Behind the unassuming entrance of the Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum (WAAAM) in Hood River, OR, are some three acres, all under cover, displaying 150 automobiles, 120 aircraft, old classic motorcycles, gliders and numerous other examples of motorized US transportation and aviation. Photos by author or courtesy of the WAAAM.
[Editor's Note: Frequent Hemmings contributor Don Homuth told us about the WAAAM last year, so we asked him to pay a visit and narrate what he found there.]
With snow-capped 10,000-foot Mt. Hood looming in the background, Hood River, Oregon, has a worldwide reputation for pears, apples, peaches and cherries. Located in the scenic Columbia River Gorge, it has some of the best wind surfing anywhere, skiing on the mountain, hiking and biking in the nearby forests. What is not nearly so well-known is a unique museum tucked away hard against the airport in the southwest part of the city. Chances are most of the thousands of drivers motoring by daily on I-84 en route to or from Portland or the coast aren't even aware of it.
They're missing something.
One of the few non-working engines in the collection, this one appears badly in need of an overhaul.
The Western Antique Aeroplane & Automobile Museum has in its collection over 150 cars and over 120 aircraft, and with few exceptions, nearly all are maintained in flying or driving condition. All are under cover in a building complex over two acres, and because they are packed in closely, another 50,000 square foot building is now under construction to be finished sometime this fall.
Museum founder Terry Brandt and his 1917 Curtis JN-14 Jenny. It will be flown in September 2017 to mark its 100th year.
Opened 9 years ago, WAAAM's founder, Terry Brandt, explained that he originally wanted it to be an aircraft museum only, but when he went looking for nearby volunteers, most of them said, "We aren't airplane guys – we are car guys." So cars were added and that part of the collection grows yearly. The car collection is split between those owned by the museum – most donated – and those on loan. To have a car displayed requires the loaner to become a volunteer – one of over a hundred who do everything from mechanical maintenance to acting as knowledgeable docents for visitors. The staff consists of a part-time director (Terry's sister Judy), and some office/reception/sales personnel, so it's the volunteers who handle pretty much everything else.
Electric cars are nothing new.
As a kid, Brandt always wanted to fly – and he learned how at about age 13. He started buying old aircraft as a young man – his earliest was a Piper J2 Cub that he bought at age 17, which his dad said was no good when it was new. It continued from the early '60s into the '80s. One of his early buys was a 1917 Curtis JN-14 "Jenny" which will be one hundred years old and will be flown in celebration during a fly-in in September 2017. Over the years, Brandt kept buying old aircraft – often simply being told to haul away the "barn finds" (mostly behind barns and not inside) from owners who had let them go. He never paid a lot for them, and just rebuilt them with some skilled volunteer help.
Detroit Electric batteries.
He initially financed the museum on his own. WAAAM gets no public money and relies mostly on admission fees and small donations to fund operations. It has recently received a private donation of $1.5 million from Minnesota benefactor Jerry Wenger, which went to fund the new construction. Wenger had previously donated his private collection of WACO aircraft, built by a company in Troy, Ohio, that folded in 1947 after the expected postwar explosion in civilian aircraft sales never materialized.
The very first Stearman prototype from 1933. A bunch of these were converted to crop dusters after their service as a primary trainer in WW2.
Unlike most aircraft museums, this one is not about warbirds. "There are maybe eight or nine aircraft museums on the West Coast," says Brandt, "and every one of them has a P-51 and similar aircraft. This is one of the few places where you will find the civilian aircraft (there are a few exceptions, but they aren't fighters or bombers) in their original shape."
The extremely rare USN HE-1 is a refitted Piper J-5, used as a shipboard air ambulance in WW2. Few have survived, but this one is complete and intact. And flyable.
With over 120 aircraft of astonishing variety, names, configurations and engines, all of them can't be mentioned or pictured. One that stands worthy of mention is the original prototype of the Stearman biplane used as a WW2 trainer. It's the only prototype, and all other Stearmans were patterned after it, and the restoration took a full 30 years. There's a US Navy HE-1- which is a Piper J-5 – configured as an air ambulance. Those were flown from the short decks of US navy ships to ferry sailors with medical problems to the larger aircraft carriers. Only 100 were built; few have survived intact.
This Chevrolet Imperial Landau was stored in a barn for 57 years and is shown as uncovered.
The cars are equally well-maintained. Save for those displayed in "as found" condition, all are mechanically sound and driven with some regularity.
When asked what his favorite airplane and car is, Brandt responds "Whichever one I'm flying or driving at the moment." But he admits to a special place in his heart for the Jenny and for a Chrysler on display right across the aisle from it.
Rides in the pre-WW1 "station wagon" and a Stanley Steamer.
The second Saturday of each month, WAAM hosts an "action day." Sometimes motorcycles, sometimes aircraft, sometimes something else. Some Saturdays feature car shows held on the grounds of the 27-acre complex. A recent event featured rides in a genuine "station wagon" Model T with a mostly wooden body, open configuration – the sort of depot hack that would have been used to ferry passengers around train stations in the '20s. A working Stanley Steamer, on loan to the museum, was also giving rides.
Local cruise-in on a lovely day.
Cars in the cruise-in were mostly local according to the cards in the windows. Model A's and Ts were well represented, but there were enough other cars to make up a show somewhat larger than the usual weekend event.
Close-up of the two-lever valve train in the OX-5 aircraft engine. A very popular aircraft engine for nearly 20 years.
The volunteer docents are notable for their expertise and knowledge of their areas of specialty. One fellow explained at some length the unique nature of the OX-5 aircraft engine, having two kinds of levers in its valve gear, and was expert and thorough in discussing it. Nearly one entire row of aircraft was equipped with that engine.
Volunteer, exhibitor, carpenter and docent Andy Anderson in one of the five cars he has in the museum, this one a Model T.
A special mention goes to Andy Anderson, who has five Fords – Model Ts and Model As – in the display. In addition to the cars, at least one of which was assembled as an incomplete basket case, he also did most of the interior carpentry work. Now in his 80s and still sporting a big smile, there may be something he doesn't know about those cars, but it would be hard to find out what.
All the museum's docents are like that.
Chevrolet was not limited only to the inexpensive models at the time, as this phaeton demonstrates.
It's beyond available bandwidth for this article to do justice to this place in words. There's just too much. A tour through WAAAM would take 4-5 hours, and a visitor still wouldn't really be able to "see" all of it thoroughly. I took a hundred photos, and still didn't cover all the interesting exhibits. My wife – who was entranced by the displays – took another hundred and wants to go back.
Wheeled transportation comes in many forms, for many purposes, many out of necessity. Someone thought these were worth saving just to show how things have changed over the years.
There's much more than automobiles and aircraft to see, too. While touring other museums on the West Coast, Brandt noticed that, frequently, men were inside looking at the displays, while the women remained outside in the cars reading a book. So he has expanded the displays to include other things of interest – old appliances (an operating mangle iron that few use any more, though they were common in the 50s), old bicycles, a display of women in WW2 aviation, a motorized high-wheel cycle that a local woman used to ride well into her 80s, some displays of military weaponry and uniforms, even a large display of fishing lures along one wall. "I wanted to have something here for almost anyone," says Brandt.
I had one exactly like this my senior college year, but then I got married and….well, you know.
For car fans, there's enough here (including the twin to the 1966 Corvette I owned until I got married) to interest anyone who loves everything from brass-era and steam cars to modern muscle, foreign cars, micros and customs. For an aircraft fan, few collections anywhere can rival the variety of civilian aircraft from more than a half century ago. Over a half dozen gliders are on display, one in its original trailer.
High style in a 1957 Chevrolet Cameo pickup.
There is education lurking here, even for the most knowledgeable motorhead. Because the exhibits change, there's something new every couple of months, and this is one museum worth making time for.
This 1912 Indian Model D is reputed to be a genuine survivor.
A half dozen pre-WW2 luxury cars were remarkably well restored. This Locomobile is stunning.
Dirt track racing was popular during the 20's and 30's. This one was labeled as "Outlaw" and we have the World of Outlaws even now.
A line of brass-era automobiles. There are more.
Microcars have been around since early in the automobile's development.
1910 steam tractor, with all of 16 horsepower. This one was driven in the July 4th parade in Hood River this year.
A line of Studebakers. The later Larks are in a different line elsewhere.
1960 Pontiac Catalina custom. Even in dim light, it seemed to glow.
Early Iowa license plate, made of leather. Cost $1 and was tied/laced onto the back of the car.
The term "Full-Dress Harley" is well-known, but "Full-Dress Cushman?" Not so much.
Not all of the museum's aircraft are powered.
Starting the Stanley takes about a half hour. Got to get that water boiling first.
There's hope for the future of the car hobby.
from Hemmings Daily – News for the collector car enthusiast http://ift.tt/2arNM0a
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