Dakota Territory Air Museum’s P-47 Update – March/April, 2022

Our Mission: “To be a vital historical aviation resource honoring the men, women, and machines that have impacted the rich history of aviation through displays and events that educate, inspire and entertain people of all ages.”

The Dakota Territory Air Museum was incorporated in 1986 (the same year as the Minot-Ward County Centennial) by Don Larson, Al Pietsch, and Warren Pietsch. With assistance from the State Centennial Committee, the newly incorporated Dakota Territory Air Museum helped put on the Centennial Air Show in Minot.

Construction began on the first building in 1988, an 80ft. x 100ft. hangar now known as the Restoration Hangar on the east side of the property. In 1990-1991 an addition was made to the original hangar which now includes the main entrance of the museum and is known as the Wright Flyer Hangar.

A generous donation in the mid-1990s made by Oswin H. Elker made possible the construction of the third building, the Oswin H. Elker Memorial Wing, which was completed in 2001. Oswin H. Elker was a World War II veteran who flew with the Flying Tigers in the China-Burma-India Theater and was a Surrey, North Dakota native (Surrey is about eight miles east of Minot). Oswin and his family had visited the museum and really liked what was going on here at the museum. Oswin donated some of his items from World War II which are currently a featured exhibit at the museum. In 2007, the Wings of Freedom expansion was completed which almost doubled the gallery space in the Oswin H. Elker Memorial Wing. The fifth building was completed in 2013, the Flying Legends Hangar.

The Dakota Territory Air Museum is now home to over 60 aircraft and thousands of artifacts that have been generously loaned or donated to the museum over the years. The Wright Flyer Hangar is home to the museum’s full-scale Wright Flyer replica that was built by museum volunteers in 2003 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Wright Brothers first flight in 1903. This hangar is also host to a room full of artifacts and exhibits dating from World War I up through today.

The Restoration Hangar is home to many displays including a DC-3 nose cone that is accessible by museum guests, an aircraft engine display that includes engines dating from the late 1910s to the 1960s, and an antique fire truck display that features three immaculately restored fire trucks once in use with the Minot Fire Department that date back to 1919. Several restoration projects call this hangar home. Restoration projects are worked on by museum volunteers. Several of the aircraft on display at the museum today would not have been possible without the dedicated volunteers to help restore and maintain them.

The Oswin H. Elker Memorial Wing currently houses the majority of the museum’s general aviation aircraft collection. The Elker Wing features aircraft from just about every decade from the 1910s onward; such as a 1910 Curtiss Pusher (replica), a 1929 Arrow Sport, a Cessna 195, a Beechcraft Staggerwing, and a Lear Jet. The Elker Wing is also the home to our extensive aviation library in our library loft. The library loft contains 3,000+ books on various aviation-related topics which include military aviation history, instruction manuals, commercial aviation history, and much more!

The Flying Legends Hangar is the current home of the Bruce Eames Collection of warbirds. This incredible flying collection has only grown to include rare World War II-era planes like the P-47 Thunderbolt, the Hawker Hurricane, and the FM-2P Wildcat.