I must admit that while I find the Smithsonian’s Udvar-Hazy to be my favorite comprehensive aeronautical museum, no place covers the history of homebuilding—and light aircraft in general—like the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. I rarely get there to look around during the week of AirVenture—aviation journalists are way too busy to disappear to the museum—but being a volunteer for various EAA national committees and councils gives me the opportunity to visit in the off-season—generally in April and November for the spring and fall board meetings.
Even better, since I am in town for the meetings and know enough people at headquarters to get easy access to the building, I usually make the museum my first stop after breakfast, giving me almost solo access to the various halls and exhibits for an hour or more. It’s almost like visiting a church between services—you have the place to yourself and can linger on any exhibit for as long as you like.
So I found myself “communing with airplanes” this week as I attended a session of the EAA Safety Committee and the annual Hall of Fame dinner. I wandered quietly among the flying machines, some of which I have flown (not just the types—the actual aircraft!), some I wish I could have had a chance to fly, and a few that represent types I might still get a chance to sample in the air. I stopped for periods of time at the carefully crafted exhibits on rib stitching and fabric covering history, fascinated by stitches I did not know (as well as ones I do). There’s a wonderfully complete display of nut plates and similar fasteners I had never noticed. And I stopped to look once again at the re-creation of Ernie Gann’s writing office.
If you have never been to the museum, but you go to AirVenture each year, you really should take the time to drop in and pick out your favorite flying machines. My tip? Go when everyone else is watching the airshow—this museum is, for me at least, a place of reverence, and should be experienced without noise and masses of people!
I attended My lsrm-a class there in 2010 and spent many breaks and lunch times to wander the displays and it was great to be able to really take the time to fully investigate all details that are easy to miss during Airventure.
I made a similar comment about the Western Antique Airplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, Oregon. I said “forget Disneyland, this is the happiest place on earth”.
I haven’t had the opportunity to visit the Udvar-Hazy center, but I got to hang out at Solver Hill as a kid.
One other feature: stone floors. We were at Airventure when the temps were well over 100 degrees, and we found that lying on the floor of the museum was the fastest way to cool off. The guard tried to argue for about a minute, but he gave up when about 50 of us lay down.
I don’t remember much of the museum, but its air conditioning is the best!