Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum

Location within Colorado
Former name	The Lowry Heritage Museum (1984-1994)
Established	1 December 1994 (1994-12-01)
Location	7711 E. Academy Blvd Denver, Colorado, U.S. Lowry Campus (formerly Lowry Air Force Base)
Coordinates	39°43′16″N 104°53′45″W / 39.7210°N 104.8957°W / 39.7210; -104.8957
Type	Aerospace museum
Collections	Lowry Air Force Base history Colorado aerospace history
CEO	John L. Barry, Maj Gen, USAF (Ret)
Curator	Chuck Stout
Public transit access	Regional Transportation District
Nearest parking	On-site (no charge)
Website	wingsmuseum.org

The Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum (WOTR) is located on the former Lowry Air Force Base in Denver, Colorado, United States. The museum preserves the history of Lowry AFB's operations from 1938 to 1994 in its collections, archives, and research library.

History

From 1937 to 1994 Lowry Air Force Base, located on the eastern edge of Denver, was primarily a technical training center. It graduated more than 1.1 million enlisted members and officers in skills ranging from armament to photography, aiding the country's war efforts in World War II, the Korean War, the Vietnam War and the Cold War. From the 1980s Lowry Air Force Base remained one of Colorado's largest employers, with approximately 10,000 military and civilian men and women, providing an economic impact approaching $1 billion annually.^{[citation needed]}

In 1994, the United States Air Force transferred Hangar 1 to a group of volunteers, who established Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum. The Museum includes more than 182,000 square feet of hangar space and 50 aircraft dating from 1939 to 1990.^{[citation needed]}

In 1997, the Colorado State Legislature passed House Bill 1269 that made Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum Colorado's official air and space museum,^[1] and the site of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society's Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.

Facilities

"Exploration of Flight" is a 15-acre (6.1 ha) campus located at Centennial Airport that serves as the second location of Wings Over the Rockies.^[2] It houses future-focused aviation and space galleries and exhibits.

Exhibits

• Space Station Freedom command module mockup built by Martin Marietta with CASIS' Science in Space Exhibit of the ISS
• U.S. NASA Astronauts with Colorado connections.^[3]
• Aircraft engine collection on display, both propeller and jet engines
• Nuclear weapons collection on display
• The Aviator Uniform Collection Exhibit Room.
• The Cold War Exhibit.
• The History of Avionics Exhibit Room.
• The Colorado Air National Guard Heritage Exhibit Room with Buckley Field and Buckley Air Force Base exhibits.
• The Colorado Aviation Historical Society's Heritage Hall featuring the Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame.
• Rocky Mountain Airways Flight 217 Memorial
• Former United Airlines DC-10 and Boeing 727-200 cockpits
• Lucasfilm X-Wing Starfighter: a 3/4 scale replica built to promote the re-release of the first three Star Wars films in 1997.^[4]
• MaxFlight: a 360° full-motion flight simulator.

Collection

Military

Civilian

• Aerospatiale AS316 Alouette III^[23]
• Alexander Eaglerock^[24]
• Adam M-309 (No. N309A)^[25]
• Aviat Special (No. N15JB)
• Ball-Bartoe Jetwing
• Christen Eagle II (No. N6LA)
• HL-20 Personnel Launch System^[26] on loan
• Learjet 24^[27] (No. N241JA). donated by Lynn Krogh of International Jet
• Murray Model T homebuilt helicopter, 1st to register in Colo. (No. N7222)
• Piper J3C-65 Cub (No. N42427)
• Rand Robinson KR-1 (No. N60BV)
• Schweizer SGS 1-24 Brigadoon, on loan from National Soaring Museum (No. N91888)^[28]
• Sky Star Aircraft Corp Kitfox
• Aerosport Woody Pusher (No. N393EA)

Space

• McDonnell Apollo Boilerplate BP-1101A^[29] (No. 101), on loan from Smithsonian
• HL-20 Personnel Launch System "Dream Chaser" ^[30] on loan
• Centaur Upper Stage^[31]

Programs

Wings Aerospace Pathways offers instruction to middle and high school students on aviation and engineering through hands-on aerospace-themed STEM experiences.^[32]

• Pilot Pathway offers Young Eagles, a program created by the Experimental Aircraft Association, to introduce students ages 8 to 17 to aviation by giving them their first free ride in an airplane. The program also includes the ground school workshop, which offers basic pilot training.^[33] Wings Over the Rockies flight training scholarships are provided by the James C. Ray Foundation for Colorado students ages 15 to 18.^[34]
• Drone Pilot Pathway includes an introductory drone flight course and visual line of sight (VLOS) training to earn a Part 107 Remote Pilot Certificate, which allows an operator to fly drones commercially. Field training is also offered.^[35]

The Teacher Flight Program encourages STEM Colorado teachers to become Teacher Envoys and provides a free, 20-minute flight.^[36]

The Technical Research Library contains over 15,000 book titles on aviation and aerospace and 800 titles covering ballooning, aviation and aerospace in English and other languages. Extensive documents about Lowry Air Force Base history include over 1,000 digital photos of the base. The library also has vintage airline tables, seat magazines and a collection of rare NASA documents.

The museum produces a television show, "Behind the Wings", that airs on Rocky Mountain PBS. It teaches museum visitors and viewers about the history, innovation and future of aviation.^[37][38]