North Canton, Ohio.

As this post is published, it’s just two days from Independence Day in the United States. What is a better tribute to our country’s history than a trip to a military aviation museum? On our way through Ohio in September 2022, we visited the MAPS Air Museum (Military Aviation Preservation Society) in North Canton, Ohio, on the west side of the Akron-Canton Regional Airport. The museum is internationally known and dedicated to aviation history, featuring many aircraft types, from blimps to biplanes.

The museum is housed in a hangar formerly belonging to Chautauqua Airlines, but their collection is so extensive it has spilled out to the ramp near the hangar. The aircraft descriptions below were sourced from the comprehensive documentation located on the MAPS website here. One of the nicest exhibit aircraft we saw on the ramp is a delta-winged Skyhawk painted in Blue Angels livery. This unit was built as an A4D-1 Skyhawk before being redesignated an A-4A in 1962. Though the aircraft can carry the bomb load equivalent of a WWII-era B-17 Flying Fortress, it is still considered a “light” fighter.

The MAPS Air Museum’s C-47 is painted in the colors it would have worn during the D-Day invasion of Normandy in France on June 6, 1944. The aircraft is nicknamed “Ruptured Duck.” Our “Gooney Bird” was manufactured as a C-47B in July 1945 by the Douglas Aircraft Corporation in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, and delivered to the US Army Air Force on July 17, 1945. After its deployment for duties in the United States Air Force, it was dropped from the USAF inventory in October 1962, when it was picked up by the Moroccan Air Force. After service in Africa, it returned to the United States, went into private service, and retired to the MAPS Air Museum, where you can go inside the Skytrain to look around the cockpit and transport area.

This helicopter is a Bell AH-1 Cobra from the Vietnam War era. It is on loan from the U.S. Army and maintains the markings it wore during its service with the Ohio National Guard in North Canton, Ohio. It arrived at the museum in May 1994 for static display.

The A-26C “Invader” is the last propeller-driven, twin-engine bomber produced for the U.S. Air Force. It’s also unusual as a single-pilot bomber. This aircraft saw service in France at the tail end of World War II and was redeployed to Japan during the Korean War.

Our first views of the aircraft ramp included (from left to right) the AH-1S, a North American F-86A Sabre, a Grumman F-14B Tomcat, and just the tail of the number 6 Blue Angel A-4A.

The Martin B-26 Marauder series had a rocky start before becoming one of the war’s most numerous American medium bombers. The unit on display at the museum underwent over 14,000 hours of restoration. It had a short combat history; on January 16, 1942, on her way to its first assignment, she crashed en route to Alaska, near Smith River, British Columbia, Canada, with the crew being rescued on January 19.

The MAPS Air Museum’s Goodyear GA-22A “Drake” is a rarity, the sole example of its design. Built in 1953 by the Goodyear Aircraft Company in Akron, Ohio, the “Drake” was envisioned as a successor to the GA-2B “Duck.” Designed to carry passengers and potentially some light cargo, the aircraft never progressed beyond the testing and demonstration phase. Despite not reaching commercial production, the “Drake” serves as a reminder of the unique design efforts in aviation.

I’d never seen the inside of a blimp, so I was happy to see this display of the “City of Akron” gondola. Constructed in 1990, the blimp was a common sight around Ohio for a decade. In 1999, the aircraft suddenly entered an uncontrolled left turn and descended. The crew sustained minor injuries when the aircraft settled in a stand of trees.

The Loral GZ-22, also known as the Goodyear GZ-22, was built to impress the U.S. Navy. Designed initially by Goodyear, the project shifted hands when Goodyear exited the airship business. Loral then constructed this sole GZ-22, showcasing modern airship capabilities for potential military use.

I was most interested in the blimp’s cockpit and control structures. The airship features a steel-framed gondola with composite skin suspended beneath a massive helium-filled envelope constructed from two layers of neoprene-impregnated polyester. Christened the “Spirit of Akron,” the GZ-22 officially received its airworthiness certification on August 31, 1989.

Akron resident Bill Woodall spent 20 years meticulously building this Sopwith Triplane replica using original drawings. It’s one of around nine Triplanes, original or replica, making it extremely rare.

Nicknamed “Tripehound” or just “Tripe,” the Sopwith Triplane inspired awe (and perhaps a little fear) in its opponents. The legendary “Red Baron,” Manfred von Richthofen, was so impressed he demanded a German triplane of his own, leading to the creation of the Fokker Triplane.

The museum’s Aeronca PT-19A-AE “Cornell” has a unique history. Constructed in 1943 by Aeronca under contract for Fairchild, this aircraft served as a primary trainer for the US Army Air Forces (USAAF) starting in December of that year. Its first assignment was with the 51st Flying Training Detachment at Van de Graff Field in Tuscaloosa, Alabama. A complete history of the aircraft is on the MAPS Museum’s website.

Nicknamed the “Vultee Vibrator” by its pilots for its rough ride, the museum’s BT-13A “Valiant” was a primary trainer for the U.S. Army Air Corps pilots before they graduated into more sophisticated aircraft. Built by Vultee (later Convair) in 1942, this particular aircraft began its service at the San Angelo Air Corps Basic Flying Training School in Texas.

We spent over two hours at the museum, accompanied by an informative and personable docent who volunteered to be as succinct or verbose as we wished. We did not visit the Gallery of Heroes, the Ohio Military Museum (2nd floor), or The Timken Library & Research Center, also housed at the museum. The museum is closed on Mondays and holidays (so don’t go there on July 4). At the time of this writing, admission is no more than $15, with discounts for seniors, groups, students, and others. More information about the museum is on the MAPS website here. I have posted this baker’s dozen photos in 2K HD from the MAPS Aviation Museum on my Flickr site here.

John Steiner