Champaign Aviation Museum, Aviation museum in Grimes Field, Urbana, United States.
The Champaign Aviation Museum displays multiple vintage aircraft in a modern hangar at the north end of Grimes Field airport. The collection focuses on World War II era planes, showing their construction and role during that period of aviation history.
The museum began in 2005 starting with three truck loads of B-17 parts and gradually built its collection of World War II aircraft. This foundation led to ongoing expansion and increasingly ambitious restoration projects over the following years.
The museum's B-25 Mitchell, Champaign Gal, is the only aircraft in Ohio offering living-history flights to paying passengers, and the museum is part of the federally designated National Aviation Heritage Area centred on Wright brothers sites. A 1941 Crosley convertible donated in 2019 sits in the lobby, and since 2024 visitors choose their own path through home-front and war-front displays made with America 250-Ohio.
Visitors can arrange guided tours of the facility and book seats for flights aboard the B-25 Mitchell bomber named Champaign Gal. It helps to reserve in advance since both tours and flights require scheduling ahead of your visit.
The B-17 under restoration, the Champaign Lady, is built around the wreck of a JB-17G, a B-17 engine testbed that carried a fifth engine mounted on its nose. The parts arrived at Grimes Field in November 2005, and volunteers began work at the south end of the airport.
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