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New England Air Museum

Aviation museum in Windsor Locks, Connecticut From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

New England Air Museum
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The New England Air Museum (NEAM) is an American aerospace museum located adjacent to Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut. The museum consists of three display hangars with additional storage and restoration hangars. Its collections include aircraft ranging from early flying machines to supersonic jets, as well as engines, and other pieces of flight-related equipment. Significant aircraft include

  • the Silas Brooks balloon basket - the oldest surviving American-built aircraft
  • the Sikorsky VS-44A - the sole remaining American-built commercial trans-oceanic four-engine flying boat
  • the Goodyear ZNPK-28 Blimp Control Car - one of only two surviving K-class control cars in the world.

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The museum library has approximately 6,000 aviation books, approximately 20,000 periodicals, approximately 10,000 technical manuals, approximately 21,000 photographs, nearly 8,000 slides, over 200 pieces of artwork, over 1,200 prints, and approximately 500 engineering drawing and blueprints.[4][failed verification]

The mission of the New England Air Museum is to present the story of aviation, the human genius that made it possible and the profound effects that it has had on the way in which we live.[5]

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History

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The museum began when a group of Pratt & Whitney employees formed the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association to save a biplane built by Louis Bancroft. While the airplane would later be destroyed in a fire, the group continued.[6] The first display building, an inflatable dome, was erected in 1967.[7]

In 1981, the first current building was built after a tornado destroyed the then Bradley Air Museum's previous outdoor location along Route 75 in 1979. The museum has since added a restoration hangar in 1989, a storage building in 1991, a military hangar in 1992, a 58th Bomb Wing Hangar in 2003, and a storage hangar in 2010.[8]

The museum was renovated in 2017 with the addition of a mezzanine in two of the hangars to provide views of the aircraft from above. At the same time, a new heating and air conditioning system and LED lighting were installed.[9][10]

In June 2023, the museum opened a new exhibit about the Tuskegee Airmen and received a grant to build a recording studio.[11][12] The following month it hired a new curator and collections manager.[3]

In early 2024, the museum announced plans for a new 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m2) hangar that will include a Challenger Learning Center and a digital dome to be used as a planetarium.[13][14]

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Exhibits

The main exhibition hangar

Exhibits include the history of Sikorsky Aircraft, computer-based flight simulators, and the 58th Bombardment Wing Memorial with the centerpiece being a restored B-29A. Additionally, there are exhibits on early French aviation, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Kosciuszko Squadron, New England Women in Aviation, and the 57th Fighter Group.[15][failed verification]

Aircraft on display

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B-29 Superfortress

Aircraft under restoration

Aircraft in storage

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See also

References

External links

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