New England Air Museum

The museum began when a group of Pratt & Whitney employees formed the Connecticut Aeronautical Historical Association to save a biplane built by Louis Bancroft. While the airplane would later be destroyed in a fire, the group continued.^[5] The first display building, an inflatable dome, was erected in 1967.^[6]

In 1981, the first current building was built after a tornado destroyed the then Bradley Air Museum's previous outdoor location along Route 75 on 2 October 1979. The museum has since added a restoration hangar in 1989, a storage building in 1991, a military hangar in 1992, a 58th Bomb Wing Hangar in 2003, and a storage hangar in 2010.^[7]

The museum was renovated in 2017 with the addition of a mezzanine in two of the hangars to provide views of the aircraft from above. At the same time, a new heating and air conditioning system and LED lighting were installed.^[8][9]

In June 2023, the museum opened a new exhibit about the Tuskegee Airmen and received a grant to build a recording studio.^[10][11]

In early 2024, the museum announced plans for a new 35,000 sq ft (3,300 m²) hangar that will include a Challenger Learning Center and a digital dome to be used as a planetarium.^[12][13] The following month it hired a new curator and collections manager.^[14]

It opened a new exhibit about Pratt & Whitney in January 2026.^[15]

Exhibits include the history of Sikorsky Aircraft, computer-based flight simulators, and the 58th Bombardment Wing Memorial with the centerpiece being a restored B-29A. Additionally, there are exhibits on early French aviation, the Tuskegee Airmen, the Kosciuszko Squadron, New England Women in Aviation, and the 57th Fighter Group.^{[16][failed verification]}

• List of aviation museums