Museum - Pioneer Air Museum in Fairbanks, Alaska

Happy New Year from the crew of the Pioneer Air Museum! We thank you for your support in 2020 and wish you a prosperous and happy 2021.

Happy Wright Brothers Day! The snowy tundra and taiga of the Arctic bears little resemblance to the dunes of Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, but few places have been more transformed by the advent of powered flight than Alaska. It has been 117 years since the Wright Brothers successfully flew their flying machine on December 17, 1903, but we still think it bears celebrating. Wishing you all a safe, warm and happy Wright Brothers Day and holiday season.

Chuck Yeager, the first man to break the sound barrier, has flown West. He was 97.

Seventy nine years have passed since the attacks on Pearl Harbor that brought the United States into World War II. Today we pause to reflect on the events of that day, and remember those lost. https://www.history.navy.mil//world/1941/pearl-harbor.html

Thank you to all veterans for your service and sacrifice.

Hope everyone is staying warm this chilly Wednesday. Enjoy this photo of some peak Alaska flying as you stay warm inside.

How’s everybody settling in to winter? This great film shows what it took to get a Ford Tri-motor going in the winter months- dated approximately 1935-1936 in Fairbanks. Thanks to the Alaska Film Archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library for digitizing this silent film.

Morris is one of our volunteers here at Pioneer Air Museum and we're so glad to that he's part of our crew. Thanks for all your time and help, Morris! Read about how he helps out at the museum over on the blog: http://www.pioneerairmuseum.org//volunteer-profile-meet-mo

Pioneer Air Museum plans to re-open to the public for the Summer 2021 season. We look forward to seeing you!Pioneer Air Museum plans to re-open to the public for the Summer 2021 season. We look forward to seeing you!

Do you recognize this place? It's the subject of one of the museum's updated photo displays. What are your memories of this place? We might still be closed to the public, but our museum staff and volunteers have been busy cataloguing, organizing, updating exhibits, and working on several historical aircraft objects. Thank you to the Alaska Film Archives at the University of Alaska Fairbanks Rasmuson Library for preserving this footage!... Stay safe and be well, friends!

New post up on the blog! We're dreaming of the day air museum visits and travel can be part of our everyday lives again. One of our board members, Steve, reminisces about a trip to a great air museum in Minnesota. Check it out and drop the link to your favorite air museums in the comments.

Happy birthday to Orville Wright and happy National Aviation Day! This holiday was established in 1939 by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt. We hope you had the opportunity to celebrate aviation today (and every day)!

A very interesting article about George Wilkins and Ben Eielson's polar exploration flying, as it was covered in Alaska newspapers.

Warplanes to Siberia has just posted a 49-minute interview with Dan Hagedorn, Curator Emeritus of The Museum of Flight in Seattle, about the WWII Lend Lease program that sent almost 8,000 aircraft along the ALSIB route through Whitehorse to Russia -

COVID UPDATE from the Pioneer Air Museum: In the interest of protecting the health of our museum staff, volunteers and visitors, the board of the IAAAF/ Pioneer Air Museum has made the decision to keep the museum closed to the public through at least September 15, 2020. The board will continue to monitor the situation and will evaluate reopening plans for winter as the COVID situation evolves. We appreciate your understanding as we navigate this uncharted terrain and are look...ing forward to greeting guests as soon as is safe to do so. In the meantime, our staff and volunteers continue to work on developing exhibits, improving the visitor experience, and many other behind the scenes tasks. We are grateful for your continued support and thank you for doing your part to stop the spread of COVID-19. #covid19 #SocialDistancing #WearAMask #WashYourHands

Happy Birthday, Ben! Alaskan aviation owes so much to your vision for air mail here in the North.

Thank you to the Civil Air Patrol for your help here at the museum. The cadets and their supervisor were a huge help Thursday evening, cleaning and helping with housekeeping! Collections Manager Rita Butteri and superstar volunteer Dave Williams hosted this masked up and COVID conscious crew. Even though we are still closed to the public at this time, the work continues to make sure our facility and collections are in top condition and safe for when we are able to reopen. W...e couldn’t do it without the help of our volunteers. Thank you to our CAP volunteers: John Nathan Burley (Cadet Chief) James Kohler (Cadet Senior Master Sergeant) Joseph Mullins (Cadet Airman first class) Jagan Nautiyal (Cadet Second Lt.) Darshan Nautiyal (Cadet Senior Airman) Andrew Smoot (Cadet Airman first class) Thomas Weisensel (Cadet Senior Master Sergeant) Tyler A. Winterton, (2nd Lt. CAP AKWG, 9th COS Deputy Commander of Cadets)

Wishing you all a safe and happy Independence Day.

Interesting video from Mikey McBryan at Buffalo Airways detailing the recent DC-6 ferry flight fro Fairbanks to Norway (with a fuel stop in Yellowknife, NWT).

Today marks the last day of Alaska Museums Week 2020. Thank you for your ongoing support of Alaska's wide range of museums during this challenging time.