Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum
Encyclopedia
The Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum is an aviation museum located in Hillsboro
in the U.S. state of Oregon
. Started in 1998, the museum is located at the Hillsboro Airport
in the Portland metropolitan area
. Aircraft at the museum are either maintained in flyable condition or are restored so that they can be flown once again. As of March 2010, there were 15 aircraft in the museum’s collection and Doug Donkel served as museum director.
. Kelsay then founded the Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum in 1998 and donated many of the planes in the museum’s collection.
The museum had a performance at the 2006 Oregon International Air Show that featured the former Polish Air Force MIG-17F and a former British Royal Air Force BAC Jet Provost Mk.3A
, with the museum participating in the 2007 show as well with the same aircraft. In January 2007, Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum purchased a MiG 21 from a Chevrolet
dealership in Federal Way, Washington
. The fighter had been displayed on the car dealer’s sales lot, but the museum planned to restore the plane to flight worthy status.
Then in October of that year they received a F-104G from Taiwan’s Feng Chia University
. A Douglas C-47A was added to the museum’s collection in 2009 when it was donated by a Southern Oregon
man. That plane was built in 1942 and is the military version of the more famous DC-3. The museum’s C-47A had previously been in the Royal Canadian Air Force
and was later used as a freight hauler before a Roseburg, Oregon
, collector acquired the still flyable aircraft.
Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum was again at the Hillsboro air show in 2010, this time with their Douglas A-26C Invader, MiG-17F, and F-86 Sabre performing in the show.
, and to that end, volunteers spend thousands of hours restoring the aircraft. The museum’s specialty is restoring aircraft, though their collection also includes some aviation artifacts as well. This is part of their goal of educating the public through demonstrations of working aircraft. Other museum pieces include engines, ground equipment, and ejection seats.
Besides restoring the aircraft, volunteers are also responsible for conducting the tours of the hangar
and putting on exhibitions. The free museum is only open Monday through Thursday. Aircraft in the collection include two F-104s, two Douglas A-26C Tankers, one Douglas C-47A, a BAC Jet Provost, one MiG 17F, two MiG 21s, a CL-13 Mk.6 Sabre, a Fouga CM-170 Magister, and one Hawker Hunter F Mk.51, among others. Aircraft in the museum come from as far away as Poland, Turkey, and Taiwan
. Not all of the aircraft are located at the hangar in Hillsboro.
Hillsboro, Oregon
Hillsboro is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Oregon and is the county seat of Washington County. Lying in the Tualatin Valley on the west side of the Portland metropolitan area, the city is home to many high-technology companies, such as Intel, that compose what has become known as the...
in the U.S. state of Oregon
Oregon
Oregon is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is located on the Pacific coast, with Washington to the north, California to the south, Nevada on the southeast and Idaho to the east. The Columbia and Snake rivers delineate much of Oregon's northern and eastern...
. Started in 1998, the museum is located at the Hillsboro Airport
Hillsboro Airport
Hillsboro Airport , also known as Portland-Hillsboro Airport, is the name of a corporate, general aviation and flight-training airport serving the city of Hillsboro, in Washington County, Oregon, USA. It is one of four airports in the Portland, Oregon, metropolitan area owned and operated by the...
in the Portland metropolitan area
Portland metropolitan area
The Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA Metropolitan Statistical Area , also known as the Portland metropolitan area or Greater Portland, is an urban area in the U.S. states of Oregon and Washington centered around the city of Portland, Oregon. The U.S...
. Aircraft at the museum are either maintained in flyable condition or are restored so that they can be flown once again. As of March 2010, there were 15 aircraft in the museum’s collection and Doug Donkel served as museum director.
History
Roger Kelsay founded Premier Jets in 1984 as a charter flight company at the Hillsboro Airport. Over time, he acquired classic military aircraft, including a MiG-17F in 1995. The plane was built in 1958 and had been in the Polish Air ForcePolish Air Force
The Polish Air Force is the military Air Force wing of the Polish Armed Forces. Until July 2004 it was officially known as Wojska Lotnicze i Obrony Powietrznej...
. Kelsay then founded the Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum in 1998 and donated many of the planes in the museum’s collection.
The museum had a performance at the 2006 Oregon International Air Show that featured the former Polish Air Force MIG-17F and a former British Royal Air Force BAC Jet Provost Mk.3A
BAC Jet Provost
The BAC Jet Provost was a British jet-powered trainer aircraft used by the Royal Air Force from 1955 to 1993. The Jet Provost was also successfully exported, serving in many air forces worldwide....
, with the museum participating in the 2007 show as well with the same aircraft. In January 2007, Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum purchased a MiG 21 from a Chevrolet
Chevrolet
Chevrolet , also known as Chevy , is a brand of vehicle produced by General Motors Company . Founded by Louis Chevrolet and ousted GM founder William C. Durant on November 3, 1911, General Motors acquired Chevrolet in 1918...
dealership in Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way, Washington
Federal Way is a city in King County, Washington, United States. Federal Way is located between Seattle and Tacoma. Its western boundary is Puget Sound. It is bordered by Des Moines on the north, Kent, unincorporated King County, and Milton on the east and Tacoma and Fife on the south...
. The fighter had been displayed on the car dealer’s sales lot, but the museum planned to restore the plane to flight worthy status.
Then in October of that year they received a F-104G from Taiwan’s Feng Chia University
Feng Chia University
Feng Chia University is a private university in Taichung, Taiwan. It was named after Chiu Feng-Chia , one of the leaders of the military resistance against the Japanese invasion of Taiwan in 1895.-History:In the 1950s, some of the gentry in the central Taiwan area proposed to establish one...
. A Douglas C-47A was added to the museum’s collection in 2009 when it was donated by a Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon
Southern Oregon is a region of the U.S. state of Oregon south of Lane County and generally west of the Cascade Range, excluding the southern Oregon Coast. Counties include Douglas, Jackson, Klamath, and Josephine. It includes the Southern Oregon American Viticultural Area, which consists of the...
man. That plane was built in 1942 and is the military version of the more famous DC-3. The museum’s C-47A had previously been in the Royal Canadian Air Force
Royal Canadian Air Force
The history of the Royal Canadian Air Force begins in 1920, when the air force was created as the Canadian Air Force . In 1924 the CAF was renamed the Royal Canadian Air Force and granted royal sanction by King George V. The RCAF existed as an independent service until 1968...
and was later used as a freight hauler before a Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg, Oregon
Roseburg is a city in the U.S. state of Oregon. It is the county seat of Douglas County. The population was 21,181 at the 2010 census.-History:...
, collector acquired the still flyable aircraft.
Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum was again at the Hillsboro air show in 2010, this time with their Douglas A-26C Invader, MiG-17F, and F-86 Sabre performing in the show.
Collection and mission
The hangar the museum is located in was once home to Premier Jets, which was owned by Roger Kelsay. Kelsay also owns most of the aircraft in the museum. The goal for all of the planes is that they once again are air worthyAirworthiness certificate
A Certificate of Airworthiness , or an airworthiness certificate, is issued for an aircraft by the national aviation authority in the state in which the aircraft is registered. The airworthiness certificate attests that the aircraft is airworthy insofar as the aircraft conforms to its type design...
, and to that end, volunteers spend thousands of hours restoring the aircraft. The museum’s specialty is restoring aircraft, though their collection also includes some aviation artifacts as well. This is part of their goal of educating the public through demonstrations of working aircraft. Other museum pieces include engines, ground equipment, and ejection seats.
Besides restoring the aircraft, volunteers are also responsible for conducting the tours of the hangar
Hangar
A hangar is a closed structure to hold aircraft or spacecraft in protective storage. Most hangars are built of metal, but other materials such as wood and concrete are also sometimes used...
and putting on exhibitions. The free museum is only open Monday through Thursday. Aircraft in the collection include two F-104s, two Douglas A-26C Tankers, one Douglas C-47A, a BAC Jet Provost, one MiG 17F, two MiG 21s, a CL-13 Mk.6 Sabre, a Fouga CM-170 Magister, and one Hawker Hunter F Mk.51, among others. Aircraft in the museum come from as far away as Poland, Turkey, and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. Not all of the aircraft are located at the hangar in Hillsboro.