Candler Field Museum, Aviation museum in Williamson, United States.
Candler Field Museum is an aviation museum in Williamson, Georgia, situated next to an active airfield still in use today. The collection focuses on restored aircraft from the early years of powered flight, displayed inside hangars on the western edge of the runway.
Retired pilot Ronald Alexander bought Peach State Airport in 2005 and founded Candler Field Museum, Inc. in March 2004 as a 501(c)(3) non-profit to recreate the old Atlanta airport. The first building, an American Airways hangar, was completed in September 2008 and open to the public by October 2014. The museum closed in February 2021.
The museum's name comes from Candler Field, the early name of Atlanta's airport, whose 1920s and 1930s look the founders set out to recreate. The first building finished, in September 2008, was a copy of an American Airways hangar. Members had access to a library stocked with aviation books, magazines and photographs.
The museum sits on an active airfield, so arriving by car is the most straightforward option since there is no public transport nearby. Checking opening hours with the staff before the visit is a good idea, as schedules can vary.
Owner Ronald Alexander insisted that every machine in the collection run; anything that did not run, he said, "will be hung from the ceiling." The museum's Waco biplane also carried paying passengers on biplane rides from Peach State Airport.
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