Tillamook Air Museum
| Tillamook Air Museum | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Established | 1994 |
| Location | Tillamook, Oregon, United States |
| Type | Private: aerospace |
| Website | TillamookAir.com |
Tillamook Air Museum is an aviation museum located south of Tillamook, Oregon at Tillamook Airport . The museum is housed in a former military blimp hangar, called "Hangar B", which is the largest clear-span wooden structure in the world.[1]
Constructed by the US Navy in 1942 during World War II for Naval Air Station Tillamook, the hangar building housing the aircraft is 1,072 feet (327 m) long and 296 feet (90 m) wide, giving it over 7 acres (28,000 m2) of area. It stands at 192 feet (59 m) tall. The doors weigh 30 tons each and are 120 feet (37 m) tall. Hangar "B" is one of two that were built on the site originally, Hangar "A" was destroyed by fire in August,1992.[2][3]
USA Today described the Tillamook Air Museum in 2004 as "one of the country's top private World War II aircraft collections".[4] However, in April 2013, the museum announced that the part of its collection owned by Jack Erickson would be moving from Tillamook to Madras, Oregon, and all of the World War II aircraft had been removed by September 2014.[5]
In November 2014, the owners of Hangar B, the Port Of Tillamook Bay, announced that they would continue operation of the Tillamook Air Museum with the remaining collection.[6] The Museum's lease on the hangar extends to January 2016.[7]
A portion of the blimp hangar is now leased by the Hillsboro, Oregon-based American Blimp Corporation which is the largest manufacturer of blimps in the United States.
Collections
The museum features a collection of more than 15 aircraft. This is a listing of some of the more notable:
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- Douglas A-4B Skyhawk
- Fairchild GK-1
- Grumman F-14A Tomcat
- Kaman HTK -1 Helicopter
- Bell Helicopter
- Martin AM-1 Mauler
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
- Nord 1101
- Cessna 180 (One of two light aircraft that were the first to land on the North Pole)
- Erco Ercoupe 415C
- Quickie Homebuilt Aircraft
The Museum also features an exhibit hall with a large collection of rare historical wartime and aviation themed artifacts including pieces of the great German airship the Hindenburg, a WWII Luftwaffe flight jacket and a WW II Japanese Army Winter flight suit.
Aircraft formerly included
Aircraft formerly part of the museum collection included the following:
- Bellanca Air Cruiser 1938
- Boeing PT-17 Stearman
See also
- Evergreen Aviation Museum, in McMinnville, Oregon
- List of aerospace museums
- Marine Corps Air Station Tustin
- Moffett Federal Airfield
- Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon
References
- ↑ Larsen, Jeff (March 21, 2002). Short Trips: Slice of history and a wedge of cheese Seattle Post-Intelligencer. Retrieved 2008-04-24
- ↑ Tillamook Air Museum: Building
- ↑ U.S. Naval Air Station Dirigible Hangars
- ↑ 10 great places to remember World War II USA Today (June 4, 2004). Retrieved 2014-09-27.
- ↑ "Air Museum Collection Landing At Madras Airport""Bend Bulletin" (May 9, 2014). Retrieved 2015-02-20.
- ↑ "Port to assume operation of Tillamook Air Museum". Tillamook County Pioneer. November 23, 2014. Retrieved November 23, 2014.
- ↑ Tobias, Lori (May 6, 2013 (print edition of May 7, p. 1)). "Future of Tillamook blimp hangar in question as air museum prepares to move". The Oregonian. Retrieved May 8, 2013. Check date values in:
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External links
Media related to Tillamook Air Museum at Wikimedia Commons
- Photos of aircraft at Tillamook Air Museum at Airliners.net
- Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary
- Hardt, Ulrich H. "Naval Air Station Tillamook/Tillamook Air Museum". The Oregon Encyclopedia.
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Coordinates: 45°25′13″N 123°48′17″W / 45.420391°N 123.804835°W