Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum

Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum
	The collection's Polikarpov Po-2 on display.
Former name	Flying Heritage Collection
Established	2004
Location	Paine Field, Everett, Washington
Coordinates	47°53′57″N 122°16′47″W / 47.89917°N 122.27972°W
Type	Aviation museum
Founder	Paul Allen
Owner	Steuart Walton
Website	www.flyingheritage.org

The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is a U.S.A. 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to the display and preservation of rare military aircraft, tanks and other military equipment. The museum reopened on the Memorial Day Weekend 2023.^[1]^[2]

On rotation in the three working hangars are military artifacts from the United States, Britain, Germany, the Soviet Union, and Japan.

The Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum is housed in three working hangars at Seattle-Paine Field International Airport in Everett, WA. Mechanics are typically on-site Monday through Friday, working on maintaining the technology and operating condition. The museum provides guided tours three days a week, hosts a variety of activities, features war conflict simulators, and possesses countless historical artifacts.

History

In 1998, Microsoft Corporation co-founder Paul Allen began acquiring and preserving vintage aircraft.^[3] Allen's passion for aviation and history, and his awareness of the increasing rarity of original World War II aircraft, motivated him to restore these artifacts to the highest standard of authenticity and share them with the public.

The Collection opened to the public in 2004 at the Arlington, Washington, airfield, but in 2008 moved to a newly renovated historic industrial hangar located at Paine Field in Everett, Washington, United States.^[4] In 2013, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum added a 22,000 square foot expansion hangar for its expanding collection. In 2018, came another expansion featuring the opening of Hangar C, which added over two dozen artifacts. On March 24, 2017, the Museum changed its name from the Flying Heritage Collection to the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum to reflect the transition from exclusively aircraft to a military vehicle & armament as well.^[5] In 2018, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum became a public 501c(3) nonprofit. On March 3, 2020, the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum temporarily closed due to complications that arose as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.^[6]

In April 2022, the industry magazine Air Classics reported that the museum's collection was sold, promising further details in its June issue. The Dutch Aviation Society reported that the buyer was Steuart Walton, grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton.^[7] The sale was confirmed by CNN and other media in August, 2022. The plan is for the museum to remain in Everett; reopening in 2023 under the stewardship of the Wartime History Museum, a nonprofit established by Walton earlier in 2022.^[8]^[9]

Walmart heir Steuart Walton's nonprofit, the Wartime History Museum, acquired aviation artifacts from the FHCAM and reopened the museum on Memorial Day Weekend of 2023.^[10] The museum remains open with increasing operations.

Museum programming

FHCAM is currently hosting a variety of programs at the museum.

Walking tours: These docent-led tours are scheduled in advance as indicated on the activity schedule. They focus on pre-scheduled topic areas and involve walking about the hangars to view artifacts related to the topic. Walking tours range from approximately 90 minutes to two-and-a-half hours in length. They are limited to 20 guests on a first come, first served basis.

Behind the barriers tours: These tours offer guests the opportunity to get closer to a particular artifact or set of artifacts, depending on the tour focus area. Docents lead the group behind the barriers for an up-close look at the subject matter. Tours last between 60 and 90 minutes and are limited to 15 guests. Special event tickets are required for attendance.

Lectures: Lectures are held in Battlefront Theater, offering guests a chance to sit and learn through instruction and audio/visual displays. They are mostly static, though depending on the topic, may include some time in the hangars looking at artifacts. Lectures can accommodate up to 35 guests, and generally last between 60 and 90 minutes.

Ad-hoc docent tours: Volunteer docents are on site during open hours. A docent is available at 11 am daily at the Docent Headquarters (HQ) to lead interested guests on an impromptu tour based on interest areas of the group.

Runups: Aircraft engines need to be started as part of the annual maintenance cycle. Runups are scheduled between March and October and generally include two engines (could be two planes for single-engine aircraft, or one plane for multi-engine aircraft). Guests have an opportunity to observe the process, including startup and taxi, of each aircraft involved. They generally last approximately 45 minutes, including a brief overview of the process from one of our mechanics. There is also a post-runup Q&A session in Battlefront Theater, beginning 15 minutes after the end of the runup and lasting approximately 30 minutes.

Artifact experiences: Provides guests with an opportunity to "experience" a specific artifact. Depending on the artifact, this could be sitting in the artifact, touching, or looking into, a section that is normally not available for public access. These activities are normally offered during specific windows of time and are limited in number of guests.

Virtual reality (VR) and simulator experiences: These provide guests the opportunity to experience an artifact-themed topic through a set of virtual reality glasses or computer-based simulator. Different types of VR/simulation are coupled with an artifact experience or other related activity to enhance the guest understanding of what the particular encounter would have been like.

The airworthy Ilyushin Il-2 of the Flying Heritage Collection, flown with a "reversed" Allison V-1710 powerplant, as the original engine had been designed to do.

List of warbirds

The Flying Heritage and Combat Armory has a number of historic artifacts. Their most prized collection items are all aircraft. However, FHCAM also has a rich collection of armoured fighting vehicles. The specific histories and stories of the aircraft can be discovered in-person at the museum.

List of tanks

The collection features a variety of vehicles and armament dating from WWII to some present-day artifacts. Most of the artifacts are from the United States, Germany, Japan, or the Soviet Union. However, many of these vehicles have changed hands many times before arriving at FHCAM.