Wisconsin Aviation Museum Inc.

Who we are:

We are a group of aviation enthusiasts who have started an aviation-based museum in Fond du Lac. Our aim is to provide another attraction to the Fond du Lac County Airport to replace the IAC competition that was lost in 1999. This museum is a hands-on facility aimed toward the youth. The director is John Zorn, current treasurer of the Fond du Lac chapter of EAA #572 and President of Quantum Communications; Director of Maintenance is Trace Blakely, owner of Blakely Auto Parts. Our curator is Dr. James Meyer who comes to us as the Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Rochester Museum and Science Center in Rochester NY. He is a retired senior vice president of Eastman Kodak Company. We are all volunteers . We do not have any paid staff. The organization is governed by the Board of Directors. A fund raising campaign has started to build a new facility to house our collection. The first building will be a Storage & Restoration facilty located on the Fond du Lac County Airport property (fld)

What we are

We are a State of Wisconsin registered corporation. Wisconsin Aiation Museum Inc is listed with the Internal Revenue Service as a 501(c)(3) fully tax exempt organization. This designation states that "Donors may deduct contributions to you as provided in section 170 of the Internal Revenue Code. Bequests, legacies devices, transfers, or gifts to you or for your purpose are deductible for Federal estate and gift purposes." Further, "Donors may deduct contributions on their income tax return to you only to the extent that their contributions are gifts, with no consideration received. Ticket purchases and similar payments in conjunction with fundraising events may not necessarily qualify as deductible contributions."

What we plan to do:

Our goal to expand the exhibit area we currently have, to acquire flying and non-flying aircraft and aviation memorabilia both from private and public sources. These aircraft and other military vehicles, along with miscellaneous memorabilia will be either displayed in our planned new building on County property if available, in our current hanger spaces, or on a separate site to be determined. We plan to participate with the local EAA chapter in Young Eagles and First Flight by giving the youth of our area their first opportunity to experience aviation. Other programs geared toward youth may include sponsoring initial ground schooling, maintenance seminars and other educational opportunities for young perspective aviators to learn and grow with aviation.