Texas Air Museum

Texas Air Museum
Established1985 (1985)[1]
Location
TypeMilitary aviation museum
FounderJohn Houston[1]
Websitetexasairmuseum.org

The Texas Air Museum is an aviation museum run by volunteers in two locations—Stinson Municipal Airport in San Antonio[2] and City of Slaton/Larry T. Neal Memorial Airport near Lubbock, Texas.[3] Texas Air Museum was founded in 1985 by John Houston in Rio Hondo.[4][5] The Slaton location opened in March 1993.[4] The Stinson Municipal Airport location opened in November 1999.

The museums are run by groups of volunteers predominantly made up of "winter Texans" and military retirees.[5][4]

The original Rio Hondo location closed on February 28, 2005 due to aging volunteer support, lower attendance,[1] and the damaging salty air of the Rio Grande Valley.[6] Its exhibits and aircraft were transferred to the other two locations.[7]

Both museums focuses on early aviation, and lesser-known aviation related to Texas and Mexico in particular. The Texas Air Museum - Stinson Chapter museum acquired a Bleriot to commemorate the Stinson family, namesakes of Stinson Municipal Airport.[8]

The Slaton museum dedicated the John Beck Hangar in June 2020.[9]

The Stinson museum acquired one PT-23A, two PT-19, and one Fairchild Swearingen Metroliner projects in October 2023.[10]

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "Saying goodbye". Valley Morning Star. February 23, 2005. pp. A9, A11 – via Newspaper Archive.
  2. ^ "Texas Air Museum - San Antonio, TX".
  3. ^ "Texas Air Museum – Preserving and sharing the history of military aviation in Slaton, TX". Retrieved 2021-03-09.
  4. ^ a b c Wischkaemper, Jay (March 2002). "The Texas Air Museum — Slaton, Texas". SW Aviator Magazine. Southwest Regional Publishing, Inc.
  5. ^ a b "About". Texas Air Museum. Archived from the original on 2003-04-17.
  6. ^ "Valley unit of Texas Air Museum closing". The Marshall News Messenger. February 11, 2005. p. 6A – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Essex, Allen (February 11, 2005). "Rio Hondo air museum flying off". Valley Morning Star. pp. A1, A7 – via Newspaper Archive.
  8. ^ "Airshow celebrates aviation contributions". Valley Morning Star. November 30, 1995. p. B6 – via Newspaper Archive.
  9. ^ McCaghren, Melissa (18 June 2020). "Airport dedicates new hangar, conducts Fly-In". The Slatonite. Retrieved 24 June 2024.
  10. ^ Davis, Vincent T. (31 October 2023). "'A hell of a good airplane': San Antonio family donates vintage aircraft to Texas Air Museum". San Antonio Express-News. Retrieved 2 November 2023.
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