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Florida Air Museum

Coordinates: 27°58′55″N 82°01′46″W / 27.981955°N 82.029467°W / 27.981955; -82.029467
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Florida Air Museum
Florida Air Museum is located in Florida
Florida Air Museum
Location within Florida
Established1986
LocationLakeland, Florida
Coordinates27°58′55″N 82°01′46″W / 27.981955°N 82.029467°W / 27.981955; -82.029467
TypeAviation attraction
Collection sizeover 40 aircraft
PresidentJ.R. "Lites" Leenhouts[1]
WebsiteOfficial Website

The Florida Air Museum, formerly known as the International Sport Aviation Museum and the SUN 'n FUN Air Museum, is designated as Florida's "Official Aviation Museum and Education Center."[2] It features a display of aircraft including one-of-a-kind designs, classics, ultra-lights, antiques and warbirds.

Facility

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The museum is housed in a main building and a hangar annex. Both are located on the campus of the Sun 'n Fun fly-in and expo, which supplies much of the funding for the museum's collections and programs. The entire campus is located at the Lakeland Linder International Airport, just south of the runways.

The main building holds much of the collection, especially smaller aircraft like a Boeing-Stearman Model 75 from the classic Red Baron Pizza aerobatic team. A wide variety of unique designs, homebuilts, and even a Mercury rocket motor share the display floor. The aircraft are supplemented by a collection of engines from World War I to the present day. It also houses a library, offices, a conference room and the museum's small gift shop. The hangar annex houses larger aircraft and engines.

Also on campus is the Buehler Restoration Center. This 8,000-square-foot facility, located adjacent to the Florida Air Museum at SUN 'n FUN, houses SUN 'n FUN's year–round aircraft restoration activities. The facility, which opened in April 2006, was made possible by a $300,000 grant from The Emil Buehler Perpetual Trust, with additional support from a State of Florida Cultural Facilities and Historical Grant.

Collection

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The museum's collection includes some unique and notable aircraft, including many homebuilt aircraft:[3]

One of the famous Red Baron Pizza aerobatic team's Stearmans on display.
One of the famous Red Baron Pizza aerobatic team's Stearmans on display.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ Florida Air Museum (2020). "Florida Air Museum Team". floridaairmuseum.org. Archived from the original on 1 August 2021. Retrieved 1 August 2021.
  2. ^ "About the Museum - SUN 'n FUN". sun-n-fun.org. Retrieved 20 November 2016.
  3. ^ "Sun n' Fun » Restoration Projects". Sun-n-fun.org. Archived from the original on 13 October 2012. Retrieved 5 August 2012.
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