Aircraft museum flying high with open house
When 11-year-old Dillon Lynn first visited the Air Classics Museum of Aviation in Sugar Grove last year, he knew right away that this was the place for him.
Fortunately, the nonprofit's core group of volunteers just happened to need some help restoring a Vietnam-era warplane, and Dillon was enthusiastically recruited.
Over the next several months, the Sugar Grove boy spent his free time tinkering around on the T-A4 Skyhawk with his new buddies, many of them retired military veterans.
They replaced missing parts, put on new stencils and cleaned and cleaned and cleaned. Dillon even learned how to mask off and paint the old plane to look like it did back when presidential candidate Sen. John McCain flew one during the Vietnam War.
"It was pretty difficult," Dillon said, obviously proud of his renovation work.
Museum officials are proud, too, and hoping to generate more interest among youth like Dillon at their second annual open house from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. today. Admission is free, though donations will be collected.
"This is the next generation," said Spence Rees of Oswego, the museum's aircraft maintenance chief, motioning to Dillion. "This is who we've got this thing for."
After falling by the wayside in the late 1990s, the museum previously housed at DuPage Airport has achieved something of a rebirth since reopening a little more than a year ago on the far west end of Aurora Municipal Airport along Route 30 in Sugar Grove.
Bill Roth of St. Charles, a history buff and museum volunteer, is pleased with the attention Air Classics has attracted already. About 2,500 children visited in the last year, and the museum Web site seems to be getting a lot of hits, he said.
Rees, a retired Air Force crew chief, likens it to a "phoenix rising from the ashes."
Among other efforts, volunteers have been busy putting the finishing touches on a new exhibit hall filled with original flight gear, photos, newspaper clippings, model planes and loads of other military memorabilia. Air Classics also boasts a collection of eight mostly World War II-era helicopters and airplanes, including the Skyhawk, and has a small gift shop.
"Our goal is to restore one plane a year," said Ron Altman, publicity coordinator.
At today's open house today, five or six private collectors from across the area also are expected to exhibit retired warplanes and bombers. And 11 military veterans are scheduled to speak throughout the day.
Altman said the event aims to stir up community interest. "History sure is something else," he said.
The museum's address is 44W546 Route 30, Sugar Grove. Call (630) 466-0888 or visit www.airclassicsmuseum.org.
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