Yankee Air Museum UP IN FLAMES

[Chaos68]

This weekend was a sad day  

http://www.yankeeairmuseum.org


PRESS RELEASE
October 10,2004


The Yankee Air Museum at Willow Run Airport suffered a disastrous fire last night that destroyed the historic hangar that housed the museum. The museum staff was able to move the historic B-17, C-47 and B-25 aircraft out of the building, thus saving the heart of the collection. In addition, all the historic aircraft on display outside of the main building were untouched by the fire. While many irreplaceable artifacts, photos and books were lost in the fire, the Volunteers at the museum are thankful that the aircraft collection remains largely intact. Only a small number of non-flyable aircraft that were in restoration inside the hangar were lost.

The Yankee Air Museum members, staff and volunteers are determined to rebuild the museum facilities and continue the great work that was begun in 1981 by a small group of visionaries who were dedicated to preserving this important piece of aviation and Southeastern Michigan history.

The Michigan Aerospace Foundation, the sister organization of the museum which was formed to plan and fund future expansion of the museum facilities, will now be working hard to raise the necessary funds to re-build the museum as soon as possible. Working with Willow Run Airport and the Yankee Air Museum, the Foundation will be seeking funding and other help from Foundations, Corporations and Individuals as it works to replace what has been lost.

The Yankee Air Museum and the Michigan Aerospace Foundation would like to ask that anyone with an interest in helping to rebuild the museum, please contact the Foundation.

A help hotline can be reached at 734-483-4030
If you recieve a busy signal please keep trying.

[Chaos68]

another story on it:

Blazing Inferno Damages Yankee Air Museum
Hangar Burns Out Of Control At Willow Run Airport

POSTED: 10:53 pm EDT October 9, 2004
VAN BUREN TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- A massive fire Saturday evening destroyed a hangar containing vintage aircraft at an airport built by Henry Ford to produce World War II bombers on assembly lines like those used at his automotive plants.

The fire started on the second floor just after the museum closed, Local 4 reported.

No injuries were reported at the Yankee Air Museum at Willow Run Airport, said Devin Parks, a dispatcher with the Van Buren Township Fire Department in western Wayne County.

The fire at the hangar used by the museum was reported at 6:28 p.m. and was burning out of control more than an hour later, Parks said. Firefighters from six local departments were assisting the airport fire department in trying to control the blaze.

A number of Yankee Air Museum-owned aircraft parked near the hangar were not damaged.

The cause of the fire was not known.

The airport, 25 miles west of Detroit, is owned and operated by the Wayne County Airport Authority. Spokesman Mike Conway did not immediately return a telephone message.

The Yankee Air Museum was founded in 1981 and includes functioning historic aircraft, fixed displays and historic artifacts, according to the museum's Web site. Its focal point was the 1941 hangar that burned Saturday night.

Construction of the Ford-owned Willow Run plant was completed in September 1941; by the end of 1944 it was producing a bomber an hour. By the end of World War II, Willow Run produced 8,685 B-24 Liberator bombers, the Web site said.

Willow Run Airport is used primarily by cargo, charter and private aircraft.

[gofaster]

Michigan's Yankee Air Museum Destroyed In Fire
 The Yankee Air Museum's 50,000-square-foot hangar, at Willow Run Airport near Ypsilanti, Mich., burned to the ground Saturday evening, destroying at least four airplanes and countless aviation artifacts. The crew of a B-25D who had just returned from a flight were able to save the airplane and the museum's two other flying classics -- a C-47 and a B-17G. The hangar, which is owned by the Wayne County Airport Authority, has been cited in the past for fire and structural safety concerns, according to the Detroit News. A 2001 report, commissioned by the museum, said the 63-year-old building lacked a fire-suppression system and proper fire exits. No one was hurt in the fire and the cause has not yet been determined. Museum President Jon Stevens told the Detroit News damage is estimated at between $5 million and $7 million. "Obviously, we had concerns with the old building," Stevens said. "We have been working over the last three years to raise money. At this time, we cannot do so." The hangar was originally built as part of a plant designed by Henry Ford to produce B-24 Liberator bombers on assembly lines for World War II. "It's a terrible loss, not only for us, who have put so much time and our hearts into that place, but really it's a loss for southeast Michigan and the aviation world," museum member Raymond Nickels told the News.

(Image removed from quote.)

Its tragic when something like this happens.