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Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum
Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum logo.png
Established 2007; 18 years ago (2007)
Location Hood River, Oregon, United States
Type Aviation and automobile museum
Founder Terry Brandt

The Western Antique Aeroplane and Automobile Museum (WAAAM) is a cool place in Hood River, Oregon, United States. It's right next to the Ken Jernstedt Memorial Airport. WAAAM is a special group that works to save and teach people about old airplanes, cars, and other historic ways people traveled.

You can visit WAAAM every day from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. It's only closed on Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day. Every second Saturday of the month, WAAAM has fun activities. You might see old planes flying, cars driving, or even watch people fixing up old vehicles. The biggest event is the Hood River Fly-In. It happens every year on the first weekend after Labor Day. Many old planes and cars from all over North America come to this event!

WAAAM FlyIn Morning
A busy morning at the WAAAM Fly-In event

History of WAAAM

The museum started in 2006 as a special organization. It was founded by a collector named Terry Brandt. The museum first opened its doors in 2007 in a very large building.

When it first opened, WAAAM had 42 airplanes and 20 cars. These were all given by Terry Brandt. By September 2010, the museum had grown to 75 airplanes and over 100 cars. About 55 of these airplanes could still fly back then!

To show off all the cool vehicles, a second building was added in 2009. A third building was built in 2013, and a fourth in 2016. Today, in 2024, the museum has over 400 vehicles in its collection!

Amazing Collections

Antique Airplanes

WAAAM has a huge collection of old airplanes that can still fly. Many of them use a special type of engine called an OX-5. They also have the largest collection of planes with three-cylinder radial engines. Most of the planes are from the years 1903 to 1941. But you can also see some light planes from World War II.

Here are some of the cool airplanes you might see:

  • Aeronca 15AC Sedan - 1951
  • Aeronca C-2 - 1931
  • Boeing Boeing Model 40 - 1928
  • Cessna Model AW - 1929
  • Curtiss JN-4D Jenny - 1917
  • Curtiss-Wright P-40N "Warhawk" - 1943
  • Fairchild Aircraft PT-19B "Cornell" - 1943
  • Ford Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company 5-AT-C Ford Trimotor - 1929
  • Piper Aircraft J3 Cub - 1940
  • Ryan Aeronautical PT-22 Recruit - 1942
  • Stearman Aircraft PT-17 Kaydet (A75N1) - 1941
  • Waco Aircraft Company Waco Nine - 1925
  • Wright Brothers - 1902 Glider Replica

WAAAM is a "living history" museum. This means many of their aircraft are flown regularly. Some of these planes even go to other airshows called fly-ins!

Antique Automobiles

Antique Autos WAAAM
A display of antique cars at WAAAM

WAAAM has over 200 antique cars on display. The oldest car is an 1899 Locomobile Runabout steam car! Most of the cars are from the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. All of them can still run!

Here are some of the interesting cars in the collection:

Motorcycles

WAAAM also has a cool collection of motorcycles!

  • 1912 Indian Model D
  • 1918 Harley-Davidson 18J
  • 1923 Henderson Model K Deluxe
  • 1938 BMW R71 BY DT
  • 1947 Indian Chief
  • 1954 Cushman Eagle with Sidecar
  • 1963 Honda CA-110
  • 1975 Moto Guzzi 850-T

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Museo Occidental de Aviones y de Automóviles Antiguos para niños

  • List of aerospace museums