On 10/04/26, my 14-year-old son and I visited this museum. He is incredibly passionate about…read moreaircraft, and I was encouraging him to find local places of interest. He was so proud and excited to go, but the entire experience was a massive disappointment.
The issues started immediately upon arrival. The front parking spots were full, and the empty lot to the right was unmarked and unkempt, making the entrance feel like a junkyard. Inside, the staff member--who we later found out was the owner--completely ignored us. We waited in the gift shop for a few minutes before walking up to pay. Although the posted admission should have been $25 ($15 for an adult, $10 for a child), he charged me $30. I didn't argue because I wanted to support a small local business, which I now deeply regret.
We did a quick walkthrough of the indoor expo, decided to go outside first, and plan to finish the indoor section later. The outdoor area felt less like a museum and more like a military graveyard out of a Mad Max movie. It took about two hours to walk through, and honestly, nothing was breathtaking or special (especially compared to events like the Oshkosh EAA AirVenture).
The real issue happened when we went back inside to see the small part of the indoor expo we had skipped. To get over to the unseen section, my son stepped across a stanchion row. The path on the other side was completely open, so it wasn't a restricted zone--just a shortcut.
As soon as we re-entered the gift shop area, the owner began screaming and yelling at my minor son, demanding, "How did you get here?!" Because his reaction was so utterly bizarre and unhinged, my son laughed, thinking it was a joke. I even laughed along at first because the owner sounded completely insane. He then shifted his screaming to, "Why are you laughing?" That's when I realized he wasn't joking. He was aggressively confronting a child over a harmless shortcut in an empty room. We ignored his continued shouting, looked around for another minute, and left.
To top it all off, the bathrooms were unimaginably filthy--one was completely out of order, and the other was worse than a neglected port-a-potty.
This business does not deserve your money. Before this interaction, we were actually planning to buy souvenirs and ask the owner if the museum would like a huge, antique RC plane model donated to their collection. Obviously, they didn't get the donation, and they won't get our business ever again. I was also planning to bring my boyfriend next time, but I'm glad he skipped this trip and saved his $15.