Community Corner
History Flies at Farmingdale's Airpower Museum
The American Airpower Museum in Farmingdale serves to remember, preserve, educate and show gratitude to those who sacrificed for the country.
The , otherwise known as Hangar Number 3, opened its doors to the public on May 24, 2000. The museum is located in the northeast corner of , right here in Farmingdale.
Part of the location's history includes the production of 9,000 P-47 Thunderbolt fighters, which were built during WW II when the hangar was part of Republic Aviation. Weighing in at seven tons each, the P-47 Thunderbolt was the largest and heaviest single seater piston engine fighter ever to be built in the history of aviation. The museum is fortunate to actually have an operational P-47, which flew the test of time, the ravages of war and now resides in the same building in which it was built some 65 years ago.
This is no ordinary museum. Unlike most museums filled with empty shells for planes, or static displays anchored in the same location, the American Airpower Museum is alive. Many of the volunteers you see are the same ones who swept the floors, chipped off the old paint, created the exhibits, and painstakingly gave whatever they had to give, all in a collective effort to get the American Airpower Museum open and ready for the public.    Â
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I've been a volunteer photographer at AAM for nine years. My introduction came one Labor Day weekend. I proceeded inside the museum and noticed was no one inside. I joined a large crowd out on the north side of the hangar and not five minutes after walking out, I looked up and a Mitchell B-25 came whisking by, tilting its wing to one side, then disappearing as quickly as it arrived. Â I stood there with my mouth open, in complete amazement, when an elderly gentlemen standing next to me nudged my arm and said, "Hey young man, he's probably going to make another pass, you might want to put that camera up to your face and take a picture!"
After feeling completely foolish as a professional and laughing with him, I did just that. I stayed the whole day and came back early the next two days during which Nancy Epstein enlightened me that I could actually be a volunteer there as a photographer. I seized the opportunity and have been taking photos of the museum ever since.
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It is a remarkable building filled with some incredible flying machines that helped us win in WW II, and the museum is in the process of adding artifacts from other wars and struggles as well. But the most important aspect is the volunteers, many of whom are war and service veterans who volunteer on a regular basis, flying the planes, sharing their war experiences, mechanical knowledge of the planes, artistic abilities in creating the exhibits and dioramas and still more giving tours or helping traffic the planes for take off or simply sweeping up when the day is done.
As Farmingdale residents we can all be very proud of the American Airpower Museum and its volunteer corps. It is a truly great testament to American Aviation, sacrifice and our history. I am honored to be a part of this group of very special individuals and to be able to work in an environment where history truly flies.
