Naval Air Museum @ Barbers Point in Hawaii.

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Fri May 07, 2021 10:53 am

This is yet another museum that has closed. Anyone know what happened to their collection?

Scott Rose · **Posted:** Mon May 10, 2021 9:48 am

Sad to see another one closed.

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Mon May 10, 2021 11:21 am

Yes it is. Several aviation museums have closed of late.

tulsaboy · **Posted:** Mon May 10, 2021 11:25 am

I will note that this is likely to be an increasing problem as we go forward. COVID was a killer for a number of non-profits, especially those (like museums) that depend on admissions and facility rental for their primary revenue streams. Some aviation museums have been able to develop strong donor bases and have coupled that with grant writing success that has resulted in an ability to stay afloat even when gate revenue is down. Many, though, have not. The significant number of aviation "museums" that are largely outdoor lineups of static aircraft (that are increasingly irrelevant to a larger and larger portion of Americans) or big hangars with rows of static aircraft behind ropes are probably not going to survive long-term. As much as aviation purists hate it, museums that are able to develop hands-on exhibits that dovetail with static aircraft, or ones that incorporate fly-ins and active aircraft as part of their regular programming are likely to survive longer. Families largely want to go to "experiences" or "attractions" and not "museums" that are full of stuff to just look at. We have confronted that here in Tulsa with our local air and space museum. There are a lot of really neat artifacts that aviation purists can enjoy, but families are increasingly asking "that's great, but what can we DO?" So we have worked hard to start developing 3D virtual reality experiences to accompany a WWII display about a B-24, or flight simulators to accompany an F-14, or a hands-on hot air balloon that actually flies to accompany discussions about lift. We're not ahead of the curve at all, but we are trying to adjust. We did relatively ok during COVID, but without our aggressive grant writing plus some of the federal payroll support that was available, we would have been in dire straights. I think that over the next decade or so, a number of aviation museums are going to be in crisis mode or moving towards closure. For the larger outdoor displays, we will probably see some of the big transports and refueling aircraft cut up and recycled. I think that there will always be a home for WWII era fighters and bombers, but some of the bigger stuff is likely in trouble in the foreseeable future. I love the wide variety of aviation museums that exist and I can be perfectly happy in a quiet hangar, reading displays and looking at unfamiliar aircraft. But I'm not normal, and I suspect that we will see some major changes coming in the aviation museum community over the next 10-20 years.
kevin

Jim MacDonald · **Posted:** Tue May 11, 2021 2:19 am

None of us that frequent WIX are "Normal", so you're in good company, Kevin.

I've spent thousands of dollars & thousands of hours buying & researching WWII Navy records on microfilm, some people might not consider that very "Normal". But then again, I think stamp collectors & bird watchers are kind of weird.

Mac

warbird51 · **Joined:** Fri Jan 14, 2005 1:18 pm **Posts:** 263

A lot of the aircraft are still there. I have a friend who helped out with the Museum and is the plane captain for the R6D that flies out of Barbers Point.

Scott Rose · **Posted:** Wed May 12, 2021 2:49 pm

Pat,
Do you have a lost of the air frames that were (or still are) there?

Pat Carry · **Posted:** Thu May 13, 2021 7:28 am

I do not have that info, Scott.

ALOHADAVE · **Posted:** Thu May 13, 2021 11:14 pm

they had 3 A-4s, 2 P-3s, F-4, SH-3, H-53, UH-1
they have just moved them to different parts of the ramp and closed the museum due to the fact they lost their lease.

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Naval Air Museum @ Barbers Point in Hawaii.

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