Prairie Aviation Museum

The Prairie Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located at Central Illinois Regional Airport in Bloomington, Illinois.

Prairie Aviation Museum

Location within Illinois
Location	Bloomington, Illinois
Coordinates	40.488°N 88.926°W / 40.488; -88.926
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Norm Wingler
Website	www.prairieaviationmuseum.org

History

In 1982, a group of aviation enthusiasts led by Norm Wingler established the Gooney Bird Chapter of the Heritage in Flight Museum with the goal of acquiring and restoring a Douglas DC-3. However, due to legal and financial concerns the chapter decided to form the independent Prairie Aviation Museum in 1983.^[1][2][3] The following year, the museum purchased a Douglas C-53 Skytrooper at an auction in Rockdale, Texas and flew it back to Indiana.^[4][5][6] To complement the new acquisition, construction began on a 2,592 sq ft (240.8 m²) building in 1988.^[7]

The museum opened a new exhibit featuring oral history interviews with World War II veterans in 1995.^[8]

The museum's C-53 was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1996.^[9] The historic designation was intended to help the museum qualify for funds that could be used to construct a new building.^[10]

The museum opened a Challenger Learning Center in the former airport terminal in 2003, but was forced to transfer operations to the Heartland Community College due to a financial shortfall.^[11][12][13] Further complications ensued and in 2009 the museum was forced to sell its DC-3, as it could no longer afford to maintain it in airworthy condition.^[14] The museum again began developing a focus on space in 2010 and as part of this effort renovated the building in 2015.^[15][16]

Exhibits

Exhibits at the museum include an airport beacon and a Link Trainer.^[17][18]

Collection

An A-7 and A-4 on display at the museum

• Bell AH-1J SeaCobra 157771^[19]
• Bell UH-1H Iroquois 67-17832^[20]
• Cessna 310^[21]
• Grumman F-14D Tomcat 161163^[22]
• Lockheed T-33 35979^[23][24]
• LTV A-7A Corsair II 152681^[25]
• McDonnell Douglas A-4M Skyhawk 160036^[26]
• McDonnell Douglas F-4N Phantom II 150444^[27]
• North American F-100 Super Sabre^[28]
• Northrop T-38A Talon 60-0549^[29]

See also

• List of aviation museums