Visitors to Fort Vancouver National Park, on the north bank of the Columbia River, are always impressed by the museum's stunning collection of vintage airplanes. Pearson Air Museum preserves and celebrates the region's rich century-old aviation heritage.
It started in 1905, on the day Lincoln Beachey flew his lighter-than-air craft across the wide Columbia from Oregon and landed at Vancouver Army Barracks. A few years later, fixed-wing flights began, and the region was on its way to becoming a significant flight center. Pearson Airfield was used for Army Reserves training from 1923 to 1941.
Spectacular Flying Feats
In 1912, Pilot Silas Christofferson made headlines with an aerial exhibition. During the Portland Rose Festival, he had a ramp built on the roof of Portland's Multnomah Hotel. He then hoisted his small Curtiss plane to the ramp and flew from the hotel roof over the river to Vancouver. (In 1998, Tom Murphy repeated the flight in a replica. It's now on display in the museum.)
Pearson Field was officially dedicated in September, 1925. To mark the occasion, 56 aircraft performed in a spectacular show of precision flying and parachute drops. The 20,000 people watching were thrilled.
One historic day in 1937, a Russian pilot, Valeri Chkalov, completed the first trans-polar flight and landed at Pearson. Thousands of spectators showed up to see the aircraft, while the Barracks commander, Gen. George C. Marshall, entertained the crew members.
During World War II, the Army Air Corps maintained an emergency landing strip at Pearson and the old hangar was used to house Italian prisoners of war. After the war the Army declared Pearson surplus and transferred it to the city of Vanoucver. Now it's part of Fort Vancouver National Park.
Barnstorming Pilots and Historic Aircraft
Pearson Museum is dedicated to the pilots who flew in open cockpits, daredevils who barnstormed, tried experimental flights, and became the aces of World Wars I and II. There are interesting displays of memorabilia, a children's center, and a gift shop, but the highlight of this big open hangar is the collection of airplanes. Some stand on the floor, others are suspended, as if in flight, and the visitor can only wonder at the audacity of those brave early pilots.
Some of the aircraft:
- 1913 Voisin III, one of only three in the world
- 1941 DeHavilland Tiger Moth
- 1932 Fleet II
- 1941 Ryan Recuirt
- 1953 Cessna 170, which flew around the world in 1956-57
On the second Saturday of every month a full-length classic movie with an aviation theme is shown in the museum theater. The Spirit of St. Louis (1957), Only Angels Have Wings (1939), and Men With Wings (1936) are a few of the vintage films shown.
The Pearson Air Museum is sometimes used for special events (theme parties, conference meetings, weddings, banquets) and it remains a bustling aviation center for small aircraft.
 |
 |
 |
 |
