Port Townsend Aero Museum — Attraction in Indian Island

I've been an airplane "nut" most of my 75 years. I earned my commercial ticket in 1969 thanks to the G.I. bill. But I made my living doing more mundane stuff, however, and feed my flying bug with visits to aviation museums, membership in EAA (Experimental Aircraft Association) and subscriptions to flying magazines. When the opportunity arose in 1988 to support the founding of a new aviation museum in my Oregon town, I purchased a life membership. Eventually, after retiring from my boring day job, I got involved in the museum's operation as a volunteer and as a director. I learned a lot about what it takes to make a volunteer-run non-profit thrive. The "secret" is a simple one word formula: "LOVE".

After selling my Oregon home and moving to the Olympic peninsula (Sequim, WA) I paid a visit to the Port Townsend Aero Museum at Jefferson County International Airport. A friend who had been there recommended it and suggested that I'd find it "attractive". He spoke great truth.

General Aviation... the private, non-commercial sector of flying, has been struggling for survival since the 1960s when some landmark product liability court cases put the Pipers, Cessnas and other light plane manufacturers into economic limbo. While the "death" of General Aviation has been so far avoided, the economic realities have priced the common man out of flying. In the late 1960s my private pilot license required an investment of about $800. Today that license will cost about $10 thousand. Without young people getting interested in flying, the future of General Aviation is bleak.

PTAM was established in 2001with a unique and inspiring mission that addresses this problem beautifully. With a collection of about 30 aircraft built in the 1920s, 30 and 40s, the museum offers job skills training to teen-aged volunteers. Young applicants pledge one day per week working at the museum restoring, maintaining and learning to fly these antique aircraft. When they are not working with tools, they are attending ground school or getting one-on-one instruction. They are supervised by licensed aviation mechanics and certified flight instructors. Some of these kids are able to achieve their first solo flight before they get their WA drivers license!

The aircraft collection is amazing. The quality of the restoration work exceeds anything I have seen elsewhere... and I've been to many aviation museums across the country. The pristine condition of these aircraft is even more impressive when one considers that the majority of them are regularly flown... and a few of them are exceedingly rare! The adjacent restoration facility accepts private projects at competitive rates with all profits benefiting the museum collection and educational mission. The museum receives no taxpayer support and is an IRS 501(c)(3) charity.

The museum is open from 9AM till 4PM Wednesday thru Sunday. Admission is $10 for adults, $9 for seniors, $7 for youth 7 to 12, and children 6 and under are free. Groups of 15 or more are eligible for special rates (call ahead). Memberships...

As aviation enthusiasts, my husband and I try to visit aerospace museums at every opportunity that presents itself. We learned about this museum just before the Covid-19 shutdowns. So, over a year later, we finally were able to visit the museum. And we were not disappointed.

It's a small museum that only takes 1 to 1-1/2 hours to see the planes and read all the placards. The collection concentrates on planes of particular interest to Pacific Northwest enthusiasts with a variety of antique and classic planes, mostly tail-draggers. Almost all the planes are in flying condition. And our favorite thing about the Museum is it  sponsors a youth mentorship program. The participants learn and participate in all aspects of the museum's operations, including restoring and flying the planes. We were fortunate to meet Mike Payne, the museum's Director, who showed us some of the activities the teens and young adults were performing. Wow!! I wish I could have participated in these activities when I was their age.

So yes, if you are in the Port Townsend area, I highly recommend taking a side trip to see...

This is a great spot for anyone interested in aviation, local history, and a cool place to take the kids. My family visited and found a clean, well laid out museum filling out an aircraft hangar. The place is basically run by volunteers and folks involved in various restoration projects. Besides the gift shop with tons of goodies for kids of all ages, there are books, models, and many wonderful examples of vintage aircraft. The rates for tickets are correct on the website...it's that inexpensive!!!! Come out, see a great museum and visit a great airport and check out the Spruce Goose cafe! Yummy food right by the flight line! We'll be...