PRESS RELEASE – After roughly twenty successful years alongside the coastal waters in Galveston, Texas, the museum decided it was time to move to a securer location following the devastation wrought by Hurricane Ike in September, 2008. The new museum will reside in a 130,000-square-foot facility at Ellington Airport near Houston, Texas. The Lone Star Flight Museum houses a collection of historic aircraft as well as the Texas Aviation Hall of Fame. It’s been in Galveston since the 1980’s, but after the building suffered damage during Hurricane Ike, organizers decided to move it further inland. Scott Rozzell chairs the museum’s board of directors. He says the Ellington Field facility will sit alongside aviation leaders like the U.S. Air Force. “It’s no question that this going to be a destination that aviation enthusiasts from the United states and around the world are not going to want to miss,” Rozzell says.The 130,000 square-foot museum will place a special focus on STEM education — that’s science, technology, engineering and math — and how those concepts relate to flight.Retired NASA astronaut Bonnie Dunbar is co-chair of the museum’s education committee. She says students will use algebra and geometry to create flight plans.“They have their flight plan approved,” Dunbar says. “They go into a simulator room where we have 10 student-sized simulators, and they’ll fly flights from Ellington Field here maybe down to Galveston and other places in Texas.” The board raised $25 million in donations for construction of the new facility, and they’re working to raise another $10 million. The museum is set to open in February 2017, just in time for the Super Bowl in Houston. The good news is that the new museum building project has already raised $25 million of its expected $35 million construction cost, but there is obviously still a significant funding shortage. Hopefully some of our readers will be able to contribute to the funding drive.
THE LONE STAR FLIGHT MUSEUM
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Born in Milan, Italy, Moreno moved to the U.S. in 1999 to pursue a career as a commercial pilot. His aviation passion began early, inspired by his uncle, an F-104 Starfighter Crew Chief, and his father, a military traffic controller. Childhood adventures included camping outside military bases and watching planes at Aeroporto Linate. In 1999, he relocated to Atlanta, Georgia, to obtain his commercial pilot license, a move that became permanent. With 24 years in the U.S., he now flies full-time for a Part 91 business aviation company in Atlanta. He is actively involved with the Commemorative Air Force, the D-Day Squadron, and other aviation organizations. He enjoys life with his supportive wife and three wonderful children.
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