Come experience the Summer of Flight! Each week from May 25th through September 28th, the Military Aviation Museum will be showcasing historical events through unique tours, lectures and flight demonstrations. Hear the roar of the engines as history comes to life, experiencing vintage warbirds just as the heroes of the World Wars had.
Summer of Flight is included in your general museum admission and free for museum members. Each event starts at 1:00pm.
Flights, Aircraft and Topics subject to change. Due to inclement weather, dates may be rescheduled to a later date or canceled.
May 25, 2019
Aircraft: FG-1D CorsairSpeaker: Ed Dillingham
MAM’s Corsair was delivered in May of 1945 and spent much of its military career in storage, being one of the lowest time Corsairs known. The “Skull and Bones” livery is that of Norfolk-born Ray Beacham, who flew with the famous VF-17 in the Pacific.
June 1, 2019
Aircraft: Curtiss P-40Speaker: Skip Johnson
The MAM’s P-40 was built in 1941 and was sent to Great Britain, then on to the Soviet Union to a squadron near Murmansk where it was lost in action and restored 50 years later. It returned to the skies after extensive reconstruction in 2003.
June 8, 2019
Aircraft: AD-4 SkyraiderSpeaker: Stan Bialas
The MAM’s AD-4 Skyraider was built in 1949, and saw three tours in Korea with several squadrons. It is in the livery of LCDR “Swede” Carlson, commander of what became known as the “Dam Busters” when his squadron accomplished in Korea what B-29’s could not.
June 22, 2019
Aircraft: Boeing P-26 PeashooterSpeaker: Boom Powell
The MAM’s Boeing P-26 Peashooter replica was built completed in 2006 and is painted to represent the 1st Pursuit Group, 94th Pursuit Squadron circa 1935-36.
June 29, 2019
Aircraft: PusherSpeaker: Dave Von Rump
The 1911 Curtiss Model D “Curtiss Pusher” was an early United States pusher aircraft with the engine and propeller behind the pilot’s seat. It was among the very first aircraft in the world to be built in any quantity, all of which were produced by Curtiss during an era of trial-and-error development and equally important parallel technical development in internal combustion engine technologies.
July 6, 2019
Aircraft: P-39 Airacobra (non-flight)Speaker: Jonathan Lichtenstein
The Bell P-39 Airacobra is the newest addition to the collection of the Military Aviation Museum, and has been restored to flying condition. This flying example is particularly rare, with only three others actively flying world-wide. One of the primary American aircraft in use at the onset of WWII, this aircraft was used extensively by the Soviet Union through the Lend-Lease program.
July 13, 2019
Aircraft: Supermarine MK-1XE SpitfireSpeaker: Chris Kolakowski MacArthur Memorial
Shipped to Casablanca in 1944, the MAM’s Spitfire served in North Africa, Italy, Corsica, Greece, and Yugoslavia during the war and Italy and Israel after the war. Its final service prior to restoration was as a dilapidated playground attraction in an Israeli kibbutz.
July 13, 2019
Aircraft: Hawker HurricaneSpeaker: Chris Kolakowski MacArthur Memorial
The MAM’s Hurricane was built in 1943 as one of the 1,451 planes built in Canada, and it is almost completely in its original condition. The livery is that of Pilot Officer John Kenneth Haviland, the only U.S.-born RAF pilot who flew in the Battle of Britain that survived the war.
July 20, 2019
Aircraft: PBY-5A CatalinaSpeaker: Bill Murray
The MAM’s PBY-5A Catalina was accepted in October of 1943, and had an extensive career that took her to San Diego, Norfolk, French Morocco, Canary Islands, Gibraltar, and the Azores, but her civilian career was far more interesting.
July 27, 2019
Aircraft: Fokker D.VIISpeaker: Boom Powell
The Fokker D.VII was a German World War I fighter aircraft designed by Reinhold Platz of the Fokker-Flugzeugwerke. Germany produced around 3,300 D.VII aircraft in the second half of 1918. In service with the Luftstreitkräfte, the D.VII quickly proved itself to be a formidable aircraft.
August 3, 2019
Aircraft: ChipmunkSpeaker: Boom Powell
The MAM’s Chipmunk was built in 1952 at the de Havilland factory Broughton it was immediately assigned to RAF College Cranwell. She flew with the RAF until 1957, when she was transferred to the Army Air Corps, where she served for nearly forty years.
August 10, 2019
Aircraft: AD-4 SkyraiderSpeaker: Ed Dillingham
The MAM’s AD-4 Skyraider was built in 1949, and saw three tours in Korea with several squadrons. It is in the livery of LCDR “Swede” Carlson, commander of what became known as the “Dam Busters” when his squadron accomplished in Korea what B-29’s could not.
August 17, 2019
Aircraft: Junkers JU-52 Tante JuSpeaker: Chris Kolakowski MacArthur Memorial
The MAM’s Ju 52 was built by Spain in 1950. It carries the markings of the early war campaign in Crete. The crests on the nose are the coats of arms of the cities of Brandenburg and Hapsburg. Only seven Ju 52’s remain flyable, and the MAM’s example is the only one flying in North America.
August 24, 2019
Aircraft: Polikarpov PO-2Speaker: Boom Powell
The biplane with the largest production run in aviation history was the Po-2. An astonishing 40,000 plus were produced between 1928 – 1953. The Po-2 was a general purpose biplane that was used in military and civilian roles as a trainer, crop-duster, ground attack, and observation platform.
August 31, 2019
Aircraft: Fw 190A-8Speaker: Dave Gayton
The MAM’s Fw 190A-8 was built by a private enthusiast from a Flugwerk kit and first flew in 2010 before being acquired by the museum in 2015. This aircraft is unusual in that it is fitted with a four-bladed propeller and hub (rather than the original three-blade propeller), and has a modified cowling to fit a more modern Tupelov Tu-2 engine.
September 7, 2019
Aircraft: Fokker Dr. ISpeaker: Bernd Velling
The all-red Dr.I represents the aircraft delivered to Jasta 11 on January 8th, 1918. It was this aircraft that was flown by the “ace of aces” Baron Manfred von Richthofen the day he was killed. The “Red Baron” had 80 confirmed victories and he was the leading ace of the Imperial German Army Air Service.
September 14, 2019
Aircraft: Grumman FM-2 WildcatSpeaker: Chris Kolakowski MacArthur Memorial
The Wildcat was an American carrier-based fighter built by Grumman that entered service in 1940 with the U.S. Navy and the British Royal Navy (as the “Martlet”). In the Pacific, it was the only fighter available in the early war, and it was only with superior tactics that it achieved a 6:1 kill ratio in the first year of the war.
September 21, 2019
Aircraft: Supermarine MK-1XE SpitfireSpeaker: Linda Mathias
Shipped to Casablanca in 1944, the MAM’s Spitfire served in North Africa, Italy, Corsica, Greece, and Yugoslavia during the war and Italy and Israel after the war. Its final service prior to restoration was as a dilapidated playground attraction in an Israeli kibbutz.
September 28, 2019
Aircraft: TBDSpeaker: TBD
Stay tuned for more details.