Champaign Aviation Museum — Attraction in Urbana

The entrance has some small displays including a car, ball and tail turrets along with an engine. This is just tintsy showing of all you will find once you walk through the interior museum. This is a live museum as they are actively restoring a B-17 Flying Fortress called Champaign Lady. Expect some loud noise while walking through the museum as the volunteers are working.

There is so much memorabilia that you can get lost in it all. Outside of the actively flying B-25 Mitchell called Champaign Gal, you can walk into the DesertAir, a C-47 Skytrain. They have a couple mini-planes for your tikes to ride in too. The displays show those that actually flew in the war and the items they wore or had with them. I was totally overwhelmed by everything as there was so much history here. The plane miniatures were one of my favorites as when I was a young man I made plane models and hung them from the ceiling in my room. If the history in this museum could talk, this place would talk for decades. If you are a war historian, an aircraft buff or just want to learn more about the days grandpa flew in WWII, this is a stop for you.

They have a small gift shop where you can get some shirts, jackets, coins and other trinkets. Even though it is a free museum, please make a donation! ✈️ We all want to see Champaign Lady flying again.

Check their schedule as you can be a passenger on the Champaign Gal when she is flying. I missed it by...

Walking through the doors of this museum instantly takes you back in time. The first thing you see are the women who helped make our country great and the efforts they put forth to do so. Take a walk into the hangar and you'll be taken back to a time in our nation's history that is easily forgotten by many today, but is such a hugely important reason we get to live and enjoy the freedoms we cherish. You can almost feel yourself there in those moments with our greatest generation. You can see, in person, a ball turret to your left as you walk in the front door. Take time to read every plaque. They pay homage to those who bravely sacrificed time, hard work, and even their lives for the freedoms you and I take for granted today. You can see, up close, the technology of that day. You can walk along side the planes that won the great war for us and our allies. It's a true jewel of a small town in Ohio. One that you won't find anywhere else. Another great (if not the greatest) feature is that you can actually see the rebuilding project of a volunteer based force in the very same hangar of a B-17 aptly named "Champaign Lady." The volunteers are there daily, donating time to preserve the best part of US! I definitely suggest taking a trip to Urbana to visit this amazing peice of history and sharing it...

This is a fantastic location for an event. We had a small family and close friend wedding reception at this location. The staff and volunteers were professional, friendly, and helpful. Jessica made the whole process smooth and stress-free. We couldn't have asked for better service, location, and entertainment for guests as they waited for the bridal party to arrive from taking photos. The museum permits guests to get up close and even inside some of the aircraft. The exhibits are well done. The staff had even made sure that riding airplane toys were available for the children to play in. Also, the bride is a member of the civil air patrol so the volunteers moved the vintage Civil Air Patrol plane in the hanger so that the wedding party could be seated in front of the plane. This was very special and appreciated by the bride and groom. The museum is a unique place that many of our guests were very impressed with and plans to return to tour another day. This event was a great beginning to a wonderful wedding weekend. I highly recommend Jessica and the Champaign Aviation Museum for...