Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum facts for kids

Quick facts for kids
Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum

A Pitcairn PA-8 Mailwing inside the museum
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Established	2004
Location	1155 Easton Rd Horsham, Pennsylvania United States
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Lieutenant Commander David Ascher

The Wings of Freedom Aviation Museum in Horsham, Pennsylvania is a special place. It helps keep the history of flying alive in the Delaware Valley area. This includes remembering the important role of NAS Willow Grove, a former naval air station, and people like Harold F. Pitcairn.

The museum is run by the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association (DVHAA). This is a non-profit group. The museum first opened its doors in 2004. Inside, you can see amazing restored historic aircraft. There are also cool items like flight helmets, flight gear, air to air missiles, and Martin-Baker ejection seats. You can also see military service medals.

Museum History

The story of the museum began with Lieutenant Commander David Ascher. In May 1946, he became an aircraft maintenance officer. Soon after, he found a Curtiss TP-40N Warhawk plane. He got it from a local high school. He then put it on display at NAS Willow Grove.

Later, thanks to his hard work, an Arado Ar 196 plane was also added. Finally, in 1947, several captured planes from World War II were brought to the base. They were also put on display.

Most of these early aircraft later moved to other big museums. These included the National Air and Space Museum and the National Naval Aviation Museum. But the Delaware Valley Historical Aircraft Association was able to start a new museum. Building the new museum began in May 2002. It officially opened to the public in 2004.

The museum planned to get bigger in 2011. However, there were some old issues from when the area was a military base. These issues needed to be cleaned up first.

Amazing Aircraft on Display

The museum has many different aircraft for you to see. Some are inside the museum building. Others are displayed outside on the ground. It's a great chance to see many types of planes and helicopters up close!