Personal Courage Wing

Air Classics, Jan 2004 by O'Leary, Michael

Major new addition to Seattle Museum of Flight

The outer structure of the new Personal Courage Wing at the Museum of Flight in Seattle is almost complete and much of its content has already been installed, reports James W. Larsen, Jr. The new Wing is a massive complex that dwarfs the tiny "Red Barn" which is nestled between it and the main museum. The Personal Courage Wing is slated to house the museum's large collection of vintage WWI and WWII fighter aircraft - much of which was acquired from the former Champlin Fighter Collection. The new Wing will display many exciting exhibits such as a mockup of a WWI aerodrome and a full-scale replica of a portion of a US Navy carrier deck each populated by their respective type of aircraft. With the addition of the Champlin Fighter Collection's 25 airplanes to the museum's already extensive inventory, the new Wing boasts a huge number of military aircraft.

The Personal Courage Wing adds some more new surprises in their individualized exhibits focusing on lives of the pilots who flew the airplanes that are displayed. An example of this is an exhibit devoted entirely to profiling United States Marine Corps ace Joe Foss which works in tandem with the US carrier exhibit.

Each exhibit and set will provide an extensive and detailed history on the airplane as well as the pilots who flew them and will also provide insight to visitors who enter each set as to how aviators lived and functioned in their environments. The Personal Courage Wing is scheduled to be fully operational and receiving visitors in the summer of 2004. We will be featuring updates on this most ambitious project.