The Aviation Magazine No:46 September-October 2016 | Page 14
This annual fundraiser for Virginia's Mili‐
tary Aviation Museum provides visitors
with a trip back in time to the memorable
days of World War II. Hundreds of re‐
enactors fill the museum grounds as
WWII warplanes fill the air.
Unfortunately, this year the weather did
not cooperate ‐ it was a cloudy and soggy
weekend. However, Friday ‐ the day that
the re‐enactors setup their camps and
displays, and visiting warplanes arrived,
was a beautiful day. Without the normal
crowds of visitors, I was privy to an al‐
most‐private tour of the museum which
includes a WWI hangar filled with wood
and fabric bi‐planes and tri‐planes and a
Luftwaffe hangar relocated from Ger‐
many and filled with German air‐
craft. The museum site also includes a
newly‐reconstructed English control
tower that once served on an airbase in
Goxhill, England.
The Military Aviation Museum features
one of the world's largest private collec‐
tions of historic military aircraft. Founded
in 2005 by Gerald Yagen, each aircraft is
restored to flying condition in accordance
with the museum's mission to preserve,
restore and fly historic aircraft to ensure
that the past does not remain in the past.
The museum's aircraft collection contin‐
ues to grow, recently adding a fully‐
restored Messerschmitt BF‐109G4. A fan‐
tastic addition since there are only a few
Messerschmitt’s in the world that con‐
tinue to fly. I had the great fortune on
Friday to watch Mr. Yagen's BF‐109 on its
maiden flight in the U.S.A .