Arkansas Air & Military Museum Facts for Kids

Arkansas Air & Military Museum
Exterior of the Arkansas Air & Military Museum
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Established	1986
Location	Drake Field, Fayetteville, Arkansas
Type	Aviation and military museum
Visitors	6,000 (2014)

The Arkansas Air & Military Museum is an exciting place to visit. It's an aviation and military museum located at Drake Field in Fayetteville, Arkansas. This museum is the largest aviation museum in all of Arkansas. It's a great spot to learn about planes and military history!

How the Museum Started
What You'll See at the Museum
Amazing Collections to Explore
Gallery

How the Museum Started

The museum first opened its doors in 1986. Back then, it was called the Arkansas Air Museum. In 2012, something cool happened. It joined forces with the Ozark Military Museum, which was right next door. Together, they became the Arkansas Air & Military Museum we know today.

In 2014, the museum faced some challenges. Not as many people were visiting as before. This made it harder for the museum to pay for everything. A new highway and airport opened in 1998. This meant fewer people used Drake Field, where the museum is. Because of this, the number of visitors went down quite a bit. The museum relies a lot on volunteers to help keep things running.

What You'll See at the Museum

The main building of the Arkansas Air & Military Museum is a special wooden hangar. It's one of the few buildings like it left from the 1940s. This hangar is even listed on the Arkansas Register of Historic Places! During World War II, it was a headquarters for military aviation training.

Today, the museum uses this historic hangar to display many of its aircraft. They also rent it out for events. There's a second hangar too, which holds more aircraft and vehicles. A third, smaller building shows off military aircraft, old weapons, and other cool items.

Amazing Collections to Explore

The Arkansas Air & Military Museum has a fantastic collection of aircraft. You can see planes from the 1920s all the way to modern times. Many of these are "Golden Age" racing planes. There are also military aircraft from World War I, World War II, and the Vietnam War.

Here are some of the awesome aircraft you might see:

Bell AH-1S Cobra: An attack helicopter used by the US Army.
Bell UH-1H Huey: A utility helicopter, also used by the US Army.
Boeing-Stearman NS2S: A Navy version of a military trainer plane.
Curtiss-Wright CW-1 Junior
Dassault Falcon 20: A fast executive jet.
Douglas A-4 Skyhawk: An attack aircraft from the US Navy.
Ercoupe 415C: This plane was once owned by Walmart founder Sam Walton! It was his very first aircraft.
Howard DGA-11: A general aviation aircraft from the Golden Age of aviation.
Howard DGA-18K: An open-cockpit trainer plane.
Learjet 23: An executive jet that was once the only aerobatic Lear Jet in the world. It was flown by Bobby Younkin.
Lockheed C-130 Hercules: This large plane was once used by the commander of the Arkansas Air National Guard.
LTV A-7 Corsair II: Another attack aircraft from the US Navy.
North American T-2 Buckeye: A training aircraft for the US Navy.
North American SNJ Texan: A training aircraft for the US Navy.
Piasecki H-21C Shawnee: A US Army cargo helicopter nicknamed "The Flying Banana."
Piper J-3 Cub: A popular general aviation training aircraft.
Piper Tri-Pacer: A general aviation aircraft.
Stinson Junior: Another Golden Age general aviation aircraft.
Stinson L-13 Grasshopper: A rare liaison aircraft. It was designed by Stinson Aircraft Company.
Travel Air Model R "Mystery Ship" replica

Besides planes, the museum also shows off different aircraft engines. These include a Curtiss OX-5, a Rolls-Royce Spey, and a Westinghouse J34. You can also see a 1940 Packard car and military vehicles. These vehicles include ambulances, jeeps, trucks, and even a British Ferret armored car. Plus, there are smaller military items like uniforms, helmets, and even parts of a Mitsubishi A6M Zero plane.

The museum also has special exhibits about famous aviators from Arkansas. These include Commander Richard O. Covey, Field Eugene Kindley, Captain Pierce McKennon, and Louise Thaden. Louise Thaden was a pioneering female pilot. She won the Women's Air Derby in 1929 and the Harmon Trophy in 1936.