 Exterior of the Arkansas Air & Military Museum | |
  Location within Arkansas | |
| Established | 1986 |
|---|---|
| Location | Drake Field,Fayetteville, Arkansas |
| Coordinates | 36°00′26″N94°10′23″W / 36.007136°N 94.172987°W /36.007136; -94.172987 |
| Type | Aviation andmilitary museum |
| Visitors | 6,000 (2014) |
| Website | www.arkansasairandmilitary.com |
TheArkansas Air & Military Museum is anaviation andmilitary museum located atDrake Field inFayetteville, Arkansas.[1] It is the largest aviation museum inArkansas.[1][2]
The museum was originally established in 1986 as the Arkansas Air Museum. In 2012, it merged with the Ozark Military Museum housed next door into the Arkansas Air & Military Museum.[3] In 2014, its board of directors noted that a decrease in visitors had resulted in the museum struggling to stay financially viable: that year, its monthly profits were roughly $5,000, compared to monthly expenses of around $7,000. Also in 2014, the museum only had one paid employee, with the remainder of its personnel consisting entirely of volunteers. According to board member Russell Smith, the museum's number of annual visitors shrunk from approximately 26,000 to 6,000 after the opening ofInterstate 540 andNorthwest Arkansas Regional Airport replaced Drake Field as the region's principal airport in 1998.[4]
The museum announced a new director in August 2020.[5]
The wooden hangar in which the Arkansas Air & Military Museum is housed is one of the few surviving such buildings from the 1940s and is listed on theArkansas Register of Historic Places;[2][6][7] it previously served as the headquarters for a military aviation training post during World War II.[6][7] The museum rents the facility as an event venue as well as displaying a variety of its aircraft there. A second hangar houses the balance of the aircraft and vehicle collection with a third smaller building housing military aircraft, small arms, and other memorabilia.
The Arkansas Air & Military Museum's collection of aircraft ranges from the 1920s to the modern era, including many Golden Age racing aircraft, as well as military aircraft dating fromWorld War I,World War II, and theVietnam War.[4][6]
Featured aircraft in the collection include.:[2][8][9][7]
In addition to aircraft, the museum also displays a variety of aviation engines, including aCurtiss OX-5, aRolls-Royce Spey, and aWestinghouse J34.[1][11] Other collections and exhibits include a 1940Packard automobile, military vehicles (including ambulances, jeeps, trucks, and a BritishFerret armored car), and smaller military artifacts (such as uniforms, helmets, and even pieces of aMitsubishi A6M Zero).[2][7][12]
Additionally, the museum features biographical exhibits on notable Arkansan aviators, including CommanderRichard O. Covey,Field Eugene Kindley, CaptainPierce McKennon, and pioneering female pilotLouise Thaden, who won theWomen's Air Derby in 1929 and theHarmon Trophy in 1936.[2][7][12]
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