- National Air Race Museum, Reno Nevada
The National Air Race Museum (NARM) was a short-lived (1993-1994)
aviation museum featuring the Golden Age of Racing and theReno Air Races , located in Sparks,Nevada . Aircraft exhibited included an original, non-flying replica ofHughes H-1 Racer .Aircraft displayed
* 1944
Messerschmitt Bf 109 G;
* 1910 Curtiss pusher;
* 1913Deperdussin replica;
* 1925Curtiss R3C-2 replica;
* 1926Macchi M.39 replica;
* 1931Supermarine S.6B replica;
* 1936Rider R-4 #70 Schoenfeldt "Firecracker", winner, 1938 Greve Race in Cleveland;
* 1938Rider R-6 "Eightball" flown in Oakland and Cleveland, 1938-1939;
* 1936 Beechcraft 17R Staggerwing;
* 1971Hanson Special #35 "Sump'n Else";
* 1948Miss Cosmic Wind #6 raced and owned by Bill Stead, Founder of Reno Air Races;
*Formula-1 Racer Stinger #21 owned and flown by Astronaut Deke Slayton.Artifacts on display included a pair of leather gloves left behind by
Charles Lindbergh in 1927 when he flew intoBlanchard Field , Reno's Original Airport.The
National Automobile Museum would rotate vintage vehicles through to complement antiquehot air balloon display.NARM Visitors were beneficiaries of exchange programs with a number of Museums including the
National Air and Space Museum .The museum included an Aviation Art Gallery, Gift Shop and "Fuselage Theater" built with commercial airliner interior for screening of movies.
Many of the air racers and the BF-109G were on loan from the Air Museum in Chino,
California . The BF-109G was last seen, a few years ago, in thePlanes of Fame satellite museum near the Grand Canyon at Valle Airport in Valle-Williams,Arizona , along with a letter from GeneralJimmy Doolittle 's son informing NARM that Jimmy had become ill and was unable to attend NARM's Grand Opening.As of
May 10 2008 many of the other racers and replicas are in a hangar at the Main Planes of Fame Museum in Chino. Ed Maloney, President of the Air Museum, says the air racers will soon be featured in an air racing display. The non-flying replica of the Hughes H-1 Racer is currently in storage.Opened in May of 1993, NARM closed in February, 1994. Over 20,000 visitors came through in less than a year of operation. A learning center including Flight School for Kids at Risk and any other children who wanted to learn more about flying was under development at time of closure.
The Planes of Fame Museum briefly reopened NARM in September, 1994, before removing all contents of NARM which have been relocated to Chino and Valle-Williams.
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