The Tillamook Air Museum is an aviation museum south of Tillamook, Oregon, United States. The museum is located at a former U.S. Navy Air Station and housed in a former blimp hangar, known as "Hangar B", which is the largest clear span wooden structure in the world.

History

The six-blimp hangar was built by the United States Navy in 1942 during World War II for Naval Air Station Tillamook. It is long and wide, covering more than . It stands tall. Each door weighs and are tall. Its companion building, Hangar "A", was destroyed by fire on August 22, 1992.

The Blimp Hangar Museum was opened in mid to late May 1992. It was founded by the Port of Tillamook, in part, to help alleviate the cost of maintaining the hangars and also based on rumors that one or both of them would be torn down.

With the addition of Jack Erickson's collection in mid 1995, it became known as the Tillamook Naval Air Station Museum. The aerial portion of the museum's first airshow was cancelled after its director, John H. Matlock, was killed on 11 October 1996 in the crash of an L-29 during practice the day before the event.

By late 2000, the museum was being referred to as the Tillamook Air Museum.

In April 2013, Erickson Air Tanker announced that it would not be renewing its lease on the building and instead moving the portion of the collection owned by Jack Erickson to Madras, Oregon. The aircraft had begun to be moved to the new location by early May 2014. In November 2014, the owners of Hangar B, the Port of Tillamook Bay, announced that they would continue operation of the Tillamook Air Museum with the remaining collection.

In 2016, the Classic Aircraft Aviation Museum moved some aircraft to the museum.

In 2021, the museum received a B-52 cockpit on loan from Scroggins Aviation Mockup & Effects.

In 2025, the museum announced it would be receiving an HU-25. Later that year it began fundraising for the restoration of its F-14. In July, it revealed it was being given an AV-8B. At the end of the month, the Port of Tillamook proposed a study for structural repairs to Hangar B. In December, a large hole was opened in the hangar when an approximately 170 by 30 foot section of the roof was folded over by strong winds. Estimates to repair and fully restore the building are at least $20 million. In May 2026, the museum announced that it had applied for funding from FEMA to help pay for the repairs. Later that month, the museum announced the director's resignation. The following day, the Port of Tillamook Bay board voted against repairs to the hangar.

Collection

Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy|thumb

thumb|External shot of Hangar B

thumb|Interior photo of Tillamook Air Museum

thumb|Hangar B, Tillamook Air Museum

Aircraft on display

  • Aero Spacelines Mini Guppy
  • Alenia C-27A Spartan
  • BAC Jet Provost
  • Boeing 727 – cockpit
  • Bellanca 14-13 Cruisair Senior
  • Chris-Teena Mini Coupe
  • Convair 880 – forward fuselage
  • Douglas A-26C Invader
  • Fairchild GK-1
  • Fisher R-80 Tiger Moth
  • Kaman HTK-1 Huskie
  • Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star
  • McDonnell F-4N Phantom – cockpit
  • McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II
  • Nieuport 11 – replica
  • Nord 1101 Noralpha
  • PZL-Mielec Lim-6bis
  • Rans S-4 Coyote
  • Ryan PT-22 Recruit
  • WindRyder
  • Anderson air raid shelter walk-thru interactive exhibit
  • Curtiss SB2C Helldiver crash exhibit
  • Naval Air Station Tillamook pigeon loft walk-thru exhibit
  • Spots of Light: To Be a Woman in the Holocaust exhibit
  • Virtual reality exhibit: A Journey through the Architectural Legacy of "Hangar B."

See also

  • Evergreen Aviation Museum, in McMinnville, Oregon
  • Hangar One (Mountain View, California)
  • List of aerospace museums
  • Marine Corps Air Station Tustin
  • Moffett Federal Airfield
  • Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum in Hood River, Oregon
  • Navy Air Stations Blimps bases

References

  • Aviation: From Sand Dunes to Sonic Booms, a National Park Service Discover Our Shared Heritage Travel Itinerary