This week marks the tenth anniversary of our neighbors on the southeast side of Love Field—the Frontiers of Flight Museum—moving into their home on Lemmon Avenue.
In addition to being home to “The Heart of our History” exhibit, it is also home to such notable treasures as the Apollo 7 command module and even a Vought V-173 “Flying Pancake.”
The collection of the Frontiers of Flight Museum dates back to 1963 when aviation historian and Civil Air Patrol co-founder George Haddaway donated his collection to the University of Texas in Austin. Haddaway’s “History of Aviation Collection” then moved to UT Dallas several years later, but exhibit space and access soon became a challenge. With the assistance of Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and various other Dallas leaders, the Frontiers of Flight Museum was formed, and space to publically display the artifacts was provided by the City of Dallas on the upper level of the Love Field terminal, just above where the TSA security checkpoint exist today.
As interest and attendance grew, the Museum sought out a larger and more permanent location in the early 2000s. With the assistance of various public and private grants, the new 100,000 square-foot Frontiers of Flight Museum opened on June 5, 2004 near the approach end of Love Field’s runway 31R.
In 2011, Southwest took on an even larger presence at the Museum as our Company approached its 40th anniversary. The first -300 series 737, the Spirit of Kitty Hawk, had approached the end of its service life and needed a proper home for retirement. In addition to being our first -300 to enter the fleet on the 84th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s historic flight, it was also the first to enter worldwide airline service. After its final revenue flight, N300 received a new coat of paint and was prepared for its next mission, as the centerpiece to “The Heart of our History” exhibit at the Museum.
At first, it may seem strange to see one of our aircraft by itself sticking halfway out of a building that doesn’t appear to be part of the terminal or our corporate campus on the other side of the field. But N300, along with many other memorable artifacts from our Company’s history, was prominently placed in this location when it made its final journey over to the Museum on April 28, 2011. N300SW entering its permanent display location at the Frontiers of Flight Museum
The next time you visit Dallas, be sure to check out the Frontiers of Flight Museum and see our exhibit along with various other pieces of aviation history on display.
Photo credit Frontiers of Flight Museum
In 2011, Southwest took on an even larger presence at the Museum as our Company approached its 40th anniversary. The first -300 series 737, the Spirit of Kitty Hawk, had approached the end of its service life and needed a proper home for retirement. In addition to being our first -300 to enter the fleet on the 84th anniversary of the Wright Brother’s historic flight, it was also the first to enter worldwide airline service. After its final revenue flight, N300 received a new coat of paint and was prepared for its next mission, as the centerpiece to “The Heart of our History” exhibit at the Museum.
At first, it may seem strange to see one of our aircraft by itself sticking halfway out of a building that doesn’t appear to be part of the terminal or our corporate campus on the other side of the field. But N300, along with many other memorable artifacts from our Company’s history, was prominently placed in this location when it made its final journey over to the Museum on April 28, 2011. N300SW entering its permanent display location at the Frontiers of Flight Museum
The next time you visit Dallas, be sure to check out the Frontiers of Flight Museum and see our exhibit along with various other pieces of aviation history on display.
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