Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin

The Aviation Heritage Center of Wisconsin is an aviation museum located at Sheboygan County Memorial Airport in Sheboygan Falls, Wisconsin focused on aviation history in Wisconsin.

History

Background

The Sheboygan County Aviation Corporation was established in 1998 by a group from EAA Chapter 766. In March 2003, it signed a 50-year lease for a plot of land at the Sheboygan County Memorial Airport and announced plans for a "Gateway to Aviation" project to build an Aviation Welcome Center & Education Facility the following year.

Establishment

The museum held a ribbon cutting on 18 June 2005 when construction on the building was completed. However, it took another year for the exhibits to be installed before a grand opening occurred on 28 October 2006.
Following the start of a fundraising drive the year before, the museum dedicated an exhibit to Hmong pilots in September 2014.
The museum hosted an airshow for the first time in July 2016.
The museum purchased a former North Central Airlines DC-3 in 2017.

Facilities

The museum is made up of an exhibition hall, education learning lab, library, hangar and observation areas. It also includes the Kohler Conference Room, which is named for Walter J. Kohler Sr. and Walter J. Kohler, Jr., former governors of Wisconsin who used aircraft in both their public and private lives.

Exhibits

Exhibits at the museum include Wisconsin pioneers of aviation, North Central Airlines, Hmong pilots in the Vietnam War. The museum also has a set of flight simulators.

Collection

Events

The museum hosts an annual T-28 air clinic. A Wings and Wheels event sponsored by EAA Chapter 766 also takes place every Father's Day.