Page 5 - August 2015 Volume 9, Number 8

1936 transcontinental Bendix Trophy Race in a Model C17R Staggerwing. She mentioned that the group of enthusiasts led by Dub Yarborough, Jim Gorman and John Parish Sr. should consider a museum to preserve the Staggerwing’s legacy and that she would donate her collection of trophies along with a lifetime of aviation memorabilia. (Editor’s Note: Coincidentally, there is a historical article about Thaden starting on page 22 of this issue of King Air.)
The museum began that same year as the Staggerwing Museum Foundation. Parish Sr., today chair of the museum’s board, donated the land on the field of the Tullahoma Regional Airport (THA). The first building was a small log cabin built to display Thaden’s memorabilia. Glen McNabb, a corporate pilot and FBO owner, became the museum’s curator.
Seventy miles southeast of Nashville and not far off of Interstate 24 near the midpoint between Nashville and Chattanooga, Tullahoma is a town of about 20,000. Many aviation enthusiasts have been drawn through the years to work at the town’s Arnold Engineering Development Complex – the nation’s largest complex of flight simulation test facilities. Established in 1951, it is on the site of the former Camp Forrest, one of the largest Army bases in the United States during World War II.
King Airs are among the 125 aircraft that fly to Tullahoma, Tennessee, each October for the annual Beech Party at the Beechcraft Heritage Museum. (MUSEUM PHOTOGRAPHER BOB BURNS)
Today, original members are involved with the museum and many of the officers, board members and staff are second generation. For example, Wade McNabb, son of original curator Glen McNabb, is the current curator and CEO of the Beechcraft Heritage Museum.
Unique Aircraft, Rare Artifacts
What started as a narrow focus has grown into the most comprehensive collection of Beechcraft artifacts and aircraft in the world. The museum changed its name to reflect its scope in 2007, becoming the Beechcraft Heritage Museum. The original log cabin is now the Louise Thaden Library and is surrounded by 60,000 square feet of exhibit space housing nearly three dozen aircraft and thousands of pieces of memorabilia.
“We attract many people with or without an aviation interest, and those with an aviation interest aren’t always Beechcraft owners,” said Wade McNabb. “Anyone interested in airplanes will find it fascinating. The artifacts, the airplanes themselves, the architecture of our buildings and the campus – we have a comfortable place to come and see some really neat stuff.”
A row of Staggerwings on display at the annual Beech Party. The Beechcraft Heritage Museum started in 1973 as the Staggerwing Museum Foundation. (PHOTO CREDIT: THOMAS HOFF)
AUGUST 2015
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 3