New England Air Museum

Coordinates: 41°56′50″N 72°41′29″W / 41.947147°N 72.691501°W / 41.947147; -72.691501

New England Air Museum
Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA
Established	1959
Location	Windsor Locks, Connecticut
Type	Aviation Museum
Director	Michael P. Speciale
Website	http://www.neam.org/

The New England Air Museum (NEAM) is located at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA. The museum is housed in three large display buildings consisting of more than 75,000 square feet (7,000 m²) of exhibit space. In fair weather, the outside storage yard is available for touring as well.

Exhibits include the history of Sikorsky Aircraft, early war aircraft, early French aviation featuring the Lafayette Escadrille, a history of air mail, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Flying Mollisons, and the 58th Bomb Wing Memorial. A new exhibit geared toward children, KidsPort, opened on May 13, 2009. KidsPort is a joint project between NEAM and CATAVIA, LLC, an educational children's software company.

The museum is open daily 10am–5pm (except Thanksgiving, Christmas and New Year's Day). Guided group tours are available with advanced booking.

The library has books, periodicals, technical manuals and National Air and Space Museum photographs on laser disk, cataloged and available to researchers. Additional materials such as photographs, microfilm and movies are cataloged on an ongoing basis.

General information

Hours Open 7 days a week, year round, 10 a.m.-5p.m. (except Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year's Day)

Admission

• Adults (12 and up) $10
• Children (4-11) $6
• Children (up to 3) FREE
• Seniors (65 and up) $9

Directions The New England Air Museum is situated at Bradley International Airport in Windsor Locks, Connecticut, midway between Hartford, Connecticut, and Springfield, Massachusetts. Take I-91 North or South to Exit 40 (Rte 20). Take second right exit off Rte 20 onto Rte 75 North for 2.8 miles. Take left at Museum sign onto Perimeter Rd for approximately 1.5 miles. The Museum will be on the right.^[1]

Aircraft on Exhibit (partial list)

• CH-54 B 69-18465 (the prize of the museum)

• Boeing B-29A Superfortress 44-61975 - Jack’s Hack

• Chance-Vought XF4U-4 Corsair 80759 (the official state airplane of Connecticut)

• Sikorsky VS-44 "Excambian" flying boat

• North American B-25H Mitchell 43-4999 - Dog Daze

• Burnelli CBY-3 Loadmaster CF-BEL-X

• F-105D Thunderchief 57-5778

They also house a total of 66 airplanes, 26 helicopters, 8 missiles, 7 gliders, 6 balloons, 1 autogyro, 1 blimp, and 1 dirigible.

• 

  Ford T

• 

  B-29 Superfortress

Museum History

In 1981, the first current building was built after a tornado destroyed everything at the museum's previous location by Route 75 in 1979. The New England Air Museum has many one-of-a-kind exhibits, including:

• The last remaining S-44A "flying boat".

• The Silas Brooks Balloon Basket, the oldest surviving aircraft in the U.S.

• The Sikorsky S-39, the oldest surviving Sikorsky aircraft.

• A Kaman K-225 helicopter, the oldest surviving Kaman-built aircraft.

Mission

The mission of the New England Air Museum is "committed to presenting the story of aviation, the human genius that made it possible and the profound effects that it has had on the way in which we live"^[2].

References

1. ^ http://neam.org/visit/visit.asp
2. ^ http://neam.org/involved/aboutus.asp

External links

• NEAM Official Site and information
• Air Museum Photo Library Airplane Pictures/Videos and P38 and F6 airplane manuals
• New England Air Museum Photos of aircraft and aviation related exhibits at the New England Air Museum in Windsor Locks, CT