Until I was instructed last October to relocate my AeroKnow Museum office from the very visible room just off the lobby at Horizon Aviation to a larger “suite” of rooms in the back of the building, the future of this museum was bright. I knew the building that contained AKM would be demolished “some day” and a new one would be erected. I was told the new facility would include space for AKM (not as much as I had occupied from the start) and our future was secure.
The relocation to the back of the building has drastically changed the outlook for success. At first, no permission was given for a sign in the lobby inviting visitors to the FBO to walk to the end of the hall, through the large office of another business , and into the hall where AKM’s entrance was the first door on the left. Installation of a portable sign on a movable pedestal has brought a few visitors to us, but just a fraction of that previously engaged at the old lobby office.
Recently, I learned that the promised space in the new building probably will not be made available. At about the same time I was advised that the materials in the seven rooms upstairs here will need to removed starting in June, and it would be wise for me to start moving it out NOW. So, for the past week, I have been doing that a few boxes at a time, also packing boxes with resources to relocate to my home. The weather has not cooperated with this effort. Neither has my growing despair.
For any chance of sustaining AeroKnow Museum we are reducing the scope of our focus and committing to following:
1. Eliminating all files of articles and literature relating to foreign built aircraft which have not flown significantly in the USA. We are holding on to the AV-8 files and jettisoning the files of those manufactured in Great Britain. We are keeping DeHavilland Beaver material and discarding Avro CF-100 files.
Additional re-focus efforts will be explained in a series of daily posts the week of April 3 to April 8. In the meantime we have the following resources available to not-for-profit organizations with proven commitment to educating the public about aviation history.
1. Four drawer file cabinets — $10 each.
2. Articles about home-built airplanes, US and foreign. The material is FREE.
3. Articles about air forces, airlines, airports (outside Illinois), combat groups, aviation people. FREE.
4. Books chronologies of aviation history. Too much to catalog; I’m just one man. FREE to organizations.
5. Monographs ( books, hard and soft-bound) about foreign built airplanes.
6. Articles and books about human space flight, US and foreign.
If you know organizations who might benefit from these resources, please have their principals contact Job Conger by e-maill or conventional mail. Email is akm@eosinc.com Mailing address is AeroKnow Museum, 900 N. Capital Airport Drive, Springfield, IL 62707
Abe Lincoln's Air Force 