Valiant Air Command Warbird Museum facts for kids
The Valiant Air Command, Inc. Warbird Museum (VAC) is a cool place where you can explore amazing old airplanes! It's located at the Space Coast Regional Airport in Brevard County, near Titusville, Florida.
This museum has many different kinds of aircraft, which are also known as planes. You can see planes with fixed wings (like regular airplanes) and rotary wings (like helicopters). These planes come from different time periods, from World War I all the way up to today!
Inside the museum, there's a huge 30,000-square-foot (2,800 m2) hangar. A hangar is like a big garage for airplanes. This one also has a special area where old planes are carefully fixed up, which is called a restoration area. The museum also has a "Memorabilia Hall." This is a room filled with interesting items like old flight gear, military uniforms, and other cool artifacts from aviation history.
One of the most special planes at the museum is a Douglas C-47 Skytrain named "TICO Belle." This plane is so important that it's like the museum's main star! It was even able to fly again in July 2009 after needing some repairs.
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Discovering the Museum's History
The Valiant Air Command Museum has been working to grow and offer even more to its visitors. In 2021, the museum started a plan to expand its buildings and collections. They began raising money to help make these exciting improvements happen.
Sometimes, old airplanes need a lot of care. In March 2022, the museum had to make a tough decision. They sold a plane called a TBM Avenger because it had been damaged and needed too many repairs. This helped the museum focus on other planes in its collection.
Amazing Aircraft on Display
The museum has a fantastic collection of planes that you can see up close! These aircraft come from different eras and were used for many different purposes. It's like a journey through aviation history!
Planes You Can See Up Close
- Beechcraft RU-21A Ute
- Beechcraft T-34C Turbo Mentor
- Bell H-13 Sioux
- Bell UH-1 Iroquois
- de Havilland DH.82A Tiger Moth
- English Electric Canberra TT.18
- Douglas TA-4J Skyhawk
- Douglas C-47A Skytrain – This plane can still fly!
- Douglas SBD Dauntless
- Epps 1907 Monoplane – This is a copy of a very old plane.
- General Dynamics F-16A Fighting Falcon
- Grumman F-11F Tiger
- Grumman A-6 Intruder
- Grumman FM Wildcat
- Grumman F9F-5 Panther
- Grumman F-14A Tomcat
- Grumman OV-1C Mohawk
- Grumman S-2F Tracker
- Lockheed T-33
- Ling-Temco-Vought A-7A Corsair II
- McDonnell Douglas F-4J Phantom II
- McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Hornet
- McDonnell F-101B Voodoo
- McDonnell F-101 Voodoo
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-17
- Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21
- Nord Noralpha
- North American B-25 Mitchell
- North American F-86 Sabre
- North American F-100D Super Sabre
- North American T-2C Buckeye
- North American SNJ-5 Texan
- North American XP-82 Twin Mustang – This plane is visiting from another place.
- Piper L-4J Grasshopper
- Republic F-105 Thunderchief
- Sikorsky H-19 Chickasaw
- Northrop F-5E Shaped Sonic Boom Demonstration
- Stearman PT-17
- Stewart S-51D Mustang – This is a smaller, 3/4 scale copy.
- Stinson L-5 Sentinel
- Vought F-8K Crusader
Planes Being Fixed Up
The museum also has planes that are currently being restored. This means they are being carefully repaired and put back together so they can be displayed for everyone to enjoy.
Restoring Planes for Display
- Cessna O-2 Skymaster
- Fouga CM.170 Magister
- Grumman F-11 Tiger - This plane will be shown at the California Science Center later.
More Aviation Museums
- List of aerospace museums