Air Zoo

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The Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum — generally referred to as the Air Zoo — is located just down the street from the Kalamazoo-Battle Creek International Airport and only minutes from downtown Kalamazoo in Portage, Michigan. It is the first museum of its kind in the world with its "museum-meets-indoor-amusement-park" theme. It boasts many historical and rare aircraft, including the world's only remaining SR-71B Blackbird. Many of its antique planes are airworthy.

Contents 1 History 2 List of planes on display 3 Interesting Facts 4 External links 5 References

[edit] History

The Kalamazoo Aviation History Museum was founded in 1977 under the idea that it would be: "Dedicated to preserving and displaying historical and military artifacts and to serving as a research and educational facility for this country and abroad." The doors opened on November 18, 1979 to great local acclaim, and the museum quickly developed into the tenth-largest nongovernmental aviation museum in the United States.

In 1994 the Restoration Center was added, changing the museum's role from only displaying to restoring and rebuilding old aircraft to proper working order. This helped Kalamazoo to gain credibility and to be recognized as one of the country's premier aviation attractions.

In early 1999, the moniker "Air Zoo" was adopted and as the leaders began plans for a major reconstruction. On April 25, 2003, construction began on a new 120,000-square foot facility that would double its original size and boast vintage aircraft, flight simulators, amusement rides, Smithsonian exhibitions, character actors, and a 4-D theater, which combines 3-D filmmaking with special effects such as rocking chairs and plumes of smoke simulating anti-aircraft fire. Bob Ellis, executive director for the Air Zoo, spoke with reporters when the new facility opened in April 2004:

"The new Air Zoo doesn't just teach people about history, it surrounds them with it. There will always be something new to see. Because of our partnership with the Smithsonian Institution, the Air Zoo has access to over 142 million artifacts and an endless source of world-famous traveling exhibitions."

The new building also holds a world record. The largest indoor mural greets visitors as soon as they enter with a 25,000-square foot tribute to the history of flight. Creator and aviation artist Rick Herter named the mural "Century of Flight". Tony Hendrick serves as the project's assistant artist and had this to say:

"I want people to walk inside the Air Zoo and escape to another place in time, the mural helps them do that by making the physical walls seem to disappear."

Miriel Williams, sub-contracted by Mr. Herter, completed the 168 foot "Night to Day" mural located on the wall opposite "Century of Flight". This unique mural, positioned between "Century of Flight" and a computer generated background on an adjacent wall, adds the finishing touch, and creates a stunning mystical effect.

Stuart Claxton, research manager for Guinness, was on hand to officially induct the mural into the Guinness Book of World Records, saying:

"Guinness World Records is all about celebrating ordinary, everyday people who do extraordinary things. Today we congratulate the Air Zoo and artists Rick Herter and Tony Hendrick for developing a mural that is not only breathtaking, but it also has set a Guinness World Record as the largest indoor mural."

[edit] List of planes on display

Manufacturer	Model	Popular Name	Loan Status
Aeronca	65 CA	Chief	N/A
Aeronca	O-58B	Defender (Grasshopper)	N/A
Beech	T-34	Mentor	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Bell	AH-1J	SeaCobra (HueyCobra)	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Bell	RP-39Q	Airacobra	N/A
Boeing	727	N/A	N/A
Boeing Stearman	PT-13	Kaydet	N/A
Cessna	L-19	Bird Dog	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Chance Vought	F-8J	Crusader	N/A
Curtiss (Replica)	Curtiss Model D Pusher	N/A	N/A
Curtiss (Replica)	JN-4	"Jenny"	N/A
Curtiss	P-40N	Warhawk	N/A
Curtiss	XP-55	Ascender	National Air & Space Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Douglas	A-4D	Skyhawk	N/A
Douglas	AD-4NA	Skyraider	N/A
Douglas	C-47	Skytrain / GooneyBird / Dakota	N/A
Douglas	SBD-3	Dauntless	N/A
Eastern GM (Grumman)	FM-2	Wildcat	N/A
Fairchild (Howard)	PT-23	Cornell	N/A
Fokker (Replica)	Dr.I	Triplane	N/A
Ford	5-AT	Tri-Motor	N/A
Gates	Model 23	Learjet	N/A
Goodyear (Vought)	FG-1D	Corsair	N/A
Grumman	F6F-5	Hellcat	N/A
Grumman	F7F-3P	Tigercat	N/A
Grumman	F8F-1D	Bearcat	N/A
Grumman	F-11A	Tiger	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Grumman	F-14A	Tomcat	National Museum of Naval Aviation
Grumman	OV-1D	Mohawk	N/A
Grumman	TF-9J	Cougar	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Heath	N/A	Parasol	N/A
Hiller	UH-12	N/A	Private Individual
Hiller	H-23	Raven	N/A
Hispano (Messerschmitt)	HA-1112-M1L	Buchon	N/A
Homebuilt	Avid Flyer	N/A	N/A
Homebuilt	F4U	Corsair (1/2 scale)	N/A
Homebuilt (Lockheed)	P-38	Lightning (60% replica)	N/A
Homebuilt	N/A	Longster	N/A
Homebuilt (Murphy)	N/A	Renegade Spirit	N/A
Homebuilt (Pereira)	X-28A	Air Skimmer (Osprey)	N/A
Homebuilt (Wolf)	N/A	Boredom Fighter	N/A
Howard	GH-2	Nightingale	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Laister-Kauffmann	TG-4A	Trainer Glider	Another Organization
Lockheed	F-104C	Starfighter	National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Lockheed	P-80A	Shooting Star	National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Lockheed	T-33A	Thunderbird	N/A
Lockheed	SR-71B	Blackbird	National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
Martin (Brit. Elec.)	B-57B	Canberra	National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
McDonnell Douglas	F-4E	Phantom	National Museum of the U.S. Air Force
McDonnell Douglas	F/A-18A	Hornet	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Mikoyan-Gurevich	MiG-15	Fagot (NATO designation)	N/A
Mikoyan-Gurevich	MiG-21	Fishbed (NATO designation)	N/A
Naval Aircraft Factory	N3N	Yellow Peril	National Museum of the Marine Corps
North American	AT-6G	Texan	Private Individual
North American	B-25J	Mitchell	N/A
North American	F-86F	Sabre	National Museum of the Marine Corps
North American	P-51D	Mustang (Winter Only)	Private Individual
North American	SNJ-5	Texan	N/A
North American	T-28	Trojan	N/A
North American	Boilerplate Gemini Test Vehicle	El Kabong	National Air & Space Museum/Smithsonian Institution
Piasecki	HUP-3	Retriever	National Museum of Naval Aviation
Piasecki	UH-25	Mule	National Museum of Naval Aviation
Piper	L-4H	Grasshopper(Cub)	Private Individual
Piper	J-3	Cub	N/A
Republic	F-84F	Thunderstreak	N/A
Republic	P-47D	Thunderbolt	N/A
Ryan	PT-22	Recuit	N/A
Schweizer	LNS-1 (TG-2)	Trainer Glider	National Museum of the Marine Corps
S.P.A.D.	SPAD 7	SPAD	N/A
Sopwith	F.1	Camel (fuselage only)	Private Individual
Sun	Standard G Ratio 4:1	Hang Glider	N/A
Timm	N2T-1	Tutor	National Museum of the Marine Corps
Travel Air	N/A	Mystery Ship	Private Individual
Vultee	BT-13	Valiant	National Museum of the Marine Corps
WACO (Ford)	CG-4A	Hadrian (British name)	N/A
WACO	INF	N/A	N/A
WACO	VPF-7 lN/A	N/A	N/A
Wright	N/A	Flyer (Replica)	Gilmore Car Museum, Hickory Corners, MI
Zenair	250	Zenith	N/A

[edit] Interesting Facts

• Although having not been flown in recent years all the Grumman aircraft are airworthy and during the 1990s flew together during several air show demonstrations. When this occurred it was one of the rare moments the Grumman cats were ever seen flying together, the aircraft included: the F4F Wildcat, F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F8F Bearcat, and the F-14 Tomcat.
• The McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A Hornet that is on display is a former member of the Navy's Blue Angel demonstration team.
• The Douglas SBD Dauntless on display participated in Operation Torch in Northern Africa and is credited with a near miss on the Vichy French battleship Jean Bart, and a hit on the cruiser Primauguet putting it out of commission. Following a crash landing on the Wolverine on September 19, 1943 it spent more than 50 years at the bottom of lake Michigan.
• The WACO VPF-7 was once a member of the Guatemalan Air Force.

[edit] External links

• Air Zoo official website

[edit] References

• O'Leary, Micheal. "New Aviation Museum prepares for takeoff", Air Classics, April, 2004, retrieved December 1, 2006.
• Prichard, James. "The sky's the limit for museum mural", The Associated Press, March 21, 2004, retrieved December 1, 2006.
• Prichard, James. "New Interactive Aviation Museum Has Rides", The Associated Press Online, May 1, 2004, retrieved December 1, 2006.
• "Expanded Kalamazoo Air Zoo prepares for takeoff", The Oakland Press, March 27, 2004, retrieved December 1, 2006.