View source for National Aviation Education Center

{{short description|Airplane museum}}
{{Infobox museum
| name                = National Aviation Education Center
| logo                = National_Aviation_Education_Center_logo.png
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| map_type            = Texas
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| coordinates         = {{Coord|32.677229|-96.860801|display=inline, title}}
| former_name         = American Airpower Heritage Museum, CAF Airpower Museum
| established         = {{Start date|1965|df=y}}
| dissolved           = <!-- {{End date|YYYY|MM|DD|df=y}} -->
| location            = [[Dallas, Texas]], U.S. (since 2015)
| type                = [[Aviation museum]]
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| chairperson         = Neils Agather<ref>{{cite web |url=https://flynaec.org/board-of-directors/ |title=Board of Directors |website=flynaec.org |publisher=NAEC |accessdate=November 13, 2022}}</ref>
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| website             = {{URL|flynaec.org}}
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The [[Henry Tippie|Henry B. Tippie]] '''National Aviation Education Center''' (NAEC) is an [[aviation museum]] operated by the '''American Airpower Heritage Museum''' (AAHM),{{efn|Not to be confused with the similarly-named [[American Airpower Museum]] in the state of New York.}} an affiliate organization of the [[Commemorative Air Force]] (CAF), headquartered at [[Dallas Executive Airport]] in [[Dallas|Dallas, Texas]], United States.

==History==
The museum opened in its first building in [[Mercedes, Texas]], in 1965 as a location to house and display [[World War II]] artifacts as they began to be donated to the [[Commemorative Air Force]] (CAF), then known as the Confederate Air Force.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113009176/ground-breaking-for-caf-museum-is-held/ |title=Ground Breaking For CAF Museum Is Held |newspaper=[[Valley Morning Star]] |location=[[Harlingen, Texas]] |page=5 |date=March 23, 1965 |accessdate=November 13, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref> In 1968, both the CAF and AAHM moved to [[Harlingen, Texas]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113009576/new-museum-directory-includes-four-in-va/ |title=New Museum Directory Includes Four in Valley |newspaper=[[Corpus Christi Caller-Times]] |location=[[Corpus Christi, Texas]] |page=1 |date=June 27, 1968 |accessdate=November 13, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

In 1990, the AAHM became a separate non-profit organization, along with another legal entity, the '''American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum''', created to hold [[Title (property)|title]] to the organization's aircraft.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.tshaonline.org/handbook/entries/commemorative-air-force |title=Commemorative Air Force |website=tshaonline.org |first=Art |last=Leatherwood |accessdate=November 13, 2022}}</ref> In 1991, both the AAHM and CAF moved to [[Midland, Texas]], where the museum operated as the '''CAF Air Power Museum'''.<ref>{{cite web |title=About the Air Power Museum |url=http://www.airpowermuseum.org/info/index.shtml |website=American Airpower Heritage Museum |accessdate=8 June 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20090227033529/http://www.airpowermuseum.org/info/index.shtml |archivedate=27 February 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/113006508/caf-tries-to-clear-the-air/ |title=CAF tries to clear the air |first=Geoff |last=Folsom |newspaper=[[Odessa American]] |location=[[Odessa, Texas]] |page=6B |date=June 5, 2010 |accessdate=November 13, 2022 |via=newspapers.com}}</ref>

[[File:Polikarpov I-16, Midland, Texas.jpg|thumb|left|upright=1.2|A [[Polikarpov I-16]] on display at the museum in 2009 in Midland, Texas]]

In 2015, the museum's collection was moved to Dallas in anticipation of the creation of the CAF National Airbase.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://commemorativeairforce.org/pages/NAEC |title=Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center (NAEC) |website=commemorativeairforce.org |accessdate=November 13, 2022}}</ref> At that location, the CAF and AAHM now operate the Henry B. Tippie National Aviation Education Center (NAEC), a {{convert|47,000|sqft|sqm|adj=on}} facility to provide "hands-on learning opportunities, an immersive history experience and activities for all ages."<ref>{{cite web |url=https://flynaec.org |title=National Aviation Education Center |website=flynaec.org |accessdate=November 13, 2022}}</ref> The facility is named in honor of [[Henry Tippie]], a World War II veteran and longtime CAF member.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://flynaec.org/about/historical-significance/henry-b-tippie/ |title=Henry B. Tippie |website=flynaec.org |publisher=American Airpower Heritage Museum |accessdate=November 13, 2022}}</ref>

==Collections==
[[File:Nose-art-730.jpg|thumb|A portion of the museum's collection of authentic World War II [[nose art]]. The collection is currently on loan to the [[EAA Aviation Museum]] located in [[Oshkosh, Wisconsin]].]]

The museum's collection, which numbers nearly 400,000 artifacts, focuses on the history of World War II military aviation culture and other material culture of this era. It has one of the most complete collections of World War II aviation culture in the United States with items that represent all of the axis and allies that participated in the air wars of World War II. The AAHM collects items, artifacts, and historical information of inherent value to World War II aviation and related culture, focusing on the period of 1939–1945.

Featured collections in the museum include:
*More than 4,900 [[Oral history|oral histories]] collected from World War II Veterans of aviation
* The largest collection of original World War II [[nose art]] panels in the world<ref>{{cite web |title=[Homepage] |url=http://www.savethegirls.org |website=Save the Girls |accessdate=8 June 2020 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20150419033533/http://www.savethegirls.org/ |archivedate=19 April 2015 |url-status=live }}</ref>
* A library of more than 6,000 books, 13,000 periodicals, as well as newspapers, microfilm, and numerous technical and field manuals related to military aviation

==See also==
* [[List of aerospace museums]]

== Explanatory notes==
{{Notelist}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
* {{official website|https://flynaec.org}}
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20090129151056/http://www.airpowermuseum.org American Airpower Heritage Flying Museum (Archived)]

{{Dallas}}
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[[Category:Aerospace museums in Texas]]
[[Category:Technology museums in Texas]]
[[Category:Military aviation]]
[[Category:Military and war museums in Texas]]
[[Category:World War II museums in the United States]]
[[Category:Institutions accredited by the American Alliance of Museums]]
[[Category:Smithsonian Institution affiliates|Aviation Education Center]]
[[Category:Museums established in 2015]]
[[Category:2015 establishments in Texas]]