November is National Aviation History Month! On this day, November 30th, in 1907, Glenn Curtiss founded the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company, the first airplane manufacturing company in the United States. At Kelch Aviation Museum, we have two Curtiss-Wright aircraft – a 1931 model 12Q and a 1932 model 12W.

November is National Aviation History month! 90 years ago on this day in 1929, Richard Byrd and his 3-man crew made the first flight to the South Pole. They had difficulty gaining enough altitude, and had to dump empty gas tanks, as well as their emergency supplies, in order to

November is National Aviation History month! Fun fact: On this day, November 25th,in 1913, Raymonde de Laroche, the first woman to earn a pilot’s license, flew 200 miles (320 km) solo in four hours, setting a new record. The flight won her the 1913 Fémina Cup for the longest solo

November is National History Month! Aviation history fun fact: On this day in 1924, a Fokker F. VII, landed in Indonesia after a 55-day adventure flying all the way from the Netherlands. With a total of 127 flight hours and numerous intermediate stopovers, the plane touched down in Jakarta to

November is National Aviation History month! Fun fact: On this day in 1935, The China Clipper’s first transpacific crossing departed Alameda, flown by Captain Edwin Musick. At the end of the six-day, 8,210-mile trip, the China Clipper reached Manila on November 29th, with a total flying time of 59 hours

November is National Aviation History month! A hundred years ago on November 20th, 1919, Macauley Field, the first Municipal Airport in the United States, officially opened! The local paper, Tucson Citizen, reported that the first landing at the new airport was made “in one of the Curtis Biplanes of the

Big news to announce! We finalized a wonderful aircraft donation this week. The Kelch Aviation Museum at Brodhead Airport has received a donation of an original Pietenpol Air Camper aircraft from Mr. Gary Baglien of Loudon, Tennessee. Mr. Baglien purchased the aircraft in 1965. Originally built in 1937 by the

Construction of our new hangar has been delayed a bit by the fickle Wisconsin weather, but we are enclosed just in time for winter. The heat is on and most of the remaining work is inside. Pictures here from November 14, 2019.