And if you are lucky and you become a docent at an aviation museum, you get to share your knowledge with people from all walks of life. Most, if not all, are volunteers who donate their time and expertise to educate the public about aviation. Museums simply could not function without them.

They may volunteer at a museum once a week (or more) or work alternate weekends. They often wear a uniform of sorts, such as a polo shirt with the museum logo or a jacket or vest and have a museum ID lanyard around their neck. A great many also wear a “fun meter” button with the needle pegged to maximum.

• READ MORE: Earhart Museum to Explore Evidence Related to Aviatrix’s Disappearance

The reason? They love what they do.

As someone who spends a great deal of time at aviation museums, I can tell you they all have their own character and energy, and they all rely on volunteers to operate. Some of the volunteers bring special skills and restore airplanes to their former glory. But many more are the faces of the museum to the public—the docents. You don’t necessarily have to be a pilot, mechanic, engineer, or retired from an aviation career to be a docent—you just need to bring your enthusiasm.

EAA Aviation Museum (Oshkosh, Wisconsin)

“Storytellers are the best docents,” says Chris Henry, manager at the EAA Aviation Museum in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. “They can help make the planes pop to life and make you inspired

to learn more at home. A good docent should lead you to wonderful stories, leaving you wanting to know more and wanting to go home and research further.”

Henry notes the museum has a large cross section of society as docents coming from different walks of life and age ranges.

• READ MORE: New Museum of Flight Exhibit Explores Living in Space

“We have everything from WWII veterans to current high school kids,” he says. “It’s helpful if the docent has a passion to keep learning, and they are passionate about sharing what they learn, and they just enjoy showing people new things that they have never seen or heard before.”

Museum of Flight (Seattle)

The larger the museum, the more docents it has.

According to Brenda Mandt, docent programs supervisor at the Museum of Flight (MOF) in Seattle, the docent cadre is made up of 162 volunteers.

“Most of them work one day a week, and they work the same day and shift each week,” says Mandt.

To become a docent at the MOF, a person must take a 12-week basic training class that acquaints them with museum policy and procedures and teaches how to build a tour.

• READ MORE: Michigan Flight Museum Sells Centerpiece B-17 ‘Yankee Lady’

“Docents have a great deal of freedom to create tours that interest them most,” says Mandt.

Many of the docents either have or have had careers in aerospace or the military and often build tours around their experience.

For example, docents Jim Frank and Dave Cable are retired Navy aviators who served aboard aircraft carriers, so they know about “landing on a postage stamp.” Frank’s talk on the history of carriers is informative and entertaining, and Cable’s tour of the A-6E Intruder, the airplane that brought him home many times, and the F-14 Tomcat are quite moving and bring a smile to the face of museum visitor Jack Schoch, a retired Navy chief who served on five different carriers, including a war cruise during Vietnam aboard the USS Enterprise.

That’s one of the best parts of these tours—the docents are able to make them relatable to visitors.

Palm Springs Air Museum (California)

Requirements for docent training vary by museum.

At the Palm Springs Museum in California, the applicants are required to go through a background check and approximately 40 hours of training, “most of which can be done online,” says spokesperson Ann Greer. They also undergo on-the-job training in one of the 10 different areas of the museum.

“We have over 300 docents, and the museum is run with military precision,” says Greer. “They work four-hour shifts, [and] they may be in one of the hangars or on the hot ramp [where aircraft move] or in the library or gift shop. In the hangars we have a crew chief who keeps an eye on things, and if we want to talk to a particular docent, we have to ask the crew chief. There is a chain of command as the docents’ main job is to interact with the visitors and keep an eye on exhibits and airplanes.”

Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum (McMinnville, Oregon)

At the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum, docents in training will spend at least 50 hours under the wing of Don Bowie, a retired Air Force aviator who has been with the gallery for 26 years.

Although the facility is most famous as the location of the Howard Hughes HK-1, the flying boat famously known as the “Spruce Goose,” according to Bowie, there is a lot more going on besides that popular exhibit.”

The museum features two buildings—one houses the HK-1, and the other is devoted to the Space race. Bowie works the floor, helping visitors and docent candidates learn about the aircraft and spacecraft on display.

“You are a volunteer here, and the job has to be fun and you have to be a people person,” he says. “You meet people from all over the world.”

Bowie says the best part of being a docent is when someone comes in and asks about a specific aircraft that is special to them, and there is a docent who shares their interest.

Docent Schedules

Because docents are volunteers, they aren’t required to put in massive amounts of hours on the job, but many do because it is a labor of love. Most museums ask for a commitment of at least one day a week, and often the docents rotate working weekends.

The docent’s typical day often begins with a crew briefing before the museum doors open. This is when they learn about special events at the museum, such as school tours or corporate meetings, and when exhibits are being installed or removed.

This column first appeared in the Summer 2024 Ultimate Issue print edition.

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The late Kohn, from Brookfield, Wisconsin, spent his life behind a camera and immersed in aviation. He authored several books that were filled with his photography. Among the titles still available are The Story of the Texan (American Flight Manuals), Pilot’s Handbook for Model YB-49 Airplane, and the Armchair Aviator series. If you couldn’t make it out to the airport, curling up with one of these books could be the next best thing.

The photos and the documentation provided on each image span decades of work. The Hall of Fame is seeking to raise approximately $65,000 for the project, which includes hiring a professional preservation company to digitize the entire collection in order to make it accessible to the public through an online archive. In addition, the funds will be used to create a searchable website, educational materials, outreach activities, and museum exhibits to showcase the collection’s significance.

According to the WAHF, the aviation community has already contributed approximately 33 percent of the necessary funds as of May 10.

“We are excited to embark on this fundraising campaign to ensure that the legacy of Leo Kohn lives on,” said Dan Silvers, WAHF’s historic image preservation chair. “The digitization of this collection will not only preserve these priceless images but also make them accessible to aviation enthusiasts, historians, and researchers worldwide.”

Organizers note that special care will be taken to ensure that each image is properly identified, and described. This will include the documentation of key details such as the date, location, aircraft type, engine, and color scheme, as so many of the photographs are in black and white.

For those who would like to learn more about Kohn, who died in 2014 at age 86, there is an exhibit of his work opening at the Kelch Aviation Museum in Broadhead, Wisconsin, on June 9.

The post Wisconsin Aviation Hall of Fame Launches Photo Digitization Campaign appeared first on FLYING Magazine.

Riter spent a cold and rainy Saturday in January putting up signs he built at the museum, which is located on the east side of the airport. The museum is housed in a beige hangar, and before the signs went up, it was easy to miss when you drove by. Now there is a kiosk-style sign next to the road and two murals on planter boxes on the airside of the hangar.

The rules of the Eagle Scout project dictate it must benefit an organization outside of the Boy Scouts of America. Often scouts tie their project directly to their community, such as constructing ramps to enable accessibility to buildings, creating paths and walkways, and in the case of Riter, enhancing the visibility of a local museum.

When Riter was a senior at Raisbeck Aviation High School in Seattle, he reached out to Kyle Baxter, administrator at the Olympic Flight Museum. The museum is run by a small group of passionate volunteers, and they are always looking for assistance to enhance the experience for others.

With the help of his scout troop, Riter got to work. It took several months of planning and fundraising, and then came the big day when the signs and murals were installed.

“For the murals, I chose the L-39Z0 Albatros and UH-1H ‘Huey’,” Riter told FLYING. “I have always been impressed at how Albatros epitomizes efficiency and flexibility in training and battle, while the Huey holds sentimental value to me with its connection with both of my grandfathers who served during the Vietnam conflict. These aircraft are displayed at the museum.

“I’ve explored them across the Northwest and the U.S. I find a special charm in the smaller museums, where encounters with experts who have flown, restored, or designed the planes add an infectious enthusiasm to the experience. Their willingness to share their stories has shaped my life’s journey.”

Museum Collection

The museum houses an eclectic mix of military and civilian artifacts. Many of the items were donated or are on loan from local aviators. The facility is also available for special events and is the driving force behind an airshow in the summer.

The Olympic Flight Museum is located at 7637-A Old Highway 99 SE  in Olympia. If you fly into the airport, the museum is on the east side of Runway 17/35.

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Formerly known as the Carolinas Aviation Museum, the Sullenberger Aviation Museum is scheduled to open June 1 at 10 a.m. EDT.

“When it opens, Sullenberger Aviation Museum will be one of the world’s leading institutions honoring and exploring the wonder of flight,” the museum said in a statement. “But it’s more than just a collection of historic aircraft. Through its expanded mission, the museum will serve as a vehicle of opportunity to inspire, educate, and elevate the next generation of innovators. “

• READ MORE: Museum Spotlight: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

A primary museum focus, according to its officials, is to provide opportunities for communities traditionally underrepresented in aviation, such as women and people of color.

‘Miracle on the Hudson’

On January 15, 2009, US Airways Flight 1549 was en route from New York La Guardia Airport (KLGA) to Charlotte Douglas International Airport (KCLT) when the aircraft encountered a flock of birds while at low altitude, leading to a dual loss of engine power. Sullenberger, along with copilot Jeff Skiles, put the Airbus 320 down in the Hudson River, saving the lives of all 155 on board.

• READ MORE: Sully Hangs Up His Epaulets

The aircraft was recovered from the river and later installed in the museum location near KCLT, as many of the passengers on board the aircraft that day were en route to Charlotte.

The museum will feature three thematic areas that focus on innovation, people who have contributed to aviation, as well as the economic and cultural development of Charlotte. Aircraft on display include replicas of the Wright  Flyer and glider planes, a McDonnell F-4S Phantom II, a Douglas D-558-1 Skystreak used to test breaking the sound barrier, a Grumman F-14 Tomcat, an ERCO Ercoupe, an American Champion Citabria, and a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star. The A320 from Flight 1549 will also be on exhibit.

“Our reimagined galleries and immersive storytelling encompass much more than a new facility, as we now have the privilege to serve as a convener of opportunity, advancing equity and access to careers in aviation throughout the Carolinas and beyond,” said Stephen Saucier, president of the museum. “We look forward to welcoming curious lifelong learners of all ages through our doors in just a few short months.”

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A total of six shuttles were built. One was designed for atmospheric testing only and never went to space, and of the remaining five, two were lost during use. The Challenger was destroyed in 1986 when a solid rocket booster exploded shortly after takeoff, and the Columbia disintegrated during reentry in 2003.

The last shuttle mission took place in 2011, and then the shuttles became museum pieces—literally. Here’s where you can see these all important artifacts in aerospace history.

Shuttle Atlantis

Kennedy Space Center Visitor Complex, Merritt Island, Florida

The Atlantis is the only space shuttle displayed in spaceflight configuration. The ship is positioned parallel to the floor and rotated 40 degrees with the payload doors open and the Canadarm robotic arm deployed. The Atlantis went to space 33 times, performing resupply missions to space stations, launching satellites into orbit and conducting missions for the military, which remain classified. The Atlantis, named for an ocean-going research vessel, was the last shuttle to fly in space before the fleet was retired in 2011.

Shuttle Discovery

Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Chantilly, Virginia

Discovery was the third shuttle to fly in space, making its first flight in 1984. It served as the “return-to-flight” orbiter after the destruction of the Challenger in 1986 and the Columbia in 2003.

Discovery flew 39 missions, the most of all the shuttles, and among the most notable was the launching of the Hubble Space Telescope. In the 1985 documentary The Dream Is Alive, there are shots of Discovery on launch and landing. The orbiter was named for Henry Hudson’s Hudson Bay exploring vessel and that of British explorer Captain James Cook, the first European to visit the Hawaiian Islands, Australia, and New Zealand.

• READ MORE: A Look Back at NASA’s Shuttle Program

Shuttle Endeavour

California Science Center, Los Angeles, California

The Endeavour literally stopped traffic as it was transported to the Southern California museum in 2012. Secured on the back of a specially modified Boeing 747, the orbiter flew down the coast of California and then was transported by ground to the museum—the ground portion of the trip took three days.

The Endeavour flew 25 missions, beginning in 1992 and ending in 2011.

But you will have to wait to see this one, as Endeavour is now off display (and will be for a few more years) as preparations are made to install it in the Samuel Oschin Air and Space Center, which is under construction on the museum grounds. According to museum officials, the new facility will span several floors and allow the Endeavour to be displayed in launch configuration, mounted to real solid rocket boosters and ET-94, the last remaining flight-qualified external tank.

• Shop in Space

Shuttle Enterprise

Intrepid Sea, Air and Space Museum, New York City

Enterprise was the first space shuttle design, but it was more of a proof-of-concept vehicle used for drop tests and glide tests. It did not have a heat shield or engines, so it could not go into space.

The shuttle, which was developed in the 1970s, was going to be called Constitution, after a famous seagoing vessel, but a massive letter-writing campaign from Star Trek fans persuaded then-President Gerald Ford to change the name to Enterprise after the starship commanded by Captain James T. Kirk in the science fiction series developed by Gene Roddenberry. Roddenberry, it is said, selected the name for the starship in homage to the USS Enterprise (CV-6), the most decorated ship in the U.S. Navy during World War II.

Today, the shuttle Enterprise resides aboard another ship: the USS Intrepid, which entered service in 1943, was decommissioned in 1974 and now is a museum.

Space Shuttle Ground Trainer

Museum of Flight, King County International Airport-Boeing Field (KBFI) Seattle

Although it never went to space, the full fuselage trainer (FFT) on display at the Museum of Flight in Seattle, helped prepare astronauts for missions. The ground trainer was dismantled and three large parts were loaded on a Super Guppy and flown to Seattle while other parts were trucked in.

• READ MORE: Inside NASA’s Super Guppy

According to Ted Huetter, spokesman for the Museum of Flight, much of the ground trainer is made of plywood, but the interior includes parts that are made of the same material as the space-traveling shuttles.

The ground trainer is installed on the cradle just as it was at Johnson Space Center in Houston at the same height it would be on the landing gear. One of the exercises for the astronauts  in training was emergency egress from the cockpit via overhead windows and a rope while wearing their protective flight gear. The marks from this training are still visible on the outside of the shuttle. 

You can go into the cargo bay and look around, and you can’t go wrong with the shuttle-in-the-background selfie.

Crew Compartment, Cockpit trainer

Lone Star Flight Museum, Houston

Some of the shuttle artifacts didn’t have too far to travel when they were decommissioned by NASA. The Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston is home to Crew Compartment Trainer-2 (CCT-2), which for 18 years was one of two shuttle nose-section trainers used at Johnson Space Center. The museum also has a Shuttle Mission Simulator-Motion Base, which is a one-of-a-kind flight deck that used to be hydraulically powered when it was training astronauts. Today, museum visitors can walk up to the flight deck and see what the crew sees. Note all the checklists on display. 

Fun facts:

• Astronauts from 16 countries flew aboard the shuttles.
• Depending on the mission, it could take several years to train a shuttle crew.
• Between 1981 and 2011, a total of 135 missions were flown, all launched from Florida’s Kennedy Space Center.
• The shuttles made several trips to the International Space Station (ISS) and to Russian space station Mir nine times.

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The education department at the Lone Star Flight Museum in Houston recognized this and has deployed a cadre of aviation-themed stuffed animals strategically placed in display aircraft to help reach its younger visitors. 

Hide-and-Seek

The game begins with the children getting a handout that contains images of the stuffed animals (all have names and bios) with a note indicating they are “hiding in the hangar with the airplanes.”

• READ MORE: Spotlight on the Warhawk Air Museum

In addition to photographs of the stuffed animals, there are hints about the airplane they are on. For example, Jerry the giraffe can be found on an airplane that stands tall, has high windows, and can carry a lot to get the job done. Spoiler alert: You will find him in the cockpit of one of the first executive transports to grace the skies after World War II.

Meanwhile, Dusty the dog likes to fly his airplane low and slow.

When the children find the plush toys, they have the opportunity to read the informational display that provides details about the aircraft and its role in the history of aviation.

According to museum staff, the animal hunt is designed for first through third graders. For older museum guests, there is a game that has them looking for specific designs on aircraft.

The beauty of it is that the visitors learn about the aircraft while being entertained.

For the adults it’s equally impressive. The Fairchild on display at the museum was a 2023 EAA AirVenture Lindy Award winner. The honor represents the aviation version of an Oscar and is given to aircraft that are meticulously restored to airworthiness.

More information about the Lone Star Flight Museum may be found here.

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For the unfamiliar, Top Gun: Maverick is set 30 years after the original film. Maverick is still a naval aviator, highly decorated, but with an uncanny ability to get into just enough trouble to keep from getting promoted out of the cockpit. He is the test pilot for the hypersonic Darkstar scramjet. We’re never told explicitly what Darkstar’s mission is, but it is noted that the government wants to pull the funding for the project in part because it hasn’t yet reached the contract spec of Mach 10 (7672.691 mph).

Maverick suits up for a test flight. He is cautioned to obey the parameters of it and not to exceed Mach 9 (6,905.42 mph). But this is Maverick we’re talking about. He pushes the aircraft to Mach 10, destroying it in the process. Tom “Iceman” Kazansky, Maverick’s contemporary who has advanced in rank, saves his friend’s career by sending him to the Top Gun school at NAS North Island, where he is charged with training the next generation of naval fighter pilots while battling his inner demons—one of the nuggets is the son of his backseater, Nick “Goose” Bradshaw, who was killed in the first movie.

There is a lot of fancy flying in the movie, and it has generated hours of debate in FBOs and online from pilots and aviation enthusiasts who wonder if Darkstar is real and not the Queen Mother of a scale model movie prop.

(Reality check: The closest a piloted aircraft has come to Mach 10 is the SR-71 Blackbird designed by Lockheed’s Kelly Johnson during the Cold War that reached Mach 3.3 or 2,531.988 mph.)

According to Fred Bell, vice chairman of the Palm Spring Air Museum, Darkstar represents the sixth generation of aviation stealth technology. The conceptual design for it—not to be confused with a drone project of the same name—was created by Lockheed Martin Advanced Development Programs.

• READ MORE: Taking a Transcontinental Flight in the Hypersonic Darkstar, Virtually

Lockheed Martin Meets Hollywood

In 2017 Hollywood producers who wanted a hypersonic design for the movie approached Lockheed Martin asking for a conceptual design—could anything go that fast? They knew aviators and other “rivet counters” (the polite term for the people who pick apart aviation movies as though their parentage has been insulted) would be unmerciful in their criticism unless some effort was made to at least embrace the laws of physics and reality.

The Lockheed Martin designers came up with an aircraft that looks very much like a cross between two other of its models: the SR-71 Blackbird—SR stands for Strategic Reconnaissance—the now retired, super-fast design; and the Lockheed Martin F-35, also known as “the world’s most advanced fighter jet.”

In the movie, Darkstar has some dramatic and moving scenes. For example, on the morning of the test flight the camera pans the aircraft in sort of a walk-around and shows a skunk image on the tail. The skunk is a trademarked by Lockheed Martin ADP, which is also known as Skunk Works, because in the 1930s the company was located in Southern California next to a plastics plant that gave off a horrible stench. Super-secret aircraft were developed there, and the term “skunk works” remains synonymous with a place where such technology is developed.

Secrecy is still a big deal, even with movie airplanes. The Darkstar designers are identified only by their first names: Jim, Jason, Lucio, and Becky. According to information provided by Lockheed Martin, when the movie premiered, Jim is credited with the conceptual design. Jason and Lucio handled the task of turning the conceptual designs into a realistic aircraft model with a working cockpit. Becky, a mechanical engineer, worked with the movie team to build the Darkstar vehicle, including the functional cockpit, and kept the model structurally sound during the filming process.

This is no scale model, noted Bell.

“It measures 40-feet wide by 70-feet long,” Bell said. “It is a dagger shaped aircraft with a tremendous amount of detail. On the landing gear the serial number of the tires are stamped on the wheels. The cockpit has an articulating canopy that opens and inside you will see a Lockheed Martin Skunk Works control stick.”

The aircraft even has panel covers that read, “REMOVE BEFORE FLIGHT,” and on the tail there is the famous skunk standing confidently on its hind legs with his front paws folded on its chest. 

Darkstar belongs to Lockheed Martin. According to Bell, the company arranged to have the aircraft trucked to the museum and then its technicians and those of the museum reassembled it. When the aircraft was fully together, it was celebrated with a dual water cannon salute. It will be on display near other Lockheed Martin aircraft.

According to a spokesperson for Lockheed Martin, there are no plans to take Darkstar on the road for a tour as the size and complexity of moving it makes that untenable. If you want to see the aircraft up close, make the trip to Palm Springs to see the Darkstar Rising Experience. This includes a comprehensive design-to-cockpit tour, and talks from guest speakers as the museum explores the developments in stealth technology.

“We will have people talking about how the aircraft was created and how it was used in the movie, and will talk about stealth technology in general—where it came from and where it is going,” Bell said. “It’s no longer enough to be fast.”

Details, including ticket prices, can be found here.

The schedule is as follows:

February 24: The making of Darkstar

March 1: Behind the scenes: Darkstar comes to life, making movie magic

March 20: The next generation of stealth

March 27: The next generation of hypersonic aircraft

All viewings will take place from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. PST.

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Scheduled to debut in spring 2025, the “Boeing Milestones of Flight Hall” and “Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight” galleries will inaugurate this pivotal chapter in the museum’s overhaul. Coupled with the Lockheed Martin IMAX Theater and the museum entrance on Jefferson Drive, these openings represent a crucial step toward completing the comprehensive renovation, with additional galleries expected to follow suit in a phased approach. The museum aims to welcome visitors to most remaining galleries and public spaces by its 50th anniversary in July 2026, aligning with the United States Semiquincentennial.

The museum’s east end, now primed for exhibition installation, will showcase over 1,600 artifacts, a testament to meticulous planning and execution. These artifacts include items that have undergone conservation and restoration processes, bringing them back to life for museum visitors. The upcoming exhibitions, spanning from “At Home in Space” to “World War I: The Birth of Military Aviation,” promise an immersive exploration of aviation’s rich history.

• READ MORE: Museum Spotlight: Smithsonian National Air & Space Museum

The renovation initiative involves a comprehensive redesign of all 20 exhibition spaces, an exterior cladding face-lift, and the replacement of outdated mechanical systems. The recent completion of the stone replacement on the building facade in December marked a significant milestone in the ambitious project. 

The first phase of the renovated museum welcomed visitors in October 2022, featuring eight new and reimagined exhibitions, a planetarium, a museum store, and the Mars Café. Visitors can secure free timed-entry passes, which are needed for admission and designed to provide a high-quality, accessible experience for all.

Located at Sixth Street and Independence Avenue S.W. in Washington, the museum invites visitors to explore its exhibits daily from 10 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. EST with the exception of December 25. You can stay updated on the museum’s renovation progress and discover more about its offerings by visiting the official website, an interactive hub reflecting its commitment to transparency and engaging the public throughout this transformation.

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When a person owns an open-cockpit vintage aircraft, one of the first decisions to make is how radio communications will be addressed. You can utilize a portable battery-operated handheld radio so the instrument panel remains true to factory specs, you could eschew the legacy panel gauges and install a modern radio and the supporting electrical system in the name of safety and convenience—or you can get creative and have the best of both worlds.

The “both” option was taken by Bob and Bill Juranich. The brothers own the Gig Harbor Vintage Aero Museum at Tacoma Narrows Airport (KTIW) in Washington. The airport is Class D and located approximately 15 nm southwest of Seattle-Tacoma International Airport (KSEA). It lies beneath Class Bravo airspace and, as such, inside the Mode C veil generally requiring a transponder. Still, the most modern aircraft in the museum’s collection is a 1953 Cessna 195.

Most of the designs herald from the 1930s and ’40s, and several are ADS-B compliant, though they rolled off the assembly line decades before radios were standard equipment, transponders were in common use, and radar—the technological grandfather of ADS-B—had even been dreamed about for light aircraft. And here’s the best part—you can’t tell by looking at the aircraft that they feature this modern device. You won’t find radio or ADS-B antennae, which frankly would stick out like a frog in a punch bowl. These airplanes look like they have just rolled out of the factory in a time when you could spend the day at the movies for 5 cents, and the console cabinet radio was the centerpiece of many a living room.

“That’s because Bob Johnson, the master mechanic who has restored these aircraft, is really good about hiding things in plain sight,” says Brandon Bainbridge, the director of operations at the VAM, which is primarily located in a 12,400-square-foot hangar. The facility is part museum, part event space, part repository for Juranich family history, and part high-end pilot cave. You can picture your aviation-enthused forebearers having such a space.

That was true for the Juranichs, who grew up around civilian aviation in the Midwest. Their father, Joe, was a pilot and owned Northern Airport in Basehor, 13 miles south of Leavenworth, Kansas. The brothers Juranich took to aviation in their teens. Bob, the older brother, soloed at age 17 in a 1946 J-3 Cub. Bill—not to be outdone—bought his first airplane, a 1946 Taylorcraft, at the age of 18.

You will find the J-3 Cub, the Taylorcraft, and their father’s 1946 Piper Super Cruiser meticulously restored and on display as part of the museum collection. You can thank A&P/IA Bob Johnson for that.

• READ MORE: Six Aviation Museums Where You Can Land and Linger

A Storied WACO

The Juranichs have known Johnson for decades. He has overseen the restoration of several of the brothers’ aircraft, including the 1934 WACO YMF-3, a black and white open-cockpit biplane that some describe as the crown jewel in the VAM collection.

According to Bob Juranich, when WACO NC14080 rolled out of the factory in Troy, Ohio, it was destined to be a rich man’s toy. The Great Depression was underway, and the only people with the money for such an expensive hobby as flying were the folks with large bank accounts or their sons and daughters. The first owner of the YMF was Philip T. Sharples, an industrialist who in 1939 also became one of the founding members of the Aircraft Owners and Pilots Association. The WACO was in Sharples’ care for about a year until he experienced a nose over. The airplane landed on its back and was damaged. The YMF went back to the factory for repairs. The next owner was Benjamin Brewster, also an industrialist— a railroad tycoon and trustee for Standard Oil.

“At the time, the aircraft was stationed at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York,” says Juranich, gesturing to a decal on the vertical stabilizer. “That’s the same airport Charles Lindbergh launched out of to fly the Atlantic in 1927.”

Brewster sold the WACO to Stephen DuPont, who kept it until the early 1940s. As the winds of war began to churn, DuPont sold the YMF to a flying service, where it was used as part of the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Then, as now, student pilots could be rough on the equipment. The WACO endured multiple student-induced damage events, including a collision with a snowbank that effectively ended its flying career for several decades. The bent and battered wreckage passed through many hands as a project until 2006, when Bob Juranich, who saw a YMF at a local fly-in and decided he wanted one, bought it from Harold Johnson in Moraine, Ohio.

For Johnson, A&P/IA (no relation to the previous owner), the WACO was the gauntlet of challenge being thrown down, as the airplane had not flown since 1943. Johnson, who has been turning wrenches since 1970, noted with some relief that the stock Jacobs L4 /R755-7 engine had been overhauled in the 1990s, and that was a big chunk of the work—so he could focus on the rest of the airplane. He paid special attention to the cockpit, which he determined needed to be aesthetically pleasing, period correct, and able to function safely in modern airspace.

A Special Update Process

The challenge with restoring panels in vintage designs to modern airworthiness, says Johnson, is that modern radios, navigation tools, and their support cables destroy the integrity of the design.

“I hate to see beautiful vintage biplanes with white wires going everywhere,” Johnson says with a cringe and shake of his head. “I always hide them behind tubing, put them in leather or use black friction tape or camouflage them in a way so they match the interior of the airplane.”

Go ahead and look in the cockpit of the YMF: You won’t see any radio, GPS, or transponder—but you will see a 1930s map case. Inside it, you find modern devices.

“It was Bob Juranich’s idea to hide them there,” says Johnson. “The map case looks like you carry it out to the airplane. There is even a leather handle on it. I painted it with crinkle paint to give it the right look.”

Several of the aircraft are equipped with ADS-B Out, although they are technically exempt because they were not originally certificated with an engine-driven electrical system, per FAR 91.215(b)(3) and 91.215(b) (5). Therefore, they need not adhere to the rule that went into effect on January 1, 2020, for flight in Class A, B, C, and D airspace where altitude-reporting transponders were required prior to that date. However, given that the museum is located at a busy Class Delta airport under a shelf of Class Bravo and surrounded by a Mode C veil, the Juranichs and Johnson agreed that ADS-B was a wise choice. But how to do it without installing a clunky antennae and ADS-B transponder?

“According to SkyBeacon, ADS-B can function through fabric,” says Johnson. “Both the Command-Aire and the WACO have ADS-B. Basically we just ziptied it to one rib and powered it with some nav-light wire as if it had been on the tail.”

The ADS-B pairs with the pilot’s iPad in the cockpit. The iPad is easily removed and stored when the airplane is on the ground on display and redeployed for flight.

Historic Renovations

ADS-B isn’t the only modern touch on the airplane, says Bainbridge. A few of the airplanes have been retrofitted with electric starters and batteries. Since the aircraft weren’t originally designed to have them, Johnson figured out a way to hide the modern conveniences. I won’t tell you where he hid them, but I will say you have to do a bit of a scavenger hunt to find the battery and switches for it on the instrument panel. Johnson has antiqued the panel so they look like original, fresh-out-of-the-factory equipment.

“In the Monocoupe, for example, the panel, which is metal, was made to look like it is made of wood,” Bainbridge says, adding that he spent the last two years of his Air Force career in Pearl Harbor working at the Pearl Harbor Aviation Museum, where the saying is “history matters.”

“That’s a theme I carry with me now. I want people to see these airplanes still fly. The Juranichs and Bob Johnson want to keep the airplanes flying, their ethos is ‘We don’t want airplanes that just collect dust.’”

Bainbridge shares this sentiment, and he’s been using his mechanic skills to make an interactive aircraft that will be a “kid-friendly” exhibit.

“It’s a Reno Racer just for kids,” he says. “I want them to flip the switches and turn on the lights and go crazy.”

This column first appeared in the August 2023/Issue 940 of FLYING’s print edition.

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Enlisted airmen and guardians represent about 80 percent of the Department of the Air Force, according to the museum.

• READ MORE: Ever Landed at an Air Force Base? Visit One with a Fly-In Aviation Museum

The new Enlisted Force exhibit, which took more than three years to compile, includes displays of more than 50 elements representing the roles of airmen throughout the Air Force’s 76-year history. On display, for example, are uniforms of airmen from 1918 to 2019 that include a World War I mechanic, World War II public affairs specialist, a Cold War-era police officer, Southeast Asia war flight engineer, aerial gunner from the Persian Gulf War, and HALO parachutist from the Global War on Terrorism.

• READ MORE: National Museum of U.S. Air Force To Add Iconic KC-135 To Collection

“Today’s Space Force is small. It’s just like the museum when it started as an engineering study collection—very small,” said John  Bentivegna, chief master sergeant of the U.S. Space Force. “But guardians are creating our Space Force history each and every day. And 100 years from now, the Enlisted [Force] exhibit in the National Museum of the U.S. Air and Space Force, will be overflowing with that history that we’re making today.”

• READ MORE: NC Aviation Museum Renamed in Honor of Capt. ‘Sully’

According to the museum, exhibits include:

• A display featuring the story of Staff Sergeant James Meredith, one of the first Black airmen to serve in an all-white squadron during WWII.
• An introduction to enlisted maintainers in the areas of aerospace propulsion, electrical systems, and weapons systems who troubleshoot urgent repairs, overhaul complex systems, and closely inspect parts.
• A display featuring a uniform worn by Sergeant Benjamin Fillinger, one of 15 airmen from Wright-Patterson Air Force Base who transferred into the U.S. Space Force in 2020. 
• A display featuring U.S. Air Force band musicians, arrangers, and audio engineers who connect the public to the service through music.

The new exhibit is open to visitors daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. EST. Admission and parking are free.

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