On July 15th, 2017 daily guest operations will come to a close at the Lone Star Flight Museum after nearly 27 years at Scholes Airport.
We opened in Galveston on November 3, 1990 and have enjoyed being part of the community and working with so many wonderful people on the island over the years. Galveston is truly a unique place that offers visitors a wide variety of things to do.
Our museums, historic homes, nature tourism, arts, family entertainment and other venues provide first-rate activities for everyone to enjoy. We were honored to participate with these institutions that add so much to the island.
From the Convention and Visitors Bureau to local small businesses, everyone works tirelessly to attract people to Galveston. I cannot say enough nice things about the folks at the CVB, the airport staff and tenants and the air traffic controllers for their professionalism and friendship. The entire hospitality industry in Galveston deserves both praise and recognition for their hard work. I talk to people from all over the world on the hangar floor, and the one constant remark I hear is about how friendly everyone is in Galveston.
One thing I will miss most is serving as an aerial tour guide over Galveston. It’s a view of Galveston everyone should see, especially the long-time residents. Showing Galveston to someone from out of town is fun, but a flight with a BOI or long-time resident is special. They are amazed at the view, especially the length of the island. I also love checking out what’s going on at the port, especially when they are loading a grain ship. On a nice day you can clearly see downtown Houston, Reliant Stadium and if you’re lucky, a large school of fish or a gaggle of dolphins playing just off the beach.
Hurricane Ike changed our museum forever. The damage was heart-breaking, cruel and a weight that seemed crushing at times. The whole island was in the same boat, which actually helped me get through it. The joy and excitement when businesses and attractions came back was uplifting. The way the people of Galveston responded was awesome, and we all should be proud.
The difficult decision to relocate to Ellington Airport was made to protect our historic aircraft collection. To take advantage of this monumental task, museum leadership set a course to broaden the reach of the museum by focusing on STEM education programming to serve more young people.
Our new facility is very different. We have two 30,000 square foot hangars to display our aircraft collection. The Ellington facility features classrooms, exhibit galleries focusing on the science of flight and Texas aviation history, and the second Aviation Learning Center (ALC) in the country. Working with the Museum of Flight in Seattle, WA, the ALC will take students on a journey beginning in the Learning Lab where they will learn about the principles of flight, then on to flight planning items to include a preflight inspection of a real Mooney Ovation aircraft. The experience ends with a flight simulator session where they get to fly a planned flight from Ellington to Galveston and back. All of our education efforts are geared towards igniting a spark in a young person’s life through STEM education and to lead them to futures of promise.
I invite everyone to visit us at Ellington and see the new facility. I promise you will be impressed. I believe we created a new facility that will allow the Lone Star Flight Museum to expand its mission and make a real difference in young people’s lives. It has been the privilege of the Lone Star Flight Museum to call Galveston home, and we will continue to represent the island at Ellington … just with fewer dolphins.
Larry Gregory
President and COO
Lone Star Flight Museum
