Hoosier Air Museum
The Hoosier Air Museum was an aviation museum located at the DeKalb County Airport in Auburn, Indiana.
History
Background
The Hoosier Warbirds were founded by a group of aviation enthusiasts who met in October 1991 following the publication of a classified advertisement in a local newspaper.Establishment
The group raised money to build a hangar, which opened in October 2000. It acquired a Cadillac Fleetwood and an AH-1 in 2002.The museum acquired two airplanes, four engines and an exhibit about the 434th Fighter Squadron from the Wings of Freedom Museum in Huntington, Indiana in 2006.
Closure
Due to a lack of volunteers and difficulty accessing the site, the museum closed on 3 December 2019. Most of its exhibits were donated to Kruse Plaza, which opened the Hoosier Air Experience. However, the museum's WR-3 was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 2020.Facilities
The museum was composed of a hangar and a event hall. The latter included a library.Exhibits
The museum included exhibits about the Tuskegee Airmen, the Women Airforce Service Pilots, the Flying Tigers the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, memorabilia belonging to Robin Olds and a control tower cab.Collection
- Bell AH-1F Cobra
- Brunner-Winkle Speedbird
- Cessna T-50
- Fokker D.VII – replica
- Loving-Wayne WR-3
- Model RHC1 Helicopter
- Nieuport XI – 7/10 scale replica
- Nieuport XXIV – 3/4 scale replica
- Piper J3C Cub
- Pitts S-1 Special
- Pratt-Read LNE-1
- Stewart S-51D Mustang
- Vultee V-77