Aerospace Museum of California

The Aerospace Museum of California is a private non-profit aviation museum located in North Highlands, California, outside of Sacramento, California, on the grounds of the former McClellan Air Force Base.

Aerospace Museum of California
The front entrance of the museum
Aerospace Museum of California is located in California
Aerospace Museum of California
Location within California
Former names
  • Air Force Logistics Museum of the West
  • McClellan Aviation Museum
Established1982 (1982)
LocationNorth Highlands, California, United States
Coordinates38.675099°N 121.391029°W / 38.675099; -121.391029
TypeAviation museum
FounderMaj. Gen. Sidney Novaresi[1]
Websiteaerospaceca.org

History

Founded as the Air Force Logistics Museum of the West in 1982, the name of the museum was quickly changed to the McClellan Aviation Museum less than a year later.[2][3] It was chartered by the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The McClellan Aviation Museum housed a collection of aircraft and other objects associated with the history of aviation. The museum began refurbishing an abandoned building at the base in 1983 and in 1986 it opened to the public.[4][5] In 1998, the museum was threatened with closure as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process to close McClellan Field.[6] By the end of the base closure process in 2001, the majority of the McClellan Aviation Museum collection were transferred as indefinite loan items from the U.S. Air Force to the newly formed Aerospace Museum of California.

Renaming and new facility

In 2001, it was incorporated as a non-profit organization. Difficulties for the museum continued, as even though the aircraft had been secured, it still had to vacate the land on which it was sitting. To that end, the museum looked to purchase land in Freedom Park nearby.[7][8] As work continued, the museum hired a new director, announced plans for a new facility, and changed its name to the Aerospace Museum of California in 2005.[9][10][11] On 5 January 2007, opened its new 37,500 sq ft (3,480 m2) Hardie Setzer Pavilion and 4.5 acre Air Park, enabling the museum to expand its displays to feature commercial and private aircraft, as well as aircraft used by all branches of the armed forces.[12]

Mission

The Aerospace Museum of California's mission is "to inspire students to explore, dream and discover STEM through hands-on learning."[13] The museum's goal is to "give 30,000 Sacramento kids a STEM Experience— regardless of socio-economic background". The museum "hopes to inspire our future leaders to pursue a career in future STEM industries", and its vision is "to provide an interactive STEM experience to every child, school and family in the greater Sacramento region."[13]

The museum is focused on current educational standards in science, technology, engineering, and math (S.T.E.M.) topics.

Flight Zone
Students and instructors using the Flight Zone flight simulators at the museum.

The museum's Flight Zone houses six independent stations running the X-Plane 11 flight simulator.

Visitors can “pilot” an aircraft using a professional flight simulator under the instruction of experienced flight instructors. This allows visitors to have the opportunity to practice taking off, flying, and landing virtually. The Flight Zone program is designed for students 5th to 12th grade who are interested in learning about and exploring aviation and related fields, and is also available to the general public.[14]

Exhibits

The museum has over 40 aircraft in its collection from a fully restored Fairchild PT-19 to one of the last Grumman F-14D Tomcats retired from U.S. Navy service in 2006. In addition to aircraft, the collection includes many other historic artifacts relating to Sacramento's aerospace heritage. It also houses an extensive collection of historic aircraft engines. These include examples ranging from World War I-era Gnome and Rhone rotary piston engines, large radial piston engines, and jet engines. The latter include a I-16 (1940, Whittle design), J57 #35 (1952), and J58 turbojet, used on the SR-71 Blackbird. The museum features an art gallery containing more than 50 original works, many from the Air Force Art Collection and the United States Coast Guard Art Collection.[15]

Collection

Aircraft on display
A FedEx Express Boeing 727-200 registered as N466FE on display at the Aerospace Museum of California.
A FedEx Express Boeing 727 on display at the museum
A Lockheed F-104B Starfighter on display at the museum

Engines on display
Visitors inside the exhibit hall at the museum

See also

References
  1. Dávilla, Robert D. (25 July 2007). "Maj. Gen. Sidney Novaresi Commanded at McClellan". Sacramento Bee. p. B4. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  2. Lawrence, Bill (15 August 1982). "Museum Plans Move Ahead at McClellan". Sacramento Bee. p. B8. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  3. Lawrence, Bill (13 February 1983). "Museum will Trace History of McClellan". Sacramento Bee. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  4. "Air Museum". Sacramento Bee. 3 August 1983. p. B4. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  5. "Guest Day". Neighbors. 4 September 1986. p. 8. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  6. Elliott, Theresa (26 March 1998). "Aviation Museum's Wings Clipped with McClellan's Pending Closure". Neighbors. p. 8. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  7. Werkman, Dirk (27 February 2003). "Up in the Air". Sacramento Bee. pp. G1, G3. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  8. Werkman, Dirk (19 June 2003). "Funding May Delay Aircraft Home". Sacramento Bee. pp. G1, G3. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  9. Werkman, Dirk (22 September 2005). "McClellan Aviation Museum Hires a Director". Sacramento Bee. pp. G1, G6. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  10. Werkman, Dirk (5 November 2005). "$7 Million Aerospace Museum Set to Fly". Sacramento Bee. pp. B1, B2. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  11. Werkman, Dirk; Nguyen, Dan (29 December 2005). "Steering Toward Future". Sacramento Bee. p. H3. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  12. Edgar, Sanchez (13 January 2007). "An Aerospace Museum Takes Flight". Sacramento Bee. pp. B1, B4. Retrieved 13 November 2021.
  13. "About Us". Aerospace Museum of California. 5 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  14. "Flight Zone". Aerospace Museum of California. 13 March 2019. Retrieved 29 March 2020.
  15. "About the AMC". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 2006-06-20. Retrieved 2007-07-30.
  16. "Beech UC-45J Expediter". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  17. "Airframe Dossier - Boeing 727-225, c/n 21292, c/r N466FE". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  18. "Convair F-102A Delta Dagger". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  19. "Convair F-106 Delta Dart – The Ultimate Interceptor". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  20. "Convair VC-131D Samaritan". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  21. "Douglas A-1E Skyraider". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  22. "McDonnell-Douglas A-4C Skyhawk I". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  23. "Douglas C-53D Skytrooper". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  24. "Douglas C-54D Skymaster". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  25. "Fairchild C-119G Flying Boxcar". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  26. "Airframe Dossier - Fairchild PT-19B Cornell, s/n 42-83234 USAAF, c/n T43-5821, c/r N49850". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  27. "Fairchild-Republic A-10A Thunderbolt II (Warthog)". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  28. "General Dynamics FB-111A Aardvark". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  29. "Grumman F-14D Tomcat". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  30. "Grumman HU-16B Albatross". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  31. "Grumman TS-2A Tracker". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  32. "Airframe Dossier - Percival-Hunting Aircraft Jet Provost T.3, s/n XN472 RAF, c/n PAC/W/10151, c/r N69RT". Aerial Visuals.
  33. "Lockheed EC-121D Warning Star". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  34. "Lockheed F-80B Shooting Star". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  35. "Lockheed F-104B Starfighter". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  36. "Lockheed T-33A T-Bird". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  37. "McDonnell-Douglas F-4C Phantom II". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  38. "McDonnell F-101B Voodoo". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  39. "Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17PF Fresco E". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  40. "Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21F Fishbed". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  41. "North American F-86F Sabre". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  42. "North American F-86L Dog Sabre". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  43. "North American F-100D Super Sabre". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  44. "North American T-6G Texan". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  45. "North American T-28B Trojan". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 2 November 2020.
  46. "North American T-39A Sabreliner". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  47. "Airframe Dossier - Pereira GP3 Osprey 2, c/n GP3, c/r N3GP". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  48. "Airframe Dossier - Pereira GP4, c/n 1, c/r N59GP". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  49. "Airframe Dossier - Piasecki CH-21C Shawnee, s/n 51-15886 USAF, c/n C.6, c/r N48082". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  50. "Pitts Special S-1C". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  51. "Republic F-84F ThunderStreak". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  52. "Republic F-105D Thunderchief (THUD)". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  53. "Sikorsky CH-3E Jolly Green Giant". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  54. "Taylorcraft L-2M Grasshopper". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
  55. "Vought A-7D Corsair II". Aerospace Museum of California. Archived from the original on 17 April 2016. Retrieved 3 November 2020.
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