Airline History Museum
Encyclopedia
The National Airline History Museum is located at the Kansas City Downtown Airport
in Kansas City, Missouri
, USA.
employees.
The group began by highlighting commercial aviation in the propeller age but has since moved into the jet age with the acquisition of a Lockheed Tristar aircraft. They hope to further expand the museum's collection of vintage passenger aircraft.
In January of 2011, the Airline History Museum began its 25th year of operation, entering its silver anniversary with a new vision for the next quarter century: The museum announced a commitment to meeting or exceeding the "Characteristics of Excellence" standards established by the American Association of Museums
. To that end, the museum immediately began a reorganization plan, which included a complete rebranding effort to include a new membership structure, new website, new corporate logo, and a new exhibit structure within the museum building. Included within these plans was the addition of a deli which opened in April of 2011.
In March of 2011, the museum announced that in the continuation of its reorganization and restructure, it was being renamed the National Airline History Museum. This name change allowed it to be better positioned to receive Federal grants and other national funding. The museum announced in March, 2011 that it had teamed up with Kansas City's Roasterie Coffee Shop, with the Roasterie brand being known as "The Official Coffee of the National Airline History Museum" and carrying an image of the museum's DC-3 on its coffee products.
's built in 1951; TWA operated forty in their fleet along the U. S. east coast, while strong competitor Eastern Airlines operated the largest 4-0-4 fleet, flying sixty aircraft along that airline's eastern seaboard route, including in and around Florida. The museum's Martin 4-0-4 has not flown in years. As part of the National Airline History Museum’s reorganization plan which began in 2011, a maintenance inspection of the Martin 404 was completed in August of 2011 to determine the feasibility of returning the aircraft to flying status. The inspection found that the rumors of extensive corrosion in the aircraft and insurmountable mechanical problems were not true and a maintenance program is being developed in order to return the Martin 404 to flying condition.
("Super-Connie"), which holds the distinction of being the first Constellation ever to be fully restored to flying condition, has not been flown to airshows for several seasons. Maintenance is still on-going, with the goal being to get the Connie back in the air and then to various U. S. airshows. The aircraft has completed several successful four engine test runs and is well on the way to becoming airworthy once again. Nicknamed "Star of America", this Constellation appeared in television
and movie releases, as well as in several television commercials. It was featured in the Arts and Entertainment
cable channel documentary First Flights, narrated by Astronaut
Neil Armstrong
, and the motion picture, Voyager released in the U. S. in 1992. The Connie's interior was also used in scenes for the 1995 movie Ace Ventura When Nature Calls, starring actor Jim Carrey
. It also appeared in the 2004 movie The Aviator
, directed by Martin Scorsese
, which depicts the early years (late 1920s to the mid-1940s) of legendary film director and aviator Howard Hughes
; the film starred Leonardo DiCaprio
, Kate Beckinsale
, and Cate Blanchett
.
attraction in Anaheim, CA, Howard Hughes added a 22 feet (6.7 m) reproduction of Disney's one-third scale Moonliner, known as the TWA Moonliner II, atop the southwest corner of Kansas City's TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building
, located at 18th Street and Baltimore, near downtown Kansas City. Disneyland's TWA Moonliner was a promotional concept of what a TWA atomic-powered spaceliner would look like in the faraway year of 1986. When Hughes and Disney ended their business partnership in 1962 after Hughes sold TWA, the airline's new management removed the Moonliner II reproduction from its roof and sold it to a local travel-trailer company called SpaceCraft.
When SpaceCraft moved to Concordia, Missouri
, in 1970, the now all-white Moonliner II landed on the south side of Interstate 70
(between Kansas City and St. Louis) where SpaceCraft operated a campground. It slowly rusted on that spot for more than 25 years. In 1997 a Columbia
lawyer who collected Disney memorabilia bought the deteriorating Moonliner II. He then began a long, careful restoration process, eventually bringing it back to its 1956 condition and sporting its original red and white TWA paint scheme. It is currently on loan to the museum for display to both airliner and TWA enthusiasts. The Moonliner II is located about five miles from its original TWA rooftop location.
Tristar aircraft in the U. S., which would be used as part of their on-going airline education program. It will be a living classroom for the teaching of passenger aviation history. School groups will sit in the plane's first class section and then watch an educational video on the plane’s in-flight monitors. This L-1011 is believed to be one of a very few salvageable examples of its kind left in the U. S.
FAA approval was granted to ferry the aircraft from Roswell, NM (ROW) to Kansas City, MO (MKC). The aircraft arrived safely on January 30, 2010, shortly after 3:00pm. This aircraft first flew in 1972 under the red and white colors of hometown airline TWA. Due to its large size, it is permanently parked south of the museum's hangar at Wheeler Airport, the large tail hanging beyond the fence line surrounding the downtown airport's apron. The aircraft is currently being transformed into an educational facility to help promote interest in aviation among younger generations.
Kansas City Downtown Airport
Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport , also known as Kansas City Downtown Airport, is a public airport located in Kansas City, Clay County, Missouri, United States. This airport is publicly owned by City of Kansas City.-History:...
in Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
, USA.
History
Founded in 1986 by aviation enthusiasts Larry A. Brown and Dick McMahon, the Airline History Museum was originally known as Save-A-Connie. Brown and McMahon were joined by a number of other enthusiasts, including (then) current and former TWATwa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
employees.
The group began by highlighting commercial aviation in the propeller age but has since moved into the jet age with the acquisition of a Lockheed Tristar aircraft. They hope to further expand the museum's collection of vintage passenger aircraft.
In January of 2011, the Airline History Museum began its 25th year of operation, entering its silver anniversary with a new vision for the next quarter century: The museum announced a commitment to meeting or exceeding the "Characteristics of Excellence" standards established by the American Association of Museums
American Association of Museums
The American Association of Museums is a non-profit association that has brought museums together since its founding in 1906, helping develop standards and best practices, gathering and sharing knowledge, and advocating on issues of concern to the museum community...
. To that end, the museum immediately began a reorganization plan, which included a complete rebranding effort to include a new membership structure, new website, new corporate logo, and a new exhibit structure within the museum building. Included within these plans was the addition of a deli which opened in April of 2011.
In March of 2011, the museum announced that in the continuation of its reorganization and restructure, it was being renamed the National Airline History Museum. This name change allowed it to be better positioned to receive Federal grants and other national funding. The museum announced in March, 2011 that it had teamed up with Kansas City's Roasterie Coffee Shop, with the Roasterie brand being known as "The Official Coffee of the National Airline History Museum" and carrying an image of the museum's DC-3 on its coffee products.
Exhibits
The museum maintains five aircraft at the site; two are in flying condition and one is undergoing restoration.Martin 4-0-4
There were only 103 Martin 4-0-4Martin 4-0-4
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Andrade, John. U.S. Military Aircraft Designations and Serials since 1909. Leicester, UK: Midland Counties Publications, 1979, pp. 95, 217. ISBN 0-904597-22-9....
's built in 1951; TWA operated forty in their fleet along the U. S. east coast, while strong competitor Eastern Airlines operated the largest 4-0-4 fleet, flying sixty aircraft along that airline's eastern seaboard route, including in and around Florida. The museum's Martin 4-0-4 has not flown in years. As part of the National Airline History Museum’s reorganization plan which began in 2011, a maintenance inspection of the Martin 404 was completed in August of 2011 to determine the feasibility of returning the aircraft to flying status. The inspection found that the rumors of extensive corrosion in the aircraft and insurmountable mechanical problems were not true and a maintenance program is being developed in order to return the Martin 404 to flying condition.
Douglas DC-3
The museum's DC-3 is currently being made airworthy. One of its two engines has been overhauled, while its second is still undergoing a rebuild; the exterior and interior restoration of the aircraft is nearing completion, while the installation of new carpeting and restored seats has been completed. This Douglas DC-3-G202A, registration number NC1945, serial number 3294, was built in Santa Monica, California in February 1941. It was delivered to Transcontinental and Western Airlines at Kansas City, Missouri, on March 4, 1941, and as such resides in its original home city again.Lockheed Super "G" Constellation
The Lockheed Super "G" ConstellationLockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
("Super-Connie"), which holds the distinction of being the first Constellation ever to be fully restored to flying condition, has not been flown to airshows for several seasons. Maintenance is still on-going, with the goal being to get the Connie back in the air and then to various U. S. airshows. The aircraft has completed several successful four engine test runs and is well on the way to becoming airworthy once again. Nicknamed "Star of America", this Constellation appeared in television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and movie releases, as well as in several television commercials. It was featured in the Arts and Entertainment
Arts and Entertainment
Arts and Entertainment may refer to:* A&E Network, an American cable and satellite television network* A&E Television Networks, the cable network's parent company* Arts and Entertainment, a hip hop album by American rappers Masta Ace and Edo G....
cable channel documentary First Flights, narrated by Astronaut
Astronaut
An astronaut or cosmonaut is a person trained by a human spaceflight program to command, pilot, or serve as a crew member of a spacecraft....
Neil Armstrong
Neil Armstrong
Neil Alden Armstrong is an American former astronaut, test pilot, aerospace engineer, university professor, United States Naval Aviator, and the first person to set foot upon the Moon....
, and the motion picture, Voyager released in the U. S. in 1992. The Connie's interior was also used in scenes for the 1995 movie Ace Ventura When Nature Calls, starring actor Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
. It also appeared in the 2004 movie The Aviator
The Aviator
The Aviator is a 2004 American biographical drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by John Logan, and starring Leonardo DiCaprio. It is the story of aviation pioneer Howard Hughes, drawn largely upon numerous sources including a biography by Charles Higham.The film centers on Hughes' life...
, directed by Martin Scorsese
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film historian. In 1990 he founded The Film Foundation, a nonprofit organization dedicated to film preservation, and in 2007 he founded the World Cinema Foundation...
, which depicts the early years (late 1920s to the mid-1940s) of legendary film director and aviator Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
; the film starred Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo DiCaprio
Leonardo Wilhelm DiCaprio is an American actor and film producer. He has received many awards, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor for his performance in The Aviator , and has been nominated by the Academy Awards, Screen Actors Guild and the British Academy of Film and Television...
, Kate Beckinsale
Kate Beckinsale
Kathryn Bailey "Kate" Beckinsale is an English actress. After some minor television roles, she made her film debut in Much Ado About Nothing while still a student at Oxford University...
, and Cate Blanchett
Cate Blanchett
Catherine Élise "Cate" Blanchett is an Australian actress. She came to international attention for her role as Elizabeth I of England in the 1998 biopic film Elizabeth, for which she won British Academy of Film and Television Arts and Golden Globe Awards, and earned her first Academy Award...
.
TWA's corporate "Moonliner II" replica
In 1956 after TWA became the corporate sponsor of Disneyland's TWA MoonlinerTWA Moonliner
From 1955 through 1962, the TWA Moonliner was part of the first futuristic exhibit located in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was also an early example of modern product placement advertising by TWA's Howard Hughes teaming up with Walt Disney as the Moonliner's sponsor.At tall, it was the tallest...
attraction in Anaheim, CA, Howard Hughes added a 22 feet (6.7 m) reproduction of Disney's one-third scale Moonliner, known as the TWA Moonliner II, atop the southwest corner of Kansas City's TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building
TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building
The TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building was the corporate headquarters of Trans World Airlines until 1964, when the airline moved its headquarters to New York City; the building is located at 1735 Baltimore Avenue in downtown Kansas City, Missouri....
, located at 18th Street and Baltimore, near downtown Kansas City. Disneyland's TWA Moonliner was a promotional concept of what a TWA atomic-powered spaceliner would look like in the faraway year of 1986. When Hughes and Disney ended their business partnership in 1962 after Hughes sold TWA, the airline's new management removed the Moonliner II reproduction from its roof and sold it to a local travel-trailer company called SpaceCraft.
When SpaceCraft moved to Concordia, Missouri
Concordia, Missouri
Concordia is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Concordia is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,360...
, in 1970, the now all-white Moonliner II landed on the south side of Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
(between Kansas City and St. Louis) where SpaceCraft operated a campground. It slowly rusted on that spot for more than 25 years. In 1997 a Columbia
Columbia, Missouri
Columbia is the fifth-largest city in Missouri, and the largest city in Mid-Missouri. With a population of 108,500 as of the 2010 Census, it is the principal municipality of the Columbia Metropolitan Area, a region of 164,283 residents. The city serves as the county seat of Boone County and as the...
lawyer who collected Disney memorabilia bought the deteriorating Moonliner II. He then began a long, careful restoration process, eventually bringing it back to its 1956 condition and sporting its original red and white TWA paint scheme. It is currently on loan to the museum for display to both airliner and TWA enthusiasts. The Moonliner II is located about five miles from its original TWA rooftop location.
Lockheed L-1011 Tristar
The museum announced in April 2009 that it was acquiring one of the two remaining operational Lockheed L-1011Lockheed L-1011
The Lockheed L-1011 TriStar, commonly referred to as the L-1011 or TriStar, is a medium-to-long range, widebody passenger trijet airliner. It was the third widebody airliner to enter commercial operations, following the Boeing 747 and the McDonnell Douglas DC-10. Between 1968 and 1984, Lockheed...
Tristar aircraft in the U. S., which would be used as part of their on-going airline education program. It will be a living classroom for the teaching of passenger aviation history. School groups will sit in the plane's first class section and then watch an educational video on the plane’s in-flight monitors. This L-1011 is believed to be one of a very few salvageable examples of its kind left in the U. S.
FAA approval was granted to ferry the aircraft from Roswell, NM (ROW) to Kansas City, MO (MKC). The aircraft arrived safely on January 30, 2010, shortly after 3:00pm. This aircraft first flew in 1972 under the red and white colors of hometown airline TWA. Due to its large size, it is permanently parked south of the museum's hangar at Wheeler Airport, the large tail hanging beyond the fence line surrounding the downtown airport's apron. The aircraft is currently being transformed into an educational facility to help promote interest in aviation among younger generations.