Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
Serving Midwest Aviation Since 1960
The Aircraft Museum At Flying Cloud
A Wright Flyer replica built by historian Peter Bowers at The Aircraft Museum in 1975.
A 1909 Bleriot replica, built and flown by pioneer Walter Bullock at Twin Cities airshows in the 1970s on display at The Aircraft Museum 1975-1977.
A F4U Corsair in the markings of Ace Joe Foss at the Aircraft Museum 1975-1977.
A 1917 Curtiss JN4-D Jenny rebuilt by Walter Bullock at The Aircraft Museum 1975-1977.
Walter Bullock rebuilt this 1917 Standard J-1 twice during its flying in the movies, "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World" and "Ace Eli."
Johan Larsen and his colorful 1941 Waco UPF-7 on display at The Aircraft Museum, 1975-1977.
A 1929 Curtiss Robin, rebuilt by Jack Lysdale of South St. Paul. Douglas "Wrong-Way" Corrigan flew a plane like this from New York to Ireland in 1929.
A WWII TB-25J at The Aircraft Museum at Flying Cloud Airport, 1975-1977.
A Moraine-Saulnier 230, flown in the movie "The Blue Max" at The Aircraft Museum in 1975.
Editor's Note: This new Minnesota Flyer series memorializes the state's current or past aviation museums and collections. For some of the long-gone museums and collections, it should be a nostalgia trip. Contributing writers have identified as many as 20 museums and collections and will present each in a separate article.
Since the 1960s, successful businessman Johan M. Larsen of South Minneapolis dreamt of a flying museum of vintage and warbird aircraft, located at a huge private airfield south of the Twin Cities, featuring airshows and a restaurant with a Boeing Stratocruiser on the top of it. He began a steady pace of purchasing old planes.
A business loan for his dream didn't happen, but Larsen did fashion a unique smaller version in the old Nelson Travel hangar at Flying Cloud Field instead.
Opening day was Saturday, June 22, 1975. A Marine Corps Color Guard opened the event with great fanfare and Sherm Booen as emcee.
Max Conrad was a guest, signing a recent biography. Twenty-one aircraft were displayed inside a fenced compound and hopes were high for the future.
Aircraft were pulled each Saturday and Sunday mornings from hangars Larsen rented, and put away again each evening.
A few hours after the grand opening, the Flying Cloud tower gave Larsen 45 minutes warning of the arrival of a serious thunderstorm with high winds and hail.
Workers and volunteers scrambled to put all aircraft away and completed the task within seconds of a 70 mph gust front hitting the field.
Neither that or a second severe storm the following weekend deterred Larsen from the ritual of putting the airplanes and artifacts on display.
In fact, for the rest of 1975, 1976 and 1977, there were no other storms to dampen the grounds on weekends.
Johan Larsen donated a large number of museum-owned assets to re-stock the San Diego Air & Space Museum. Larsen also sold the museum a number of the planes that he owned himself.
Guest vintage aircraft owners were invited to display their pride and joy restorations each week and many of them, including Lee Hurry, Stan Gomoll, Dan Neuman and Jack Lysdale, who brought his recently restored Hamilton Metalplane, had a blast. Old engines would be run, old cars driven around and old friends such as Walter Bullock, Gregg Nelson, and Randy Sohn enjoyed telling stories.
At the end of three years, there had not been enough paying customers to keep the fires burning and Larsen closed the museum.
He donated a large number of museum owned assets to restock the San Diego Air & Space Museum, recently rebuilt after a tragic fire wiped out their original collection. Larsen also sold the museum a number of the planes that he owned himself.
The list below accounts for aircraft regularly displayed at Flying Cloud. Larsen owned many other aircraft that were never displayed. Of those listed, not all were displayed at any one time. It was truly a treasured collection!
Aircraft Displayed: B-25J; O-47B; BT-13; F4U Corsair in Joe Foss markings; Japanese "Kate" (modified SNJ-5) from the movie "Tora,Tora,Tora;" Wright Flyer replica; Curtiss Pusher built and flown in airshows by Walter Bullock; Bleriot, also built and flown by Bullock; JN4-D Jenny; Standard J-1, flown and cracked up in the movie "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad World," then rebuilt and flown in the movie "Ace Eli" by Robert Redford; Moraine-Saulnier 230, flown by George Peppard
in the movie "The Blue Max;" Curtiss Robin restored by Jack Lysdale; Fleet 2 trainer; Bowlus glider; Curtiss CW Junior; Waco UPF-7; J-2 and J-3 Cubs; Mooney Mite; and McCullough Gyroplane.
In addition to these aircraft, Larsen brought an F-89 Scorpion to Airlake Airport for his museum, but never got it to Flying Cloud before it was vandalized and scrapped.
Not only airplanes, but aircraft engines were on display along with other aviation artifacts. For roaming around the field, Larsen had a Lancia Austora Ministerial automobile once owned by the dictator Benito Mussolini, a Model A Ford, and a handsomely restored Model T Depot Hack,
driven around to show to the public. Wouldn't it be fun to see those old planes and cars again!
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