Preserve, Educate and Inspire - Founding the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center

The American Helicopter Museum and Education Center opened to the public at the Brandywine Airport on October 18, 1996. This milestone was the realization of a vision adopted at a luncheon meeting hosted by the Philadelphia Chapter of the American Helicopter Society on July 30, 1993. Chapter leaders had previously brainstormed potential ideas for commemorating the upcoming 50th Anniversary of the American Helicopter Society in 1994, but recognized the need to engage a broader constituency to do something significant. With the goal of establishing a 50th Anniversary Committee, a luncheon was scheduled at Boeing Helicopters in Ridley Park, PA. Participants included the author, several Chapter officers and an invitation list that included Philadelphia area rotary-wing business leaders, industry pioneers and influencers. Attendees at that first meeting included Lee Douglas, Frank Duke, Vincent Genovese, Euan Hooper, Warren Jacobs, Wes Moore, Ren Pierpoint, John Schneider, George Townson, Edward B. Wilford III and Peter Wright, Sr. After debating multiple options for the commemoration, the idea of a museum was embraced when Peter Wright, then President of Keystone Helicopters, offered to donate several vintage helicopters if a museum was established. Two weeks later, the nascent 50th Anniversary Committee met again with a mission to: “Lay the foundation for a permanent rotary-wing restoration, conservation and exhibition facility in the Delaware Valley.” Referencing the documented minutes of the aforementioned meeting and that of subsequent meetings of the 50th Anniversary Committee, other documents and the recollections of the author, this paper will trace the formative years of the museum from July 1993 to October 1996. It will address the many challenges of founding an aviation museum including incorporation, location identification, building the collection and creating the exhibits and programs. It will recall the people involved and their significant contributions. This paper is particularly compelling to publish this year, recognizing the 25th anniversary of the American Helicopter Museum and Education Center on 18 October 2021.