Wikipedia

Chico Air Museum

The Chico Air Museum is a nonprofit[1] aviation museum located at the Chico Municipal Airport in Chico, California. Its mission statement is to "collect, preserve, document and display aircraft, and aviation and space artifacts. The museum’s primary purpose is to educate and inspire people of all ages about aviation and the history of flight".[2]

F-86 Sabre "Mama Inez" in front of the Chico Air Museum

History

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A BT-13 left the museum in late 2024.[3]

Exhibits

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F-15 Eagle and SPAD S.XIII at the Chico Air Museum

The museum has a number of aircraft, artifacts and exhibits on display in a WW II era hangar[4][5] that was originally part of the Chico Army Airfield (and once owned and operated by Aero Union[6]). There is also an outside static display area, a large collection of scale models, and an extensive aviation research library. The museum's hangar is located next to the Chico Air Attack Base (CAAB).[7] During fire season, visitors can watch air operations of multiple types of air tankers that use this base to re-load and re-fuel.

Airman Docent Program

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In 2016, the museum launched the Airman Docent Program, which allows children under the age of 18 to volunteer as museum docents[8]

Improvements

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In addition to aircraft restoration, the museum is currently working on a space exhibit and is planning to improve the entrance to the hangar,[9] including a "walk of honor".

Aircraft on display

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Below is a partial list of aircraft the museum has on display, as of September 2018.

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    Aerial view of the Chico Air Museum
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    Interior view of the Chico Air Museum
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    Pitts 12 on display
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    Exhibit on the history of the Chico Army Air Field
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    A BT-13 Valiant being towed from the Chico Air Museum hangar. This is the museum's only flight-worthy aircraft and is on loan to the museum.
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    A-7D Corsair II in the outside display area
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    AF-2S Guardian (serial no. 2) awaiting restoration.
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    Dedication ceremony of the F-86 Sabre "Mama Inez" to Korean War veterans[22]
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    A-7D Corsair II after being re-painted as an A-7E from VA-25
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    Chico Air Museum's A-7 poses next to an F/A-18E from VFA-25. Both Aircraft were featured in the June 2021 issue of Combat Aircraft Journal magazine.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Chico Air Museum in Chico, California (CA) - NonProfitFacts.com". www.nonprofitfacts.com. Retrieved March 16, 2017.
  2. ^ "Chico Air Museum". www.ChicoAirMuseum.org. Retrieved March 15, 2017.
  3. ^ Moctezuma, Diego (27 September 2024). "WWII Plane Taking Off from Chico Air Museum". Action News Now. Retrieved 8 November 2024.
  4. ^ "Chico Air Museum reopens". Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  5. ^ "Chico Air Museum makes progress". Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  6. ^ "Aero Union plans to move from Chico to Sacramento". Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  7. ^ "Chico Air Attack Base".
  8. ^ "Chico Air Museum Annual Report 2016" (PDF).
  9. ^ "Chico Air Museum working for new entrance". Retrieved 2017-03-16.
  10. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - McDonnell Douglas F-15C-27-MC Eagle, s/n 80-0014 USAF, c/n 0651/C163". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  11. ^ "Chico Air Museum gets F-86 Sabre Jet". Chico Enterprise-Record. 2013-11-23. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  12. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Vought A-7 Corsair II, s/n 70-0964". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  13. ^ "BT-13 trainer brings WWII era back to Chico airport". Chico Enterprise-Record. 2016-02-02. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  14. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Grumman AF-2S Guardian, s/n 123088 USN, c/r N3143G". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  15. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Aero L-29 Delfin (Maya NATO), s/n 38 {2} BBC, c/n 792449". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  16. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Lockheed T-33A-5-LO, s/n 58-0491 USAF, c/n 580-1540, c/r N94484". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  17. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - LockheedL-26 / P2V / P-2 Neptune, s/n 147968 USN, c/n 7218, c/r N702AU". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  18. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - Antonov-PZL Mielec An-2, c/n 1G156-58, c/r RA-07618". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  19. ^ "Chico Air Museum adds aircraft, displays". AviationPros.com. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  20. ^ Henniger, Mike. "Aerial Visuals - Airframe Dossier - TaylorTitch, c/n 563024236". aerialvisuals.ca. Retrieved 2018-09-10.
  21. ^ Chico Air Museum (2012). "Aircraft Displays of the Chico Air Museum 2012" (PDF). www.chicoairmuseum.org. Archived from the original (PDF) on 22 March 2015. Retrieved 12 February 2020.
  22. ^ "Chico fighter pilot honored with F-86 matching his plane in Korea". Retrieved March 16, 2017.
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39°48′12″N 121°51′30″W / 39.803415°N 121.858291°W / 39.803415; -121.858291

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