Recent News Releases

F-14 Tomcat Forum

You know it from the movie “Top Gun” and the TV show “Jag.” If you’re thinking “I feel the need for speed” you’re on the right wavelength. That’s a Tom Cruise line from “Top Gun” — the film that brought the F-14 into pop culture. If you’re a “Jag” fan you know the F-14’s the plane Harm loved flying. But what’s the real story of the F-14 Tomcat? Find out at the F-14 Tomcat Forum at the Virginia Aviation Museum, Saturday, May 3, 10:00 am–4:00 pm. Full News Release (PDF 17 kB)

Black History Month at the Virginia Aviation Museum

Meet two of the original Tuskegee Airmen - members of the first African-American Air Corps unit. Find out about the first African-American combat pilot and the first African-American woman to fly a plane. It’s all at the Virginia Aviation Museum during Black History Month.  Full News Release (PDF 13 kB)

Celebrate the Wright Brothers First Flight

Climb aboard a life-size replica of Orville and Wilbur Wright’s most successful glider. Lie down at the center of the lower wing and move the controls. That’s how the Wrights flew the real 1902 glider. It’s a far cry from flight as we know it today. When they designed the 1902 glider, the Wrights added a controllable rudder. With it they were able to fly for 26 seconds. That was the longest time anyone had flown. But they still needed to fly with an engine. Dec. 17, 1903, they successfully completed the first powered, controlled flight in what is now know as the 1903 Wright Flyer. That 12-second flight was 120 feet long, but it changed the world forever. Get a taste of the early days of flight at the Virginia Aviation Museum’s Wright Brothers Celebration on Saturday, Dec. 15, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Full News Release

New Science Museum of Virginia Director Is Chosen

The Science Museum of Virginia Board of Trustees has selected Richard Conti to become the next Science Museum director. Conti is currently executive director at Nauticus in Norfolk. Full News Release

Hangar Dance

Put on your best dancing clothes for a night of swing dancing. Show off your signature dance moves. Don’t know how to swing dance? Learn how in a free lesson at the dance. Then jitterbug the night away under the wings of historic planes. It’s all at the Virginia Aviation Museum’s Hangar Dance on Saturday, Oct. 27, 7-11 p.m. Full News Release (PDF 53KB)

SR-71 Forum

Climb up a piece of history. Peer into an SR-71 cockpit flown in by an elite few. For years the SR-71 Blackbird has been shrouded in secrecy. It has flown missions so covert that some may never be made public. Tightly guarded stories of the fastest, highest-flying manned aircraft of its time are now coming to light. Hear some of those stories from Blackbird crew members called Habus. They tell stories of flying at speeds faster than mach 3.3 and altitudes higher than 85,000 feet. See a huge engine that once powered an SR-71 and a start cart that once started the planes. Examine an inertial-astro-navigation system that pre-dates GPS. It’s all at the SR-71 Forum at the Virginia Aviation Museum on Saturday, Sept. 29, 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Full News Release (PDF 53KB)

Richmond British Classic Car Meet

Get up close to a rare, legendary British roadster. It’s a 1953 Allard J2X. Everywhere you look you see British sports and racing cars. It’s all at the Richmond British Classic Car Meet at the Virginia Aviation Museum on Sunday, May 6, 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Full News Release (PDF 53KB)

Wings ‘n' Rails

Explore a small world filled with miniature villages, life-like cities and scale model railroads. Look for a small Hawaii complete with Pearl Harbor and Waikiki. Look for a LEGO® scene that may seem familiar and an HO-scale rail yard. Build a scale mountain. Inspect a supersonic spy plane — the SR-71 Blackbird. It’s all at Wings ‘n’ Rails at the Virginia Aviation Museum, Saturday, March 24, and Sunday, March 25, 9:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Full News Release (PDF 56KB)

Black History Month at the Virginia Aviation Museum

Meet two of the original Tuskegee Airmen — members of the first African-American Air Corps unit. Find out about the first African-American combat pilot and the first African-American woman to fly a plane. It’s all at the Virginia Aviation Museum during Black History Month. Full News Release (PDF 52KB)

Space Travel Design Pioneer Burt Rutan

Burt Rutan is on a quest to send people into space. He is the mastermind behind SpaceShipOne — the first non-government manned spaceship. Two successful SpaceShipOne flights in 2004 won Rutan a $10 million X-Prize. What’s this American aerospace engineer and entrepreneur up to now? Find out when Burt Rutan Visits the Virginia Aviation Museum, Saturday, Nov. 11, noon-3 p.m. Full News Release (PDF 52KB)

Next time you want to climb into your favorite bright yellow airplane exhibit, head on out to the Virginia Aviation Museum . That’s right — the Virginia Aviation Museum . The Science Museum of Virginia’s popular Piper Cub and the Forces of Flight exhibits are moving to the Virginia Aviation Museum.