Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum facts for kids
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LGM-30A Minuteman I
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| Established | 8 October 1994 |
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| Dissolved | 1 November 2015 |
| Location | Rantoul, Illinois |
| Type | Aviation museum |
The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum was once the biggest aviation museum in Illinois. It was located on part of the old Chanute Air Force Base in Rantoul, Illinois. Both the museum and the base were named after Octave Chanute, a famous railroad engineer and aviation pioneer.
This museum was all about Octave Chanute's life and work. It also shared the history of the former air base and aviation in Illinois. Every year, it even hosted an exciting air show.
The museum had over 40 aircraft, including military fighter jets, bombers, and rescue planes. Many of these planes were used for training at Chanute Air Force Base. Other cool exhibits included a copy of the 1903 Wright Flyer and many flight simulators. There were also special displays honoring veterans who served in America's wars.
Sadly, the museum closed its doors on November 1, 2015.
The Museum's Story
The Chanute Air Force Base was active in Rantoul from 1917 to 1993. After it closed, people started working to clean up and reuse the huge 2,125-acre area. It was very important to help the local community by finding new uses for the base.
The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum was one of the first new projects. It opened in 1994. The museum was set up in a building called Grissom Hall. This building used to be where people learned how to maintain Minuteman missiles for the Air Force. The museum kept the building mostly as it was, even showing four real Minuteman training silos.
A private group managed the museum. People started planning the museum as early as 1991. They wanted to make sure the aircraft on display at the base wouldn't be scattered after it closed.
On April 23, 2015, the museum announced it would close because it didn't have enough money. The original closing date was December 30, but it was moved up to November 1. Some of the museum's exhibits were sent to other museums in Illinois. In 2016, the museum's old records, like blueprints, photos, and videos, were sent to the Champaign County Historical Archives. This way, people can still look at them for research. Some aircraft stayed at the site until 2018, when they were taken apart.
Where Did the Aircraft Go?
After the museum closed, its collection of aircraft and other items went to different places. Many of these planes were sent to other museums across the country. Some were even taken apart.
Here are a few examples of where some of the aircraft ended up:
- A North American T-6 Texan training plane went to the National Museum of the United States Air Force in Ohio.
- A Douglas C-47 Skytrain cargo plane was taken apart.
- A North American B-25 Mitchell bomber went to the Southern Museum of Flight in Alabama.
- A North American P-51 Mustang fighter plane went to the Museum of Aviation in Georgia.
- A Boeing XB-47 Stratojet bomber, which was a very early version of the B-47, went to the Air Force Flight Test Museum in California. It's waiting to be restored.
- A McDonnell F-101 Voodoo fighter jet was supposed to go to Alabama but was still seen at the old museum site in 2018.
- A Lockheed C-130 Hercules transport plane, which was going to be scrapped, found a new home at the Museum of Missouri Military History.
- A Convair B-58 Hustler bomber, which was damaged at the museum, was moved to the Castle Air Museum in California.
- A General Dynamics F-111 Aardvark fighter-bomber went to the Waukegan National Airport in Illinois and was restored.
- A Boeing LGM-30A Minuteman I missile, which was a gate guard, was not scrapped and can still be seen in Rantoul.
- A Douglas A-4 Skyhawk Navy plane went to the MAPS Air Museum in Ohio.
- A Lockheed EC-121 Warning Star radar plane went to the Yankee Air Museum in Michigan, waiting to be restored.
Other Aircraft and Replicas
The museum also had other types of aircraft and replicas:
- An Aeronca 65-LB Super Chief (a small plane)
- An American Aerolights Eagle ultralight (a very light aircraft)
- A copy of the Chanute 1896 Glider
- A copy of the Curtiss JN-4D Jenny (an old biplane)
- A Foose Tigercat
- A Mong Sport biplane
- A Piper PA-22-135 Tri-Pacer (another small plane)
- A copy of the Wright Flyer (the first successful airplane)
The flight simulators that were on loan from Frasca International in Urbana, Illinois were returned to them.
See also
- List of aerospace museums
