It’s official. Ground broken.
More than 250 people joined us to kick off Phase 1 for construction of the new museum; helping us take the next step toward making flight test history more accessible to visitors from around the world.
Currently, gaining access to the Air Force Flight Test Museum sometimes means signing up several months in advance for a tour.
Future phases will also feature a STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) education center.
Flight Test Historical Foundation chairwoman, Lisa Gray, hosted the event and spoke about the importance of “telling the story” of flight test in order to inspire generations to come.
“It is our mission to preserve the rich local history of flight test through the support of the museum at Edwards AFB,” said Gray.
Also in attendance was U.S. Congressman Steve Knight who spoke about the impact the new museum and the test programs at Edwards will have on future, potential “test pilots.”
“When young people walk in, whether they watch an air show or they watch that F-22 fly tomorrow or they walk in [to the museum] to see what Joe Kittinger did… there are two things going through their head…’holy cow that was a crazy thing to do, but the second thing is man, I want to do that.’”
According to George Welsh, the museum’s curator, it should take approximately two years before the first building is ready for the public. After that, the foundation will continue its fundraising efforts in order to move on to two other phases that will include a 10,000 square foot adjacent building to house a new gift shop and a permanent, expanded STEM Education Center. The structure will also include a meeting room, a break room for staff and volunteers, an aviation research library and an exhibit preparation area.
The foundation’s fundraising efforts focus primarily on the construction of a new museum that will be accessible to the general public, aircraft acquisition and restoration and STEM scholarships.
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