Cavanaugh Flight Museum – Addison, Texas
The Cavanaugh Flight Museum is an aviation museum on the northeast side of Addison Airport at 4572 Claire Chennault, Addison, Texas 75001. With a non-profit 501(c)(3) status for aviation educational organization devoted to promoting aviation studies and to perpetuating America’s aviation heritage; the museum fulfills its mission by restoring, operating, maintaining, and displaying historically significant, vintage aircraft, and by collecting materials related to the history of aviation.
Most visitors opt to enjoy the museum’s collections on a self-guided basis by reading the informative signs near each aircraft or display; formal museum-guided tours are not being offered at this time.
The Museum promotes aviation education, research, and American aviation heritage. Further, the Museum provides aircraft restoration, operates and maintains flying aircraft, maintains and displays historically-significant vintage aircraft; with an aviation collections department. The museum fulfills its mission by restoring, operating, maintaining, and displaying historically-significant, vintage aircraft and by collecting materials related to the history of aviation. Visitors may see aircraft active on the museum’s ramp. Visitors can get a close look at famous aircraft, including the Sopwith Camel, the P-51 Mustang, and the German Me-109, or talk to the mechanics who keep these warbirds flying. The museum also has an outdoor picnic area, air-conditioned canteen, large aviation art gallery, and gift shop.
The aircraft collection held by the museum began as the personal collection of businessman Jim Cavanaugh. His collection began with the purchase of a half-share in a 1939 Piper J-3 Cub in 1980.
Not many museums offer you the chance to experience their exhibits like the Cavanaugh, where you can book in for a once-in-a-lifetime flight in an original WW2 plane like the Boeing N2S-4 Stearman Kaydet “Yellow Peril”. If taking to the skies doesn’t appeal there is still plenty to do here and it’s easily a full morning or afternoon’s visit for plane geeks of all ages.
Opened in October of 1993, The Cavanaugh Flight Museum collects, maintains, and flies an extensive collection of aircraft while also housing artwork and artifacts spanning the time period from World War I through the Vietnam conflict. The museum is located on the grounds of Addison Airport and encompasses nearly 50,000 square feet of the display area. The museum also offers warbird rides in either the N2S-4 Stearman or the AT-6 Texan.
In a joint press release, dated 21 January 2008, the Commemorative Air Force and the Cavanaugh Flight Museum announced a pledge of $1.2M USD to re-engine FiFi, a B-29 Superfortress. The pledge was made by Jim Cavanaugh, the founder of the Cavanaugh Flight Museum. As a result of the contribution, FiFi will be returned to flight status, and the B-29/B-24 Squadron of the CAF will relocate its base from Midland, Texas to the Addison Airport, at Addison, Texas (KADS). The B24 and the B-29 will, for the six months of each year they are not on tour, be kept and maintained at Addison. Recently FiFi has been at Meacham Field in Ft Worth during the winters.