This Saturday – January 6, 2024 – we kick off the New Year with a great series of presentations for “Hangar Talk” and a thrilling “Flying Demo” as we fly one of the Museum’s World War II, combat veterans – the Curtiss P-40N “Warhawk.”  

Doors to the Museum will open at 9:00am.  Regular admission prices are in effect and Museum Members always get in free!

Hangar Talk Begins at 10:30am

Here’s what’s in store for “Hangar Talk” . . .

2024 Student Art Contest Awards Ceremony

After reviewing and judging hundreds of entries, we’re ready to present our winning entries to you.  The theme for this year’s annual art contest was “Journey to the Stars!” and students from across the country in grades 1st through 6th responded with some pretty amazing works of art.  We’ll be presenting awards for First, Second, and Third place entries in three categories and our young artists will be on hand to accept their prizes.

Medal of Honor Series: The Balloon Man

We continue our ongoing series focused on one of the most prestigious awards in the world – the Congressional Medal of Honor.  This month, the Museum’s Jim Llano takes us back to the First World War where we’ll meet a bold and daring fighter pilot.  In a remarkable span of only 8 days, he flew multiple high-risk missions and shot down 18 enemy aircraft – including 14 observation balloons.  His is a story of brashness, disobedience, and bravery under the most primitive conditions of aerial combat.  

An Airplane for Everyone

In its first 30 years, the airplane established itself as an important weapon of war, a thrilling entertainment, and a useful means of transport.  There were many in private industry and in government who envisioned a future where everyone would own and operate an airplane.  This is the story of early attempts to put an airplane in every garage – a goal that fell far short of hitting the mark but resulted in new safety measures and technology breakthroughs.  

TED Talk – Erich Hartmann: Ace in the Air and Hero on the Ground

The Museum’s Ted Mount will profile one of greatest aces of the Second World War – Erich Hartmann.  This is a story of a man born to fly.  During the war, he flew an amazing number of missions and achieved an unsurpassed number of aerial victories.  Leading by example, he was an inspiration to all who flew with him.  Yet his true courage was in his convictions, and these were demonstrated soundly in the years immediately after the war.  As he always does, Ted will connect the lessons of history with our world of today in a way that will leave us with insight and inspiration. 

Flying Demo of the Curtiss P-40N “Warhawk”

At 12:15pm, Ken Saltgaver of the Museum will present the “Flying Demo” of the Museum’s Curtiss P-40N “Warhawk.”  Ken will briefly detail the history of the P-40 in World War II and talk about this aircraft – a combat veteran that flew with the Royal Canadian Air Force.

Following Ken’s presentation, Pilot Chris Fahey will fire up the 1,200 horsepower Allison V-1710 inline engine directly in front of the crowd.  After Chris taxis the aircraft away, we’ll hold our Member’s Only Raffle Drawing for some great prizes, including a flight in the Museum’s Vultee BT-13B “Valiant.”  Then Chris will delight us with an aerial demonstration of the “Warhawk” with a flight over the Museum for twenty minutes.  Upon return, guests may meet and ask questions of Chris and learn first-hand what it’s like to fly one of WWII’s most versatile aircraft. 

In addition to all of the above, we’ll have food trucks on hand, the Gift Shop is stocked with plenty of great items, our Museum Guides will tell you the stories of the Museum and its world-renowned collection, they’ll be fun for the kids, and our B-17 will be open for visitors to tour the inside.  A great way to spend the day at Planes of Fame!