Piper Cub and Forces of Flight

Exhibits moved to the Virginia Aviation Museum

RICHMOND INTERNATIONAL AIRPORT — 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. You can hop in and pretend you’re flying at the Aviation Museum starting Friday, May 13.

“The Piper Cub is our first, full-size aircraft that you can climb inside and move the controls,” says Virginia Aviation Museum Executive Director Mike Boehme. “It’s the perfect complement to our Kids Ready Room and pedal planes. Along with the Piper Club, we’re getting a Wind Trainer. That’s a flight simulator that uses a wind tunnel and a Piper Cub model. It allows you to fly the model in the breeze created by the tunnel’s fans. We also now have a spin tunnel which demonstrates an aircraft in a flat spin — one of the most difficult spins from which to recover. These plus the Forces of Flight exhibits give us a stronger way to demonstrate the science behind flight as well as telling the history of flight.”

Forces of Flight is a collection of interactive exhibits. One shows how differential pressure creates lift. Others demonstrate how to control direction of a plane as well as how lift, thrust and drag work.

If you love aviation and would like to be involved with the museum, the Virginia Aviation Museum is looking for volunteers who could greet visitors or help maintain the interactive exhibits. If you are interested in volunteering, please call 804-236-3622.

The Piper Cub and Forces of Flight are included with Virginia Aviation Museum admission.