This year marks 50 years since the Pima Air and Space Museum started welcoming visitors from around the world to its indoor and outdoor exhibits to witness its massive collection of around 400 pieces of aircraft equipment.
Opened in 1976, the museum boasts one of the most well-rounded collections of aircraft in the United States, spanning more than 100 years of airplane history.
“Once we got our first permanent structure built in 1981, things settled down and we’ve been continuously growing and expanding,” said Scott Marchand, the museum’s chief executive officer.
That success wasn’t guaranteed in the early days of the museum’s existence, he said.
“This organization, from its inception, was people who had a passion and enthusiasm for the subject matter,” he said of the museum’s consistent ranking as one of the best aviation museums in the U.S.
Several of the museum’s founders were World War II veterans who lived through a large part of aviation history, he said.
Starting a museum
The idea for the museum came about in 1966 when Air Force Col. I.R. Perkin and the Tucson chapter of the Air Force Association created the Tucson Air Museum Foundation of Pima County. Its goal was to raise funds for preserving older aircraft from World War II and the 1950s, according to the museum’s website.
The museum opened to the public two months before the country’s bicentennial in 1976 and was little more than a field surrounded by fencing at the time.
Over the course of 50 years, it has expanded to house multiple hangars and exhibits. The museum has acquired even more historic aircraft and is one of the largest non-government funded aviation museums in the country.
“It helps us understand where we have come from in aviation, where we are presently and how we should advance,” said Larry Herndon, a senior curator at the museum and one of its longest serving employees.
While the museum’s focus started with air force aircrafts, the collection has expanded to include civilian aircraft, helicopters and aircraft from other branches of the U.S. military, he said.
Fifty years of airplane dreams
It’s important for kids to see the aircraft on display, said James Reinhardt, a recent visitor at the museum from San Jose, California.
“Children today don’t know what it was like to not be able to travel around the world in a couple of hours,” he said.
The museum showcases some of the earliest airplane technology such as the Wright Flyer, to some of the most groundbreaking airplane technology like the Lockheed SR-71, he said.
“Everybody has always had a fascination about flying,” he said. “For me, I’ve always dreamed about flying.”
Museums like Pima Air and Space give people the opportunity to interact and touch the different kinds of aircraft on a more intimate level than just watching or hearing about them, Reinhardt said.
As part of the museum’s 50th anniversary celebrations, it will offer a 50% discount admission for visitors who come on May 8, the day the museum opened to the public 50 years ago.
The Pima Air and Space Museum is open every day from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. from October through May and 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. from June through September. Visitors can explore the museum on their own, take part in a guided tram tour around the museum grounds, schedule a private tour and even experience what it’s like to fly a simulator.
Arizona Sonoran News is a news service of the University of Arizona School of Journalism.