Maine Air Museum

Aviation museum located at Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine

Maine Air Museum

Location within Maine

Established| 1997 (1997)
Location| Bangor, Maine
Coordinates| 44°48′02″N 68°48′36″W﻿ / ﻿44.8006°N 68.8100°W﻿ / 44.8006; -68.8100
Type| Aviation museum
Founder| Francis L. Boyle Jr.[1]
Website| www.maineairmuseum.com

The Maine Air Museum is an aviation museum located at Bangor International Airport in Bangor, Maine.

## History

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The Maine Aviation Historical Society was founded in 1967 and reformed in 1990. The society began monthly discussions with the city of Bangor in 1997 and two years later took possession of a building at the airport.[2][3] This was followed one month later by the acquisition of a Stinson 10A from the Quonset Air Museum.[4] After several years of work, the Maine Air Museum held its grand opening on 14 June 2003.[5]

In 2007, the museum opened new exhibits about aerial firefighting during the 1947 fires on Mount Desert Island and aerial navigation in World War II.[6][7] It received a number of new exhibits in 2010, including two about the physics of flight and a rotating beacon that had been used at Bangor International Airport.[8][9] The next year, it acquired the engine and propeller of the NC-4, the first airplane to cross the Atlantic Ocean.[a][10]

## Facilities

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The museum is located in Building 98, a 7,000 sq ft (650 m2) concrete structure with 11 ft (3.4 m) thick walls which was built in 1958 to assemble air-to-air missiles as part of Dow Air Force Base.[2][4][11][12] A platform for viewing aircraft taking off and landing at the airport is attached to the side of the building.[13]

## Exhibits

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Exhibits at the museum include the airlines of Maine, military crash sites in the state, the disappearance of L'Oiseau Blanc and a 1920s aircraft mechanic's workshop.[14] Another set of displays explain aerodynamic principles.[15]

## Collection

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### Aircraft

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* Bell UH-1H Iroquois[16]
* Luscombe 8A[17]
* RotorWay Scorpion[18]
* Stinson 10A[4][14]

### Ground vehicles

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* 1944 International crash truck[14][19]

### Other

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* Link Trainer[20]
* Pratt & Whitney J57[3]

## References

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### Footnotes

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1. ^ The parts had been removed when it was being repaired after a hangar fire.

### Notes

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1. ^ "Francis L. Boyle Jr". Sun Journal. 16 September 2007. p. C4. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
2. ^ a b Moore Saucier, Roxanne (12 October 1999). "Air Museum Readied as Home for Aviation History". Bangor Daily News. p. B3. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
3. ^ a b Chichetto, Jim (January 2001), "The Maine Air Museum: The Start, Plan, and Future" (PDF), Dirigo Flyer, vol. 9, no. 1, pp. 1, 3–6, retrieved 26 December 20233-6&rft.date=2001-01&rft.aulast=Chichetto&rft.aufirst=Jim&rft_id=http://www.maineairmuseum.com/image_upload/Vol.%20IX,%20No.%201,%20January%202001.pdf&rfr_id=info:sid/en.wikipedia.org:Maine+Air+Museum" class="Z3988">
4. ^ a b c Tuttle, Jeff (15 November 1999). "Historic Plane 'Lands' at Bangor Museum". Bangor Daily News. p. B3. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
5. ^ "Maine Air Museum Plans Grand Opening". Bangor Daily News. 13 June 2003. p. B2. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
6. ^ Robbins, Toni-Lynn (4 July 2007). "Bangor Exhibit Features Vestiges of 1947 Mount Desert Island Fires". Bangor Daily News. p. B5. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
7. ^ "Maine Air Museum Presents New Exhibit". Bangor Daily News. 21–22 July 2007. p. C10. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
8. ^ "Maine Air Museum". The Weekly. 25 February 2010. p. 7. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
9. ^ "Home for a Guiding Light". The Weekly. 29 July 2010. p. 12. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
10. ^ McLaughlin, Ryan (13–14 August 2011). "Maine Air Museum Gets Historic Flight Artifacts". Bangor Daily News. p. B2. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
11. ^ "Maine Air Museum Will Open Next Year". Bangor Daily News. 24 May 2000. p. AS31. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
12. ^ Averill, Joni (9–10 August 2023). "Maine Air Museum Invites Visitors, Volunteers". Bangor Daily News. p. C4. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
13. ^ "Museum Galleries: Plane Spotting". Maine Air Museum. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
14. ^ a b c "Museum Galleries: Displays". Maine Air Museum. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
15. ^ "S.T.E.M. Projects". Maine Air Museum. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
16. ^ "Airframe Dossier - Bell-Aerospace Industrial Development Corp. UH-1H Iroquois, s/n 66-0941 USAF". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
17. ^ "Airframe Dossier - Luscombe 8A Silvaire, c/n 3452, c/r N72025". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
18. ^ "Location Dossier - Maine Air Museum". Aerial Visuals. Retrieved 26 December 2023.
19. ^ Harlow, Len (September–October 2011), "Bits & Pieces" (PDF), Dirigo Flyer, vol. 19, no. 5, retrieved 26 December 2023
20. ^ "Link Trainer Arrives" (PDF), Dirigo Flyer, vol. 11, no. 1, p. 2, January 2004, retrieved 26 December 2023

## External links

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* Official website