
The Yankee Air Museum launched a $5 million fundraising drive last week that it hopes will lead to the museum taking over a portion of the sprawling Willow Run manufacturing plant that was built during World War Two by Henry Ford to manufacture B-24 Liberator bombers and was most recently owned by General Motors for the production of automotive powertrains, as we recently reported.
The current owner of the Willow Run Plant, the RACER Trust, was established to sell the property and other former General Motors facilities that were shed during the automakers’ recent bankruptcy. RACER has agreed to give Yankee Air Museum and the Michigan Aerospace Foundation until August 1, 2013 to come up with the $8 million necessary to purchase the land and begin renovations.
At the fundraising event Museum Chairman Ray Hunter announced the possibility of obtaining a Ford built B-24 to be displayed at the museum and indicated that the museum has been in contact with the National Museum of the US Air Force regarding the possible acquisition of one, though no final arrangement has been made.
What a pity that it is scrapping an AW650( I’m assuming it isn’t the military version AW660!)
I am currently renovating one at the East Midlands AeroPark and would loved to have been able to “rob” the one in America for spares ……such a long distanec and expense to collect though.