Airline History Museum

About

The Airline History Museum is an aviation museum located at the Kansas City Downtown Airport in Kansas City, Missouri focused on the history of airlines in the United States. Founded in 1986 by aviation enthusiasts Larry A. Brown and Dick McMahon, the Airline History Museum was originally known as Save-A-Connie. Brown and McMahon were joined by a number of other enthusiasts, including (then) current and former TWA employees. The museum initially considered building a hangar to house the Constellation, but eventually reached an agreement to lease Hangar 9 at Kansas City Downtown Airport from Executive Beechcraft in 2000. The museum's director was convicted of embezzlement in 2010. In January 2011, as part of its 25th anniversary, the museum announced a goal of meeting the "Characteristics of Excellence" standards established by the American Alliance of Museums. To that end, it began a reorganization plan, which included a complete rebranding effort to include a new membership structure, website, corporate logo, and exhibit structure within the museum building. In March 2011 the museum announced that in the continuation of its reorganization and restructure, it was being renamed the National Airline History Museum. This name change allowed it to be better positioned to receive Federal grants and other national funding. The museum announced in March, 2011 that it had teamed up with Kansas City's Roasterie Coffee Shop, with the Roasterie brand being known as "The Official Coffee of the National Airline History Museum" and carrying an image of the museum's DC-3 on its coffee products. In 2013, the museum announced plans to restore its Lockheed Constellation to flight. In 2014, the museum acquired a Douglas DC-8 and attempted to have it ferried to the museum. However, the plan to store it on the ramp outside the hangar was rejected by the owner of the property. In 2016, the museum acquired a Boeing 727 in storage at Boeing Field in Seattle, Washington. However, it was scrapped in 2021 after the museum was unable to move it. The same year, the museum announced plans to partner with the owner of a Northrop Delta to have it restored. By that time its name had reverted to the Airline History Museum. In 2020, the museum acquired a Ryan PT-22 Recruit that belonged to actor Harrison Ford. The museum was threatened with eviction in 2019, when the airport required the owner of the hangar, Signature Flight Support, to start paying rent. The museum was served an eviction notice in 2022. The following year the museum was locked out of their hangar. In 2024, it filed a complaint with the Federal Aviation Administration over the issue. The museum sold its Constellation to John Travolta later that year. An Eaglet that was on loan to the museum from Kansas City was planned to be returned to its owner in May 2025. The Moonliner rocket will be moved to the TWA Museum on the opposite side of the airport in September 2025. The complaints by the museum were dismissed in April 2026, but criticized the city for being uninvolved in the management of the airport and how the museum was treated. The museum maintains five aircraft at the site; two are in flying condition and one is undergoing restoration. An additional corporate mock-up is also on display.

Adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA). Photography via Wikimedia Commons.