Take off to one of these 13 Midwest destinations for National Aviation History Month

November is National Aviation History Month, which celebrates the American’s great contributions to the Age of Aviation. The Midwestern region of the United State is full of important sites that chronicle the achievement of human flight since its infancy in a bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio, to its journey into outer space. Here are a few must-visit destinations.

1. Dayton, Ohio

Follow the Aviation Trail to Dayton, Ohio, considered the birthplace of Aviation thanks to homies Orville and Wilbur Wright. Start at the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (@daytonaviationnhp). Then, head to Wright B Flyer, Inc. to see, and perhaps ride in, a replica Wright Brothers aircraft. Finally, don’t miss the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force (@afmuseum), the world’s largest military aviation museum. It has four hangars full of aircrafts, including the Air Force One that returned JFK’s body from Dallas and a space shuttle.

2. Oshkosh, Wisconsin

The EAA Aviation Museum (@EAA) in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, is home to the “World’s Greatest Aviation Celebration,” which attracts more than a half million aviation enthusiasts in July for its annual fly-in convention. Be sure to stop into its museum.

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3. Wichita, Kansas

Wichita, Kansas, is known as the “Air Capital of the World.” It’s the city where iconic aviation brands, such as Cessna and Stearman, got their start, and where Bombardier and Airbus Americas still design aircraft. Check out the Kansas Aviation Museum at the original Wichita Airport and the Wichita-Sedgwick County Historical Museum.

4. Atchison, Kansas

Amelia Earhart came into this world in Atchison, Kansas. Visit the Amelia Earhart Birthplace Museum (@ameliaearhartbirthplace), located in a Gothic Revival-style home that sits on a bluff overlooking the Missouri River. And don’t miss a stop to the new Amelia Earhart Hangar Museum, a state of the art STEM educational museum built around the life and legacy of one of America’s earliest female aviators. It’s home to Muriel, a copycat of the Lockheed Electra 10-E that Earhart flew on her final journey.

5. Dearborn, Michigan

Greenfield Village at The Henry Ford (@thehenryford) in Dearborn, Michigan, covers 300 years of history with many relocated and refurbished buildings with significant meaning. The Ford Motor company’s founder acquired the Wright Brothers’ Dayton family home and their final bicycle shop where they built their first heavier than air flying machine.

6. Port Clinton, Ohio

The Liberty Aviation Museum (@libertyaviationmuseum), located at the Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport in Port Clinton, Ohio, has a flyable model 5-AT-B Ford Tri-Motor. The Ford Motor Company’s Tri-Motor—built between 1926 and1933—were constructed with the same mass production techniques as Ford’s automobiles. The all-metal airplane was rugged and dependable. It marked the beginning of commercial flight.The city got its first Tri-Motor in 1946, which flew twice-daily flights between the same airport and the Lake Erie Island. Island Airlines was dubbed the “world’s shortest airline” at the time. Get a bite to eat in the onsite Tin Goose Diner.

7. Greenfield, Iowa

The Iowa Aviation Museum (@iowa_aviation_museum) is home to the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame. Among the 16 vintage aircraft on display in the hangar, the 1941 Aetna Timm military trainer has an important reminder for novice pilots. Only 6 of these aircraft were made and this is the only one that remains. 

8. Ashland, Nebraska

The Strategic Air Command and Aerospace Museum (@sacaerospacemuseum) in Ashland, Nebraska, is a Smithsonian affiliate and the home to the largest collection of Cold War aircraft and artifacts in the United States.

9. Fargo, North Dakota

Fargo Air Museum (@fargoairmuseum)has the midwest’s largest aviation library, plus two airplane hangars full of aircraft and interactive displays entertain aviation fans of all ages. You can see airplanes and aircraft ranging from a Wright Brothers’ flyer to the MQ-1 Predator UAV.

10. Chicago, Illinois

Chicago’s Museum of Science and Industry (@msichicago) offers visitors the chance to explore the inner and outer workings of an actual United Airlines Boeing 727 and learn about the technology that shapes commercial aviation.

11. Kalamazoo, Michigan

Air Zoo Aerospace & Sci Museum (@airzoo_)in Kalamazoo, Michigan. You don’t have to love airplanes to be thrilled by this collection of more than 50 old and new aircraft. Retired pilots serve as docents and love to share their knowledge of the World War II-Era fighters and bombers. Kids race to a collection of amusement rides, commanding the joystick on circling biplanes and soaring through the sky inside flight simulators.

12. Lexington, Kentucky

Aviation Museum of Kentucky in Lexington features aircraft, aviation artifacts and equipment, simulators, interactive displays and a gift shop. The changing collection of modern and restored historic aircraft includes a ‘Blue Angels’ A-4 Skyhawk, a rare Crosley Moonbeam biplane and the Yankee Lady, an airworthy B-17 that you can ride into the sky.

13. Wapakoneta, Ohio

The Armstrong Air & Space Museum is a museum in Wapakoneta, Ohio, the hometown of aviator and astronaut Neil Armstrong, the first man to set foot on the Moon. Opened in 1972, the museum chronicles Ohio’s contributions to the history of aeronautics and space flight.

What’s missing? Feel free to contribute your ideas for great aviation sites in the Midwest below!

Thanks to members of the Midwest Travel Writers Association for contributing to this post.

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