The Untold Story Of Bernard Pietenpol and Westy Farmer
On this date in 1901, Bernard H. Pietenpol was born. Considered the grandfather of the homebuilt airplane movement, BHP designed his 2-seat “Air Camper” in 1928 and powered it with a simple Ford Model A car engine. Watch Kelch Aviation Museum Archivist Hannah Shickles present “The Untold Story Of Bernard
Photography Archive
Take a peek into the museum’s photography archive with this beautiful unpublished large-format negative, donated by Pat Sparling! Our team first identified the aircraft as a Monocoupe model 70, but records indicate it is an earlier Monocoupe model 22 with a 60 h.p. Detroit “Air-Cat” engine, likely built in 1928.
Black History in Aviation
John C. Robinson, the Father of the Tuskegee Airmen, poses with a 1928 Alexander Eaglerock at the Waukegan Illinois flight school, Lake County Airways, in 1929. Robinson was a pioneering aviator and activist who went on to form the renowned aviation school for Black pilots at the Tuskegee Institute in
Name the Plane!
Name the plane! We had an amazing set of pictures donated today by Rick Schneider of Brodhead. His father Rudy was an Army mechanic before WWII and took a lot of pictures of the aircraft he worked on. While we don’t normally concentrate on military aviation, this batch of local
Waukegan Air Show of 1932
Here we see the Waukegan (Illinois) Air Show of 1932. Just think, all the airplanes in this picture are brand new! How many aircraft can you identify? Large format negative scan donated by Pat Sparling.
Major Grant from Wagner Foundation Enables Phase III Construction
The Kelch Aviation Museum at Brodhead Airport is proud to announce the start of construction on its Phase III museum building project. Construction of “The Dick and Bobbie Wagner Atrium” is only possible due to a very generous financial commitment by The Wagner Foundation of Lyons, Wisconsin. The Wagner’s connection
Throwback Thursday
It’s Throwback Thursday! Here’s a shot of our namesake Al Kelch, circa 1970, posing in stylish trousers with the 1932 Franklin Sport 90 “Old Double Trouble.” The plane now lives at the Kelch Aviation Museum; Al’s plaid trousers have been lost to time.
SuperAero Live Holiday Extravaganza
Our own Collections Manager makes an appearance tonight on the SuperAero Live Holiday Extravaganza at 8:30 pm central. https://youtu.be/AZzb-hOEcDY
Another First Flight Challenge Update!
We have the best support team! Our $2,000 First Flight challenge grant has been met with 14 hours to spare. Thank you to everyone who donated, pledged, or simply called to encourage!
First Flight Challenge Update
We’re over halfway to our $2,000 First Flight Challenge! https://fb.watch/akamD_jOYP/