Tillamook Air Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Tillamook Air Museum

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Established	1994 (1994)
Location	Tillamook, Oregon
Type	Aviation museum

The Tillamook Air Museum is a cool place in Tillamook, Oregon, USA, where you can see amazing airplanes. It is an aviation museum located south of the city. The museum is inside a giant old blimp hangar called "Hangar B." This hangar used to be part of a U.S. Navy Air Station. It is the biggest wooden building in the world without any inside supports!

History of Hangar B and the Museum

Building the Giant Hangar

The U.S. Navy built Hangar B in 1942 during World War II. It was made to hold six blimps at Naval Air Station Tillamook. This huge building is 1,072 feet (327 meters) long and 296 feet (90 meters) wide. It covers more than 7 acres (2.8 hectares) of land. The hangar stands 192 feet (59 meters) tall, which is like a 19-story building! Each of its massive doors weighs 30 short tons (27 metric tons) and is 120 feet (37 meters) tall.

Hangar B had a twin building, Hangar A. Sadly, Hangar A was destroyed by a fire on August 22, 1992.

Museum's Journey and Growth

The Tillamook Air Museum opened in 1994. For a while, some of its collection, owned by Jack Erickson, moved. This happened between April 2013 and September 2014, when those planes went to Madras, Oregon.

In November 2014, the owners of Hangar B, the Port of Tillamook Bay, decided to keep the museum running. They continued with the planes and exhibits that remained.

Later, in 2016, the Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum brought some of its aircraft to Tillamook. This added even more cool planes for visitors to see.

In 2021, the museum got a special B-52 cockpit. It was on loan from Scroggins Aviation Mockup & Effects. This allowed visitors to see inside a famous bomber plane.

In 2025, the museum announced it would be getting an HU-25 aircraft. Also in 2025, the museum started raising money to fix up its F-14 jet. In July 2025, the museum shared that it was receiving an AV-8B plane. At the end of July 2025, the Port of Tillamook suggested a study to check Hangar B for any needed repairs.

Amazing Aircraft and Exhibits

The Tillamook Air Museum has many interesting aircraft and exhibits. You can see planes from different times and learn about aviation history.

The unique Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy cargo plane.

The massive Hangar B from the outside.

Inside the Tillamook Air Museum, showing some of the aircraft.

Another view of Hangar B, home to the museum.

Aircraft on Display

The museum has a wide variety of aircraft. Here are some of the planes you can see:

Interactive Exhibits and Historical Items

Beyond the planes, the museum has many cool exhibits. You can see rare items from history, especially about wartime and aviation.

• Hindenburg Pieces: See parts of the famous German airship, the LZ-129 Hindenburg.
• Wartime Clothing: Look at a World War II German Air Force (Luftwaffe) flight jacket. Also, see a World War II Japanese Army Winter flight suit.
• Air Raid Shelter: Walk through an Anderson air raid shelter to see what it was like.
• Plane Crash Exhibit: Learn about a Curtiss SB2C Helldiver plane crash.
• Pigeon Loft: Explore a Naval Air Station Tillamook pigeon loft. Pigeons were used to carry messages!
• Virtual Reality: Experience a virtual reality journey through Hangar B's amazing architecture.

More to Explore

If you like the Tillamook Air Museum, you might also enjoy these other places:

• Evergreen Aviation Museum, in McMinnville, Oregon
• Hangar One (Mountain View, California)
• List of aerospace museums
• Marine Corps Air Station Tustin
• Moffett Federal Airfield
• Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon
• Navy Air Stations Blimps bases