The North Carolina Aviation Museum is well into its second decade as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to preserving the history, as well as honoring the heritage of  the wonderfully wide, wide world of flight!

The museum is also involved with on-site restoration and the promotion of aviation awareness through a variety of tours and events designed for those from 7 to 97.

Supported by nearly a 99-percent volunteer force, the North Carolina Aviation Museum features a Piper Cub (the J-3 "Flitfire" pictured above) flown by Orville Wright, as well as many other historical, experimental and even unmanned aircraft. The museum also has two hangars full of military vehicles, weapons, equipment and uniforms, with more being displayed nearly every month! Artifacts available for viewing include items from World War I, World War II, the Korean and Vietnam Wars - even the Cold War.

REMEMBER, museum aircraft and displays change on a regular basis, so be sure and stop in TODAY to see what is currently on exhibit!!

Upon your arrival to the museum, you will pass through the front gate into our fully fenced-in parking area adjacent to the airport. You can't miss the huge USAF insignia carved into the landscaping out front. Beautifully renewed in late 2008 by Southwest Randolph High School Senior Steve Younts. (Thanks Steve, from the NCAM Family. JOB VERY WELL DONE INDEED!)

Coming up our "Friends of the Museum Walkway," you will notice inscriptions on many of the bricks. These are memorials, donated by family members or loved ones, in honor of those who have served us all. Just ask a staff member for details.

Inside the front door, "Big Band" music will greet you as you find yourself in the middle of the"Bob Moon Museum Store," home to one of the largest collections of aircraft models in the southeast.

After picking out a few items to buy on the way out, you'll enter "Hangar 1" and come face-to-face with the Piper flown by Orville! Normally, we also have at least a dozen other aircraft on display. Lining the walls is a huge collection of authentic military uniforms, equipment, weapons, as well as a myriad of memorabilia dating back as far as the late 1800s. (UPDATE 3/6/09 - A new exhibit featuring a 1/4-scale Wright Flyer opened today in Hangar 1. This classic craft was built and donated to the museum by area resident Mark Glazer. The entire "NCAM Family" would like to publicly thank Mark for his fantastic gift.)

But, that's not all!! (UPDATE: 11/18/08 - Opening today, the "Curator's Corner," a section which allows patrons to browse, but please don't touch, many of the museum's newest arrivals.) Most are fresh out of the box and on initial display until a permanent home is created for them. A big thanks here goes to Asheboro High School Senior Devon Goy for his outstanding efforts assisting with the set up of this,and other, displays throughout the facility.

You can also lose yourself in the dozens of period newspapers on display, sit down and relax to a good book or check out a featured video in one of our research/viewing areas.

Next up is "Hangar 2," where your journey through our aviation archives continues. There you will find everything from a C-45 to a Swiss P-3. An RV-8 to a "Bird Dog." We even have a couple of Link Trainers. Don't know what they are? Come by and find out!! We'll be glad to tell you about them or anything else you see on exhibit.

And, when you're done, circle around and head back out the way you came in. Don't forget to stop back at the"Bob Moon Museum Store" and purchase those items you picked out on the way in!!!

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