- Hours: Open Tuesday through Sunday
- Reservations: Not required
- Cost: Admission fee
- Location: In Vancouver, Washington's National Historic Reserve, driving directions below
- How Long: Allow one to two hours
- Best Time to Visit: Any time, check for special events during your visit
Pearson Air Museum Review
This small air musuem is built next to the country's oldest continuously-operating airfield, first used when the dirigible The Gelatin landed after making the first flight across the Columbia River in 1905. The first airplane landed here in 1911, on what was then the polo grounds of the Vacouver Barracks. This unusual flight originated atop the Multnomah Hotel in Portland.Today, the Pearson Air Museum concentrates on aircraft made before or during World War II, housed in the country's oldest wooden aircraft hangar, built in 1918 and used as a hangar since 1921. Exhibits here include a small collection of well-restored aircraft, a hands-on learning center where kids of all ages can learn the basics of aerodynamics and a theater showing several aviation films on demand.
Visitors can also tour the maintenance shop, where volunteer aircraft mechanics restore antique aircraft and teach others the skills of wood and fabric airplane construction and repair.
May through September, the Pearson Air Museum hosts Cruz-in the Runway, a Wednesday night fly-in event that features not only classic aircraft but also pre-1974 cars and trucks, Corvettes and Vipers.
Getting to Pearson Air Museum
Pearson Air Museum1115 East Fifth Street
Vancouver, WA
(360) 449-7800
Pearson Air Museum website
From I-5, take the Mill Plain Boulevard exit, turn right on Fort Vancouver Way and follow the Pearson Aviation Museum signs through the Vancouver Barracks, making a left turn onto East Fifth Street.
If You Liked Pearson Air Museum, You May Also Like:
- Museum of Flight, Seattle
- Pima Air Museum, Tucson
