{{Short description|Museum exhibiting history and artifacts of aviation}}[[File:AvroCF105ArrowRL206Serial25206.jpg|thumb|right|Museum artifact: the nose section of Avro Arrow RL 206 in the Canada Aviation Museum.]] [[File:ex-British Airways Concorde 216 (G-BOAF) on display at Aerospace Bristol 8August2019 arp.jpg|thumb|Ex-British Airways Concorde G-BOAF at the Aerospace Bristol museum, England.]]
An '''aviation museum''', '''air museum''', or '''air and space museum''' is a museum exhibiting the history and artifacts of aviation. In addition to actual, replica or accurate reproduction aircraft, exhibits can include photographs, maps, models, dioramas, clothing and equipment used by aviators.<ref name="CAM">{{cite web|url = http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/about_us/mission_and_vision/|title = Our Mission and Vision|access-date = 2009-01-12|last = Canada Aviation Museum|author-link = Canada Aviation Museum|date = n.d.|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081227034848/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/about_us/mission_and_vision/|archive-date = 27 December 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref> ==Size and focus== Aviation museums vary in size from housing just one or two aircraft to hundreds. They may be owned by national, regional or local governments or be privately owned. Some museums address the history and artifacts of space exploration as well, illustrating the close association between aeronautics and astronautics.
Many aviation museums concentrate on military or civil aviation, or on aviation history of a particular era, such as pioneer aviation or the succeeding "golden age" between the World Wars, aircraft of World War II or a specific type of aviation, such as gliding.<ref name="CAM" /> ==Use of aircraft== Aviation museums may display their aircraft only on the ground or fly some of them. Museums that do not fly their aircraft may have decided not to do so either because the aircraft are not in condition to fly or because they are considered too rare or valuable. Museums may fly their aircraft in air shows or other aviation related events, accepting the risk that flying them entails.<ref name="CWH">{{cite web|url = http://www.warplane.com/pages/aboutus.html|title = Canadian Warplane Heritage About Us|access-date = 2009-01-12|last = Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum|author-link = Canadian Warplane Heritage Museum|date = n.d.| archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20081217044426/http://www.warplane.com/pages/aboutus.html| archive-date= 17 December 2008 <!--DASHBot-->| url-status= live}}</ref><ref name="VWmission">{{cite web|url = http://www.vintagewings.ca/|title = About Vintage Wings of Canada|access-date = 2013-03-24|last = Vintage Wings of Canada|author-link = Vintage Wings of Canada}}</ref> ==Archival materials== Some museums have sets of periodicals, technical manuals, photographs and personal archives. These are often made available to aviation researchers for use in writing articles or books or to aircraft restoration specialists working on restoring an aircraft.<ref name="CAMHoldings">{{cite web|url = http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/library_and_archives/holdings/|title = Library and Archives Holdings|access-date = 2009-01-13|last = Canada Aviation Museum|author-link = Canada Aviation Museum|date = n.d.|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20081227072447/http://www.aviation.technomuses.ca/collections/library_and_archives/holdings/|archive-date = 27 December 2008|url-status = dead}}</ref><ref>[http://www.rafmuseum.org.uk Royal Air Force Museum UK] Retrieved on 2013-03-24.</ref>
==Aviation museums== {{main|List of aviation museums}}
==See also== * Warbird
==References== {{Reflist}}
==Further reading== * {{cite journal |title=Air and Space Museums |journal=Museum International |date=July 1997 |volume=XLIX |issue=3 |url=http://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000113048 |access-date=11 May 2020}} * {{cite thesis |last=Tidwell |first=Robert William |date=December 2000 |title=Uncommon Ground: Aviation Collections and the Lack of Standardized Collection Management Practices |publisher=Texas Tech University |url=http://ttu-ir.tdl.org/handle/2346/21326 |access-date=3 August 2020}}
==External links== {{Commons category|Aviation museums}}
* [http://aviationheritageuk.org Aviation Heritage UK] * [http://airandspace.si.edu/events/mutual-concerns Mutual Concerns of Air and Space Museums Conference] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210228043306/http://airandspace.si.edu/events/mutual-concerns |date=2021-02-28 }}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Aviation Museum}} Category:Aerospace museums * Category:Types of museums