The Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey

Preserving the Garden State's Aviation Heritage

Today when you board an airplane, you can stow your carry-on, buckle your seat belt and drift off to sleep, knowing almost exactly what time you'll arrive at your destination.  Despite the seats in coach being a little bit cramped, you'll be comfortable, warm and (occasionally) well fed.  But flying wasn't always this easy.

Visitors to the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey can learn all about aviation's precarious beginnings, and the remarkable milestones achieved through the years by the many New Jerseyans who played epic roles in the history of flight.

Located at Teterboro airport in northern New Jersey, the recently expanded museum is jam-packed with historic air and space equipment.  It also houses artifacts, photographs, art prints and an extensive model collection. 

Founded in 1972 by Pat Reilly, the Public Relations Director of Pan American Airways, the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey is dedicated to the preservation of the Garden State's renowned aviation and space heritage.

To learn more about the history of flight, I visited the museum with some friends.  Lt. Col. Stephen F. Riethof, the museum's Associate Director, met our group and led us into the 60-seat Ray Wells Skyroom Theater, where he told us about the beginning of aviation in New Jersey. 

He explained that the Garden State has had many aviation firsts.  For example, in 1912, Oliver G. Simmons carried the first official sack of mail in a Wright Flyer, across the Raritan Bay from South Amboy to Perth Amboy.  And did you know that in 1921, America's first dirigible, the USS Shenandoah, was built in Lakehurst? 

So what can you see at the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey? For starters, look in the Hall of Fame Gallery which contains 120 bronze plaques honoring the people who contributed to New Jersey's rich aviation history. 

In the Museum's Great Room, you'll find the largest artifacts.  There, we saw a New Jersey built Wright Aeronautical J-5 Whirlwind engine, similar to the one used by Charles Lindbergh in his 1927 solo flight across the Atlantic.  Discover what else is in the Great Room here.

Upstairs, women in aviation are featured with exhibits honoring Amelia Earhart and the NJ Chapter of Ninety-Nines women pilots.

And in the museum's backyard, you'll find the M.A.S.H. exhibit, New Jersey's only "living" memorial to Korean War veterans.  It includes a replica surgical tent complete with surgical equipment, trucks and a Korean War-era Bell 47C helicopter.

Outside you can also examine a Bell AH-1S Cobra attack helicopter, and board a Martin 202 36-seater short-haul airliner. 

Whether you're an aviation buff or not, a visit to the Aviation Hall of Fame & Museum of New Jersey will definitely give you a newfound respect for all the courageous people who played a part in the state's aeronautical history.

Find out more about New Jersey's other aviation museums here.