AVIATION'S LIVING HISTORY

The museums and tours that are keeping warbirds alive and aloft!

- Matt Boyd

Every year, hundreds of airshows and flight demonstrations take place across the United States, showcasing the glory of aviation’s past. With so many choices available to enthusiasts wishing to see history come alive and take wing, we decided to provide our readers with a highlighted selection of museums and private organizations that preserve, restore, and fly classic military aircraft from every era since the dawn of fight. Some operate out of a home location, but many tour around the country to airshows—national and regional—bringing that glorious history to us. Some even offer rides in these exquisitely restored and preserved warbirds. This is by no means a comprehensive list—or even a ranking in the conventional sense. Rather, we’re offering a cross-section of some of the collections that maintain airworthy warbirds so that you can find a nearby location and experience these extraordinary machines in person.

FLIGHT TEAMS & ORGANIZATIONS

AMERICAN AIRPOWER MUSEUM

Farmingdale, NY | americanairpowermuseum.com

Located on the grounds of Republic Airport in the town of Farmingdale, New York, the American Airpower Museum might seem oddly situated by today’s standards, sitting as it does on Long Island, just a scant 30 miles from the heart of New York City. But during World War II the site was home to Republic Aviation, where more than 9,000 copies of the burly Republic P-47 Thunderbolt rolled off the assembly line and onto the very runways where the museum now stands. More than a dozen warbirds spanning WW II through the Vietnam era are on display in and around the museum's hangar. In addition, the museum offers a Flight Experience (ride) in some of its restored aircraft, including a T-6 Texan trainer, a WACO biplane, and a D-Day reenactment in its C-47 Skytrain.

CLASS OF '45