Historic Flight Foundation facts for kids
Historic Flight Foundation aircraft on display.
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| Established | 2010 |
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| Dissolved | 2024 |
| Location | Felts Field, Spokane, Washington |
| Type | Aviation museum |
| Founder | John Sessions |
The Historic Flight Foundation (HFF) was an exciting aviation museum. It was located at Felts Field in Spokane, Washington. This museum collected, fixed up, and even flew old airplanes. These planes were from a special time in aviation history. This period was between 1927 and 1957. During these 30 years, airplanes changed a lot. They went from simple planes made of wood and fabric to big commercial jets.
The museum's airplanes were fully restored. This meant they could fly again! They often flew at special "Fly Days" in the summer. They also flew at the "Vintage Aircraft Weekend" in September. Sometimes, they even flew at air shows across the Western United States and Canada.
The Historic Flight Foundation also offered many educational programs. They had a STEM program for students from elementary to high school. STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math. They also taught classes about old airplanes and even offered flight training in historic aircraft. Experts from the museum often gave talks about aviation and the planes in their collection.
The HFF also worked to restore old airplanes. Some of this work happened right at the museum's hangar. Visitors could watch the mechanics fix the planes. Other restoration work was done by special companies. Two of the museum's planes won awards in 2017 for their amazing restoration work.
A Look at Its History
John T. Sessions started the Historic Flight Foundation. He began collecting the museum's aircraft in 2003. In 2006, the museum started planning a special building called a hangar. This hangar would hold all the airplanes. The HFF hangar first opened to the public in March 2010. It was located at Paine Field in Mukilteo, Washington.
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In May 2017, the museum got a de Havilland DH.89 Dragon Rapide airplane. This plane was damaged in an accident in 2018.
The museum's collection of airplanes grew very large. It needed more space than Paine Field could offer. So, the Historic Flight Foundation opened a second location. This new spot was at Felts Field in Spokane. It opened on December 17, 2019. The museum first planned to keep both locations open. But, with new commercial flights starting at Paine Field, it became difficult. So, the museum moved all its planes to Spokane in the spring of 2020. The Mukilteo location then focused on maintenance and restoration.
The museum had to close for a while because of the COVID-19 pandemic. But it was able to reopen in 2021.
By April 2024, all of the museum's aircraft had been sold. This happened because of financial issues related to the museum's founder. The museum's hangar was then used for storage. The Spokane Airport Board did not approve plans to restart the museum.
Inside the Hangar
When the Historic Flight Foundation was in Mukilteo, its planes were kept in a working hangar at Paine Field. This field is also where Boeing builds some of its large airplanes. The hangar at Felts Field in Spokane was even bigger. This allowed the museum to keep all its aircraft indoors.
At both locations, visitors could walk among the planes. They could watch mechanics work on and fix the aircraft. They could also see planes taking off and landing on the airport runways.
The museum also had other cool items. These included old military uniforms and flight suits. There were also several vintage cars and buses. One car was a 1927 Cadillac Touring Phaeton. President Franklin Delano Roosevelt rode in this car in 1934. The car collection also featured two "Jammer" touring buses. These buses were like the ones used in Yellowstone and Glacier National Parks.
Amazing Aircraft Collection
The museum had a fantastic collection of historic aircraft. Here are some of the planes that were part of their collection:
- Beech Staggerwing D17S
- Boeing-Stearman Model 75 (a silver plane used by the USAAF)
- Canadair T-33 Silver Star
- de Havilland DHC-2 Beaver (two planes, one on wheels, one on floats)
- de Havilland DH-89 Dragon Rapide
- Douglas DC-3 (painted in Pan American colors)
- Grumman F8F Bearcat
- Hamilton H-47 (the only one still able to fly)
- North American B-25D Mitchell (in RAF colors)
- North American P-51B Mustang
- North American T-6A
- Piper L-4J
- Supermarine Spitfire Mk. IXe
- Travel Air 4000
- Waco UPF-7
One special plane was the Douglas DC-3. It was built to fly over "the hump." This was a very difficult route over the Himalayan Mountains during World War II. Only 300 DC-3s were made for this purpose.
See also
- List of aerospace museums
