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. The museum and the base were named after Octave Chanute, who was a railroad engineer and a pioneer in aviation (meaning he helped invent and develop flying machines). The museum celebrated Chanute's life, the history of the air base, and the story of flying in Illinois. It also used to host an exciting annual air show.
The museum had an amazing collection of over 40 aircraft. These included military fighter jets, bombers, rescue planes, scout planes, and cargo aircraft. Many of these planes were used for training at Chanute Air Force Base. Most of them were borrowed from the United States Air Force Museum. Other cool exhibits included a copy of the 1903 Wright Flyer, a big collection of Frasca Flight Simulators (machines that let you practice flying), and special displays honoring veterans who served in America's wars.
Sadly, the museum closed its doors on November 1, 2015.
Contents
History of the Museum
Chanute Air Force Base was an active military base in Rantoul from 1917 to 1993. After the base closed, people started cleaning up and changing the large area (about 2,125 acres or 8.6 square kilometers) for new uses. It was very important to the local community to find new ways to use the old base.
The Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum was one of the first new projects. It opened in 1994. The museum was located in a building called Grissom Hall. This building used to be where people learned how to maintain Minuteman missiles when the Air Force base was open. The museum kept the building mostly as it was, even showing four real Minuteman training silos.
The museum was run by a private group. People started trying to create the museum as early as 1991. They wanted to make sure the aircraft displayed at the base wouldn't be scattered when the base closed.
In April 2015, it was announced that the museum would close because it didn't have enough money. The original closing date was set for December 30, 2015, but it was later moved up to November 1, 2015. Some of the museum's exhibits found new homes in other museums in Illinois. In 2016, the museum's important historical records, like blueprints, maps, photos, and stories, were sent to the Champaign County Historical Archives. This made them available for people to study and learn from. Some aircraft stayed at the site until 2018, when they were taken apart.
Where Did the Aircraft Go?
When the Octave Chanute Aerospace Museum closed, its collection of aircraft and other items had to find new homes. Many of these planes were sent to other museums across the country, while some unfortunately had to be scrapped.
Military Aircraft and Missiles
- Many military planes, like the North American T-6 Texan and the Douglas C-47 Skytrain, were moved. Some went to places like the National Museum of the United States Air Force or the Museum of Aviation (Warner Robins).
- The North American B-25 Mitchell bomber was moved to the Southern Museum of Flight in Alabama.
- A Boeing XB-47 Stratojet, which was the second one ever built and the oldest B-47 still existing, went to the Air Force Flight Test Museum in California.
- A Convair B-58 Hustler bomber, which was damaged while staff tried to move it, eventually found a new home at the Castle Air Museum in California.
- The Boeing LGM-30A Minuteman I missile, which used to stand guard at the old base entrance, was not scrapped and can still be seen in Rantoul.
- Other aircraft, like the Grumman HU-16 Albatross and the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, were unfortunately scrapped.
- The tail section of a Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter was saved and is now on display at the McGhee Tyson Air National Guard Base in Tennessee.
Other Aircraft and Replicas
The museum also had several non-military planes and replicas:
- A replica of the Chanute 1896 Glider is now at the Indiana Dunes Visitor Center.
- The Frasca International company took back the flight simulators they had loaned to the museum.
- The fate of other aircraft, like the Aeronca 65-LB Super Chief and a Wright Flyer replica, is not widely known.
See also
- List of aerospace museums
