The Aeronca Museum is an
online museum that hosts a collection of artifacts and aircraft produced by
Aeronca (the Aeronautical Corporation of America) (a.k.a. Aeronca, Inc. or Aeronca Aircraft, now Magellan Aerospace Corp.), a prominent U.S. light aircraft manufacturer from 1928 to 1951. The museum is instituted to "preserve the knowledge and history of Aeronca aircraft in the public trust" and keep it "available for future generations," with the objective "to be the premier research library for all things Aeronca."
[Aeronca Museum]
Home page
Aeronca Museum website[Trainor, Todd, Director, Aeronca Museum]
, June, 2011 on Aeronca.com[Totten, Jim]
"Rescuing a WWII bomber in Alaska
''Livingston ich.Daily Argus & Reporter'', 4-21-2013, PDF retrieved 2/27/2016.
[Harris, Richard,]
Aeronca: Birth of the Personal Plane
," ''AAHS Journal,'' Summer 2007, vol.52, #2, American Aviation Historical Society[Harris, Richard,]
Aeronca/Champion History: Beyond the Bathtub -- Chiefs, Champs & Citabrias
" from articles first appearing in ''In Flight USA,'' 2003-2004, condensed on author's website.
History
The museum began its development under President and Executive Director Todd Trainor, an aircraft restoration specialist, long involved with Aeronca planes,
[EAA]
"Todd Trainor, presenter"
EAA AirVenture 2014 Presenters, Airventure 2014 website Experimental Aircraft Association
The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is an international organization of aviation enthusiasts based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Since its inception, it has grown internationally with over 300,000 members and nearly 1,000 chapters worldwide. ...
, retrieved February 27, 2016.["Todd Trainor's Aeronca K Seaplane"](_blank)
July 19, 2010, ''Antique Airfield'' website of Antique Airplane Association
The Antique Airplane Association, Inc. (AAA) is the oldest antique airplane association in the world. The AAA formed in August 1953 by Robert L. Taylor, via a classified ad in Flying magazine and a few people with a deep-seated interest in old ai ...
and the Airpower Museum, retrieved February 27, 2016.[Cole, Dermot]
"Michigan men hope to recover WWII bomber southeast of Fairbanks"
4/4/2013, ''Fairbanks Daily News-Miner,'' Fairbanks, Alaska, retrieved February 27, 2016. and son of late Aeronca restoration expert Tom Trainor.
[Trainor, Thomas Edison, obituary](_blank)
2006-02-21, ''The Detroit News and Detroit Free Press,'' retrieved 2016-02-28
A board was formed and the organization applied for 501(C)3 non-profit certification in early 2011; it holds that status now, and is currently operating as a public information service.
At present, the artifacts are at the museum's offices in
Brighton, Michigan
Brighton is a city in Livingston County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, its population was 7,446. Brighton forms part of the South Lyon-Howell-Brighton Urban Area. It is one of two incorporated cities in Livingston County ...
, and in hangars at the
Brighton Airport, some undergoing restoration and preparation for presentation.
Currently, the museum largely serves as an archive of thousands of documents, drawings and blueprints, technical manuals and other research references related to Aeronca aircraft, and presents these online through its website, both commercially and as free-distribution information for Aeronca aircraft operators and enthusiasts.
Exhibits and artifacts
The museum is home to three complete
Aeronca K projects (including one seaplane), one flyable
Aeronca TAC, a
C-3 basket case, and a
KCA basket case, some in restoration—and over 10,000 other Aeronca artifacts and papers.
The museum has collected many documents, drawings, blueprints, manuals and other references from Aeronca, and from its successor, Magellan Aerospace, and from Aeronca enthusiasts, particularly those affiliated with the
National Aeronca Association and the
Fearless Aeronca Aviators, and makes them available through its website, at aeroncamuseum.org.
See also
*
Aeronca Aircraft
Aeronca, contracted from Aeronautical Corporation of America, located in Middletown, Ohio, is a US manufacturer of engine components and airframe structures for commercial aviation and the defense industry, and a former aircraft manufacturer. ...
*
EAA Aviation Museum
The EAA Aviation Museum, formerly the EAA AirVenture Museum (or Air Adventure Museum), is a museum dedicated to the preservation and display of historic and experimental aircraft as well as antiques, classics, and warbirds. The museum is lo ...
References
Links
Aeronca Museum- official site
Aeronca, Inc. corporate website
The Aeronca K and Aeronca Engines website(author/webmaster Todd Trainor)
National Aeronca AssociationAeronca Aviators ClubFearless Aeronca Aviators
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Virtual museums
Aerospace museums in Michigan
Archives in the United States
Business and industry archives
Aviation history of the United States