Aviation Hall of Fame and Museum of New Jersey facts for kids
Lockheed L-402 Bushmaster on display in front of the museum
|
|
| Lua error in Module:Location_map at line 420: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value). | |
| Established | 1972 |
|---|---|
| Location | Teterboro, New Jersey |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder | Pat Reilly & Donald G. Borg |
The Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is a cool place to learn about New Jersey's amazing history in aviation and space. It opened in 1972.
At the museum, you can see real historic aircraft and even space equipment! There are also lots of interesting items, photos, art, and a big collection of model airplanes. If you love reading about planes, their library has over 4,000 books and many aviation videos.
The museum is located at Teterboro Airport in Teterboro, New Jersey. This airport is the oldest one still running in the Tri-State Region (that's New Jersey, New York, and Connecticut).
Contents
History of the Museum
The museum was started in 1972 by two people, Pat Reilly and Donald G. Borg. It first began in a radio tower at Teterboro Airport.
Later, in 1985, the museum moved to a bigger building nearby. Then, in 1997, it moved again to an even larger space. This allowed them to show off more awesome planes and artifacts!
Aircraft You Can See
The museum has several exciting aircraft on display. You can get up close to these historic flying machines:
- Bell 47
- Bell AH-1 Cobra
- Grumman OV-1 Mohawk
- Lockheed L-402 Bushmaster
- Martin 2-0-2
- Sikorsky HH-52 Seaguard
- You can even explore the cockpit and front seats from a Convair 880 airplane!
New Jersey's Aviation Milestones
New Jersey has played a huge role in the history of flight. Here are some cool moments from its aviation timeline:
- 1793: The first flight in the Western Hemisphere happened! A French balloonist named Jean-Pierre Blanchard flew from Philadelphia, crossed the Delaware River, and landed in Deptford Township, New Jersey. The trip took 45 minutes.
- 1830: Charles Durant from Jersey City, New Jersey became the first American to fly a balloon.
- 1863: Solomon Andrews (balloonist) from Perth Amboy, New Jersey built and flew America's first dirigible, which is like a steerable balloon.
- 1909: The Boland brothers from Rahway, New Jersey built and flew New Jersey's first airplane with fixed wings. They were also the first to fly in South America!
- 1912: The first official mail delivery by air happened! Oliver G. Simmons flew a Wright Flyer carrying mail across the Raritan Bay.
- 1921: The world's largest hangar and America's first dirigible, the USS Shenandoah, were built in Lakehurst, New Jersey.
- 1922: The huge Barling Bomber airplane was built at Teterboro Airport.
- 1926: A plane built in Teterboro, powered by a special Whirlwind engine, was the first to fly over the North Pole! This was with famous explorers Richard Byrd and Floyd Bennett.
- 1927: Charles Lindbergh flew solo across the Atlantic in his plane, the Spirit of St. Louis. It was also powered by a Whirlwind engine.
- 1928: Newark Airport opened, becoming a major hub for air travel.
- 1929: William Conrad (New Jersey) at Newark Airport became America's first air traffic controller. He helped guide planes safely.
- 1932: Amelia Earhart got ready for her famous solo flight across the Atlantic at Teterboro Airport.
- 1937: The famous German airship Hindenburg caught fire at Lakehurst Naval Air Station.
- 1945: Major Thomas McGuire from Ridgewood, New Jersey became America's second-highest scoring flying ace in World War II. He shot down 38 enemy planes!
- 1953: Charles J. Fletcher from Sussex, New Jersey invented and flew the world's first hovercraft.
- 1968: Walter M. Schirra from Oradell, New Jersey became the only astronaut to fly in all three early American spacecraft: Mercury, Gemini, and Apollo.
- 1969: Edwin Aldrin from Montclair, New Jersey was the first astronaut to land a vehicle on the Moon. He was also the second person to walk on the Moon!
- 1973: Malcolm Forbes made the first hot air balloon flight across the entire United States.
- 1984: Astronaut Kathryn Dwyer Sullivan from Paterson, New Jersey was the first woman to walk in space.
- 1994: Kenneth Johnson (pilot) and Larry Cioppi flew around the world in their Glasair monoplane.
Images for kids
-
GlideMobile inside the museum
-
Wright R-2160 Tornado inside the museum
-
Bell AH-1 Cobra on display
See also
- List of aviation awards
- List of aerospace museums
- North American aviation halls of fame
