Florida Air Museum Lakeland Florida — AVIATION HISTORY MUSEUMS

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In the summer of 1910, Walter Brookins made the first airplane flight over Chicago in a Wright Model A. Watching from the 18th floor of the First National Bank was 14-year-old E.M. “Matty” Laird. Matty’s father had died a year earlier and he had to leave school and get a job as an office boy at the bank to help support his family. The sight of the Wright plane inspired young Laird and he made up his mind on the spot that he would someday build and fly airplanes. He began immediately by drawing up plans for rubber band powered model planes, testing his creations in the lobby of the bank. The models flew well and Laird started selling them for $5 each, even selling one to the president of the bank.

In just two years, Laird had saved enough money to build his first real plane, a small monoplane. Operating out of Cicero field, Matty taught himself to fly the plane, but it wasn’t long before a friend crashed it. Using some of the parts of the crashed plane and other scrounged items, Matty next built a bi-plane, which he called the Laird Baby. He was soon hired by the airport manager to fly around the area to show people that flying was possible and safe. For the next three years, Laird barnstormed throughout the Midwest, becoming one of the best-known airshow pilots in the area, one of the first to fly a loop. After recovering from a serious accident (which made him ineligible to serve in WW-I), Laird moved to Wichita and founded the E.M.Laird Airplane Company which produced the successful Swallow models. Among his early employees were Walter Beech, Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman. After WW-II, Laird moved to Florida and became involved with promoting aviation, including a stint as president of the Early Birds of Aviation.

This exact replica of Laird’s 1913 Laird Baby is part of the collection of the Florida Air Museum. E. M. Laird is a member of the Florida Aviation Hall of Fame and he donated the Flattorp propeller from over his mantle to complete the Laird Baby reproduction.

The Florida Aviation Museum is actually part of a campus called the Aerospace Center for Excellence and the whole area originally developed around the Sun ‘N Fun airshow. The first Sun ‘N Fun was held over a weekend in 1975 and was limited to pilots and members of the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), with about 365 aircraft attending. The following year, the show was lengthened to a week with a small number of the general public invited. Over 1200 planes attended.

The show continued to grow in popularity and, early on, organizers had a vision to build a museum as part of the event. By 1986, a mini-museum appeared in the corner of Hangar A and the entire Hangar became a temporary museum in 1989. In 1992 there was a grand opening of the Sun ‘N Fun Museum which is now called the Florida Air Museum.

As you enter the campus and look for the entrance to the museum, you’ll notice construction all around. Inside, there are also signs of construction, but the building is well lighted and well organized and a pleasant venue to visit. More about the construction later.

The museum is located in one, large, purpose-built hangar, and has exhibits along three walls with planes down the middle and hanging above. The variety of displays along each side of the museum depict the rich history of flying in Florida, ranging from the science of flight, to air shows, and air racing down one side; to the military, airlines, and aerospace down the other. Each display is well designed and informative.

One of the first exhibits that you come to after entering is this array of propellers, describing the evolution of propeller construction beginning, fittingly, with a replica of a propeller from the 1903 Wright Flyer.

The exhibit progresses through a description of the advancement of wooden, and then metal props, culminating with the constant speed prop.

This cutaway explains the operation of a constant speed prop and the blades can be moved to show what happens internally as the prop is adjusted. It is attached to a Wright R-1820 radial engine, which leads right into the next exhibit: aircraft engines.

The powerplants on display range from this three-cylinder Anzani, the type that powered Bleriot on his 1909 crossing of the English Channel, to several jet engines such as this GE (Allison) J-33 which powered the Korean War vintage F-80 fighter and the T-33 trainer.

The many engines on display are all nicely restored and well-described.

When you reach the end of this row of exhibits you see a wall that is obviously blocked off for construction. The museum has done a nice job of keeping the area visually interesting during construction, displaying this 1934 Aeronca C-3 Collegiate with a Rans S-19 ultralight flying above.

Visitors are naturally drawn to follow two aisles between rows of planes. Like the exhibits along the walls, each plane is explained in detail. Throughout the museum you will find themes of home- built aircraft and aviation in Florida, as well as the heritage of Sun ‘N Fun.

This Little Rocket is a replica of a plane built for a 1930 long distance race. It was one of just 10 aircraft that completed the 5,500-mile race. The replica was built by Joe Araldi, one of the original organizers of Sun ‘N Fun.

Neal Loving was the first African American pilot to receive a racing license. He built five aircraft in his career and Loving’s Love is a beautifully restored replica of his 1949 racer. Loving was injured in a glider crash in 1944, leaving him with both legs amputated. After convalescence, he returned to flying and aircraft construction, not letting his handicap hold him back. In 1953 he flew Loving’s Love non-stop from Detroit to Jamaica.

In the 1920s, Ford was a very popular manufacturer of automobiles and Henry Ford carried that success over to aviation with the production of the Ford Trimotor. Hoping to combine the successful venture into aviation with the reputation of the Model T as a car for everyman, Ford engineers designed the Ford Flivver, intended to be a plane anyone could buy and fly. Five prototypes were built, the first two had the three-cylinder Anzani engine that we saw earlier. The next three, like the replica above, had a Ford-built two-cylinder motor based on Wright Whirlwind parts. Henry Ford called upon his friendship with Charles Lindbergh and asked him to fly the plane to garner publicity. Lindbergh supposedly said that it was the worst plane he had ever flown (presumably not to Henry Ford). After the crash of one of the prototypes, the project was abandoned.

One plane in the museum that successfully used Ford components is this Pietenpol Air Camper. In the 1920s Bernard Pietenpol built several aircraft, designed to be simple and inexpensive to build and easy to fly. His first attempts used a Ford Model T engine and were rather underpowered. When the Model A came out, it turned out to be a perfect fit for Pietenpol’s latest design. Numerous Pietenpol Camper kits were sold and built, eventually being powered by over 30 types of engines. The design was still being home-built into the 1960s, some using Corvair engines. This Ford Model A powered example won “Outstanding Aircraft” at the 1993 Sun ‘N Fun.

The bane of many pilots during their flying careers is the computing of weight and balance. Even in this age of computers, weight and balance calculations can cause confusion, and manual weight and balance calculations are still required when taking check rides. In the 1930s, manually calculating weight and balance was a laborious task and the possibility of a catastrophic mistake was always present. In 1937, Lewis W. Imm built the Librascope, a machine to calculate weight and balance. It was really an early form of computer, and, in fact Imm went on to build some of the earliest computers.

These photos don’t do this intriguing machine justice. The museum’s Librascope was built for a PBY-5 and from the top and bottom views you can see the complexity of the “Balance Computor”, but also the intuitiveness of the design.

Another aircraft hanging in the construction area is this 1934 Heath Parasol homebuilt. During the late 1920s and early 1930s, Edward Heath sold nearly 1,000 of these aircraft kits and is considered instrumental in developing the homebuilt aircraft industry. The name Parasol derives from the wing design. The wing is not attached to the fuselage, instead the fuselage is suspended below the wing.

Here’s a quick look at some of the construction going on behind the curtain. The construction involves several areas of the campus and, depending on when you visit, you will see different phases and different areas blocked off. Completion is planned for late 2021.

The members of the Florida Aviation Hall of fame are very diverse representatives of achievements in aviation and are fittingly honored in this attractive area. Members include Anthony H. (Tony) Jannus, who was the first airline pilot, flying from Tampa to St Petersburg on January 1st, 1914; Jacqueline Cochran, one of the best known women racing pilots, who was born in Pensacola; and Col. Daniel “Chappie” James, also born in Pensacola, who trained Tuskegee Airmen during WW-II and became the first African-American four-star General in the any of the armed forces.

I always enjoy planes and exhibits that you can go into. This interesting one is a little different, representing a slice of a bomber fuselage. In it, various aspects of flying in a large WW-II aircraft are described with narrations and original artifacts. It’s a unique and well-presented exhibit (and yes, I visited around Halloween!).

In a dedicated room near the museum entrance, you find a large exhibit dedicated to Howard Hughes.

In 1939, Hughes organized an around the world flight to promote the New York World’s Fair. Al Lodwick, who was the operations manager for the trip, was Hughes’s confidant and right-hand man for many years.

During World War II, Lodwick operated an Army Air Corps flight training base and school of aeronautics at an airfield in Lakeland. When the Hughes Corporation was looking for a place to locate the Howard Hughes archives, the connection to Al Lodwick and Lakeland made the Florida Air Museum the ideal choice. The collection contains original plans, film footage, and the movie props from Hughes’ movie Hell’s Angels, some of which are on display.

The story of Hughes and aviation is wide ranging and covered in very interesting detail in this timeline display. Exhibits in this area are artistically done and full of interesting information. Various bits of original Howard Hughes memorabilia complete the atmosphere.

The grounds around the campus display a number of planes, which we will see later, and one of them was originally owned by Howard Hughes.

Aeronca Aircraft was founded in Cincinnati in 1928, and is recognized as the first company founded to specialize in building light aircraft for the general public. From 1928 to 1951 the company built over 17,000 aircraft, including the well known Super Chief and Champ models. This attractive 1934 L model was the first low-wing cabin aircraft built for the private market. Fitted with an 85 hp LeBlond 5DF engine, the type did not catch on and only 29 LBs were built.

In a relatively small area, along the far wall, the museum presents a wide variety of information about Florida’s Aviation History. This is one of those areas that you can spend a lot of time in, reading about various areas of aviation history and learning new and interesting details. It is all presented in an attractive and engaging way.

Let’s finish our tour with a look at the planes that are displayed in various locations around the grounds.

When you enter the campus, you first see the T-33A, painted in markings of the Thunderbirds (in the opening photo), as well as a C-47. This C-47, which participated in the Berlin Air Lift, is nicely painted in the colors of the European Air Transport Service (EATS). After the end of WW-II there was so much movement of personnel and cargo throughout the European Theater that a scheduled airline was formed within the military. Activated in 1946, European Air Transport Service was headquartered in Wiesbaden, Germany and continued operation until the Military Air Transport Service (MATS) was formed in 1948. The paint job on this DC-3 is a unique and interesting presentation, preserving a little-known area of military air transport history.

Although locked in by construction, you can still get a good view of this Convair F-2Y Sea Dart. The Sea Dart never went into production, but it is still the only seaplane to ever break the speed of sound. This is one of only four surviving Sea Darts.

Mentioned earlier is this portion of a plane that was originally owned by Howard Hughes. The Boeing 307 was heavily damaged in hurricane Cleo in 1964, after which it was converted into a luxury boat (note the boat hull at the bottom) .

The four-engine Boeing 307 Stratoliner was developed from the B-17. This first pressurized airliner was ordered by Pan Am and TWA and it first flew in 1938. Hughes took delivery of the first 307 for himself in 1939 and began modifications, planning to better his around-the-world record that he had recently set (the World’s Fair promotion discussed earlier), but the onset of WW-II halted those plans. Hughes then had the interior converted into a VIP configuration, calling it The Flying Penthouse. Only 10 Stratoliners were built and the nine other planes were taken over by the military for the duration of the war and designated the C-75. All returned to airline duty after the war, mostly operated by a Far East carrier, although TWA operated several Stratoliners until 1951.

Cirrus Aircraft is well known for the very successful SR-20, SR-22 and the Vision Jet. Lesser known is the company’s first product, the VK-30, a large, complicated, kit plane which first flew in 1988. Cirrus sold 40 of the kits, but only about 12 were completed and registered, making this quite a rare aircraft. Founded in 1984 by Alan and Dale Klapmeier, who were college students at the time, Cirrus switched to building the SR-20 and SR-22 certificated light aircraft in 1998. Today the company is Chinese owned.

Another rare plane displayed outside is this Piper Jet. In 2006 Piper announced the PA-47 as a competitor to the Eclipse 500 and the Cessna Citation Mustang. Using the cabin cross-section of the Malibu, the design was fairly unique, having the single Williams engine mounted in the tail. The Piper Jet evolved into the slightly larger Altaire which was planned for introduction in 2010. New ownership at Piper realigned the company’s plans and the project was cancelled in 2011. This prototype first flew in 2008 and turned out to be the only example built.

In the early 1950s, there was a push to develop vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (VTOL), and Lockheed produced the XFV-1. Powered by a single Allison turboprop, the XFV first flew in 1954. Although the plane did transition to vertical flight and back again during testing, all 32 test flights of the plane made a normal horizontal takeoff and landing using a temporary undercarriage. The similar looking Convair Pogo did make several vertical takeoff and landing flights. Neither aircraft went into production and both were cancelled in 1955.

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The Florida Air Museum is one more of those great museums that are really worth seeking out and visiting.

A special thanks to Ed Young, Executive Director at the Aerospace Center for Excellence for providing information for this blog.

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To learn about what to do in the local area, museum hours and costs as well as books to read and other interesting odds and ends, keep reading! At the end you will find a photo gallery of the entire museum.

PLANNING YOUR VISIT

Thursday - Saturday from 10 am to 4 pm and Sundays 12 pm to 4 pm.

Adults (18 and up) – $10

Students (11-17) – $5

Children Under 11 – Free

Active-Duty Military – Free with Valid ID

FLYING IN

Lakeland Linder International Airport (KLAL) has two paved runways 9/27 (8500’), and 5/23 (5000’) as well as a 2200’ grass strip (8/26). There are ILS, RNAV, and VOR approaches to the paved runways. Sheltair provides full FBO services.

The Florida Air Museum is located near the end of runway 5 and there is a Sun ‘N Fun ramp which is a short walk to the Museum.

LOCAL ATTRACTIONS

Lakeland is located half-way between Orlando and Tampa and all the activities that those areas suggest. Lakeland itself has a number of fun things to do including a classic two-screen drive-in movie, The Silver Moon http://www.silvermoondrivein.com/ . http://www.lakelandgov.net/fun/

Of course, there is the Sun ‘N Fun airshow which is scheduled for Apr 13-18, 2021. The timing doesn’t always work out, but a few years back my wife and I went to Sun ‘N Fun and took in a few spring training baseball games, which made for a great spring break trip.

WHERE TO EAT

The Sandwich Factory is just about 3 miles away. They have great Cubans and Gyros and museum staff highly recommended the Chili Cheese Dog.