The Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum — started by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen in 2004, closed during the pandemic in 2020 and sold last summer — is reopening on May 27.
The museum, located at Paine Field in Everett, Wash., features an extensive collection of aviation and military artifacts and was one of numerous assets held by Allen before his death in 2018.
Entrepreneur and philanthropist Steuart Walton, the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton, purchased the collection through his Wartime History Museum, a nonprofit with a mission to preserve and restore wartime historical artifacts.
The Flying Heritage Museum showcases airplanes, tanks, and armaments from the United States, Britain, Germany, Japan, and the former Soviet Union, with many restored to original flying or driving condition and emphasizing authentic paint schemes and mechanical systems.
Among the gems in the collection are a British de Havilland Mosquito fighter-bomber that was built at the end of World War II; a Soviet-era Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik attack aircraft; a German Junkers Ju-87 Stuka dive bomber; and the White Knight carrier airplane that helped SpaceShipOne win the $10 million X Prize for private spaceflight in 2004 with Allen’s backing.
“Our team has been working tirelessly to prepare for visitors and to share one of the most amazing collections of wartime history in the world,” Adrian Hunt, the museum’s executive director, said in a statement.
The museum has been closed since March 2020 because of COVID-19.
Jody Allen, sister of Paul Allen and trustee of his estate, has made moves since her brother’s death to sell off some of his vast holdings. Last November, an auction of Paul Allen’s private art collection fetched more than $1.5 billion. Jody Allen has also discussed the eventual sale of the Seattle Seahawks and Portland Trail Blazers teams that her brother owned.
Allen’s Cinerama movie theater and Living Computers: Museum + Labs in Seattle remain closed with no recent indication about whether they will reopen or sell.
The Flying Heritage and Combat Armor Museum will open the weekend of May 27 and 28 and then be open each following Saturday and Sunday until June 14. After that a new weekly schedule will go into effect, open 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Sunday. Tickets will be available online starting May 1.
