Hill Aerospace Museum, located near Ogden

Ogden, Utah

Ogden is a city in Weber County, Utah, United States. Ogden serves as the county seat of Weber County. The population was 82,825 according to the 2010 Census. The city served as a major railway hub through much of its history, and still handles a great deal of freight rail traffic which makes it a...

, Utah

Utah

Utah is a state in the Western United States. It was the 45th state to join the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80% of Utah's 2,763,885 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering on Salt Lake City. This leaves vast expanses of the state nearly uninhabited, making the population the...

, is a U.S. Air Force museum that is part of the United States Air Force Heritage Program.

The museum, founded in 1981 and moved to its current location in 1991, displays over 90 aircraft

Aircraft

An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air, or, in general, the atmosphere of a planet. An aircraft counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines.Although...

 from around the world, in addition to a variety of munitions, equipment, auxiliary vehicles, and other items of historical interest.

In 1996, the Museum became the home of the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame

Utah Aviation Hall of Fame

The Utah Aviation Hall of Fame was established in 1996 to honor and recognize individuals in the State of Utah who have contributed significantly to Utah aviation...

.

The aircraft

The collection of aircraft is quite large and includes a variety of aircraft from around the world.
Among the many aircraft on display are the B-17 Flying Fortress, SR-71C Blackbird, the venerable A-10 Thunderbolt II

A-10 Thunderbolt II

The Fairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II is an American single-seat, twin-engine, straight-wing jet aircraft developed by Fairchild-Republic in the early 1970s. The A-10 was designed for a United States Air Force requirement to provide close air support for ground forces by attacking tanks,...

, and one of the first operational F-16 Fighting Falcon

F-16 Fighting Falcon

The General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon is a multirole jet fighter aircraft originally developed by General Dynamics for the United States Air Force . Designed as an air superiority day fighter, it evolved into a successful all-weather multirole aircraft. Over 4,400 aircraft have been built since...

 USAF 79-0388.

The aircraft are divided into five exhibits that focus on a specific era in the history of flight: the Beginnings, World War II, Dawn of the Jet Age, The Cold War, and Keeping the Peace.

These displays simultaneously tell the story of both aviation in general and the history of Hill AFB, giving visitors a unique perspective on the growth and evolution of Hill Airforce Base alongside developments in aircraft technology.

Research and library

In addition to its collection of aircraft from around the world, Hill also houses the Major General Rex A. Hadley Research Library and Archives, which contains a great amount of technical and historical information related to the aircraft on display. At this time, however, the library is not available to the general public.

Admission, visiting and hours of operation

Hill Aerospace Museum is open daily from 9:00am - 4:30pm and closes only on Christmas, New Years, and Thanksgiving. Admission is free.

ACE Learning Center

The Museum is also home to the ACE (aerospace center for education) Learning Center, a favorite of locals and a must-see for visitors who stop by from out of town. Founded by one paid staff member and a staff of volunteers as an educational resource for the community, the Learning Center has a become a place of discovery, particularly for children of all ages. In the Center, visitors may learn about (and experiment with!) centrifugal force, angular momentum, gyroscopes, electricity, propulsion methods, aviation, and many others. Complete with totally hands-on activities, the Learning Center is a must for any age. The Center is also home to a large collection of flight simulators which anyone may try. The Learning Center is open to the public from 9:30-3:00 pm from Tuesday through Saturday, with an hour lunch break from 12:00-1:00 pm. Educators and those bringing groups may also call ahead to schedule a field trip or a tour, request a tour guide, or request a briefing before touring the museum on their own. The telephone number is (801) 777-6818.

Location

It is located to the northwest of Hill AFB, exit 338 off Interstate 15 north.

Each year, the museum has a "Food-for-Life" day in which food is collected for local charities. Visitors that bring a non-perishable food item may climb into (or at least observe) the cockpits of many of the planes in the collection.

Other Air Force museums

See: National Museum of the United States Air Force

National Museum of the United States Air Force

The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...

 and Other USAF museums

External links

• Museum web site on the Utah Education Network
  Utah Education Network
  The Utah Education Network is a not-for-profit consortium of higher and public education, libraries, state government and business. UEN’s high speed computer network connects Utah colleges and universities as well as the state’s school districts and libraries...