Just Around the Corner: New owner for Paine Field’s Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum
Posted: August 4, 2022 2059
The Flying Heritage Museum in 2013.
It took a good 15 minutes to start the De Havilland Mosquito’s engines at the Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum in July 2019.
Testing the landing gear seals on a Hawker Hurricane in July 2019. Per the museum: “Because of its simplicity and adaptability, the Hurricane would serve in every major theater of air warfare in World War II.”
A baby ready to see the plane show on Flying Tigers Day in June 2013.
Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk. Its plaque reads: “The P-40 was the U.S. Army’s most capable fighter at the dawn of World War II.”
Goodyear FG-1D Corsair. Per the museum: “The Corsair was one of the most outstanding fighter-bombers of World War II. The inverted gull wing design allowed the mating of a large propeller with the huge radial engine, while keeping the overall height of the aircraft within the limitations imposed by carrier use.”
A museum volunteer in July 2019 shows a Curtiss P-40C Tomahawk to a visitor. He said, “They all had different characteristics–all the airplanes–they had advantages and disadvantages. They had weaknesses and strengths. As a pilot, you had to figure out your opponent’s weakness.”
New owner announced: The Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum at Paine Field has been purchased by Walmart heir Steuart Walton.
The museum houses many vintage WWII aircraft and vehicles. It was owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen. He died in 2018, and the museum has been closed since 2020 due to the pandemic.
Recently, Paul Allen’s sister, Jodi Allen, has been selling many of his properties in accordance with his wishes.
Walton’s non-profit Wartime History Museum will run the museum.
Good news in preserving this area’s rich aeronautical history.
There’s no reopening date announced yet.
— Story and file photos by David Carlos
Mountlake Terrace resident David Carlos often submits photos and videos profiling interesting places nearby.
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