loan from the Science Museum of Virginia.
- Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, NX237, c/n 187, built 1928 as a CH-300 Pacemaker, salvaged from a glacier by Preston Synder in 1976 and converted to CH-400 - marked as "Columbia", original of which was destroyed in hangar fire.
- Travel Air 2000, NC6282, c/n 721, built 1927.
- Fairchild FC-2W2, NX8006, c/n 140, built 1928, "Stars And Stripes" - Richard Evelyn Byrd's Arctic exploration aircraft, on loan from the National Air and Space Museum.
- Heath Super Parasol, N1926, c/n 31919, built 1928, donated by Dr. E. C. Garber, Fayetteville, North Carolina.
- Pietenpol Air Camper and Sky Scout, N9040N, c/n 410, Ford-powered homebuilt, 1928, built and donated by Charles F. Duff.
- Brunner Winkle BK Bird, c/n 2025, built 1929, on loan from Dolph Overton.
- Curtiss-Robertson J-1D Robin, NC532N, c/n 733, built 1929, restored by Francis Clore.
- Fleet Model 1, NC766V, c/n 347, built August 1930 - marked as USAAC YPT-6.
- Aeronca C-2N 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 Speedwing Model A-14D, NC12329, built 1936, on loan from Allen H. Watkins - only one known in existence.
- Vultee V-1AD Special, NC16099, c/n 25, built 1936, "Lady Peace II" - once owned by publisher William Randolph Hearst, only one known in existence.
- Fairchild Model 24-G, N19123, c/n 2983, built August 1937.
- Stinson SR-10G Reliant, NC21135, c/n 5903, built 1937 for American Airlines and marked for that carrier - on loan from the Science Museum of Virginia.
- 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, N42535, c/n 14812, built 1943.
See also
- List of aerospace museums
- Virginia Air and Space Center
References
Data from the display placards in the museum.
