Museums have a reputation for being wooden affairs. Look, but don’t touch, is the motto of most. But not the Hixson Museum of Flight. Its curators encourage visitors to climb into the pilot’s seat of a North American T-28 Trojan, peer into the cockpit of a 1946 Taylorcraft, and enjoy a scenic trip over Chattanooga in a 1958 Piper Apache.
Founder Pete O’Hare is excited to be offering a unique destination close to downtown Chattanooga. “Chattanooga needed an aviation museum for a long time. Before we opened our doors, you had to drive to Sevierville, Huntsville, or Marietta to see a plane,” he says. The Hixson Museum of Flight offers an up-close look at four planes, two of which have a history of combat. The museum’s T-28 Bravo saw action in Vietnam, and has the scars to prove it.
“We had to replace a piece of skin on the port side, and you can see the exit wounds on the starboard side,” O’Hare says. An Alpha version of the same plane served in two wars, including the Soccer War, a four-day skirmish in 1969 between El Salvador and Honduras.
To an untrained eye, the Bravo version of the piston-engined plane might look battle-ready. However, the Alpha version is in the middle of repairs, with its parts exposed for all to see. Museum director Rachel Hawkins likes the nitty-gritty feel this produces.
“People can come in and watch us work on the planes. We’ll strip them down and do repairs while we have visitors. It’s a unique experience,” she says. The Hixson Museum of Flight is located next to the runway at Dallas Bay Skypark. In the entrance hall, visitors can browse a variety of aviation artifacts, including the barrels of two massive guns, a field desk, and a bomb the Navy donated to the museum. The room also houses an original work by aviation artist Steve Tack and three model planes that are still airworthy. Visitors can then make their way to the hangar, where the planes are on display.
The Hixson Museum of Flight opened in May 2010 following a decade of planning. A former Reserve Marine Officer, O’Hare wanted to combine his love of aviation with a means of giving back to his community. However, a lack of money and planes kept his dream from taking off. Then O’Hare acquired the T-28 Bravo. As it sat in a hangar, a friend asked him two questions. “What are you going to do with that plane?” was the first.
When O’Hare revealed his desire to someday open an aviation museum, the man asked, “Why not now?” O’Hare was reluctant, saying a museum would need a dedicated hangar and more aircraft. The friend replied, “So, let’s get to work.” Moving forward, the museum board plans to construct the dedicated hangar, rebuild a third T-28 that’s in pieces in a Chattanooga warehouse, and acquire more aircraft. With regard to the latter, the museum is close to becoming a member of the National Aviation Museum in Pensacola, which will make it eligible to receive several planes from the Florida facility.
Whatever the future holds for the Hixson Museum of Flight, O’Hare says it will continue to preserve history for the benefit of those living in the present. “This country has been through trying times, and unless we have something that will engender conversation, we’re going to lose some of the difficult discussions we had when these aircraft were in combat. “We need those conversations to continue so future generations can understand why we did what we did and learn from both our mistakes and the things we did well,” O’Hare says.
The Hixson Museum of Flight not only serves as an educational tool, but also provides a means for O’Hare and the others associated with the museum to do well. To date, the museum has donated several thousand dollars to TC Thompson Children’s Hospital, and through July, the museum will donate a portion of each ticket sold to the hospital.
While community outreach was a big motivator for O’Hare as he laid the groundwork for the museum, the former Marine pilot says he also wanted to experience aviation in a fresh way. Now that the museum is open, he’s able to do just that. “I live vicariously through our visitors. I recently took a 60-year-old lady up in the Apache. That was her first time in a plane. She was thrilled.”
The Hixson Museum of Flight is a unique attraction that preserves the past by giving life to living, breathing historical artifacts. Its doors are open from 10 a.m. to 4 pm. Tuesdays through Thursdays, and from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. Sundays. To inquire about ticket prices and volunteer opportunities, call 423-228-2FLY.