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✈️ Happy Girls in Aviation Day! If you've been fo

✈️ Happy Girls in Aviation Day!

If you've been following along this month, you've already met two remarkable women whose stories became intertwined during the earliest days of American aviation, but since September also marks the birthday of another pioneering woman, Thérèse Peltier, let's rewind the story another two years.

In July 1908, Peltier became the first woman known to fly as a passenger in a heavier-than-air aircraft. Soon after, Peltier learned to operate the aircraft herself and made several solo flights, becoming one of the earliest women ever to take the controls of an airplane.

Then came September 1910.

Sometime early that month, Blanche Stuart Scott unexpectedly became airborne while practicing with an aircraft. Whether that brief flight was entirely intentional—and even its exact date—has been debated ever since.

On September 16, Bessica "Bessie" Raiche deliberately took to the air in a Wright-type biplane she and her husband had built themselves, earning recognition for the first accredited solo flight by a woman in the United States.

Aviation itself was still in its infancy, yet women were already riding in airplanes, learning to control them, building them, setting records, and exploring what this extraordinary new technology could do. Women weren't late to aviation history. They were there while aviation history was being written.

More than a century later, that's what makes their stories particularly fitting for Girls in Aviation Day.

Created by @womeninaviation International, this annual event introduces young people to the enormous variety of possibilities within aviation and aerospace—careers the pioneers of the early 1900s could scarcely have imagined.

Our collection tells the story of what happens when people look at the limits of aviation and decide to push beyond them. Preserving that history isn't only about remembering the people who came before us. It's also about giving the next generation somewhere to begin.

Maybe one of the girls discovering aviation today will become a pilot. Maybe she'll design an aircraft, turn wrenches on one, explore space—or find an entirely new way to leave her mark on aerospace.

September 19th is Girls in Aviation Day! And while

September 19th is Girls in Aviation Day! And while we're excited to delve into the history of it tomorrow, we thought we'd give you all a heads up, so you can celebrate it WITH us.

If you're looking to inspire the little girls in your life to join your passion for aviation, bring them along to the museum this weekend and watch their eyes widen at the majesty of these huge and magical machines. Imagine the skies in one of our kids' rides and then take home a memory to motivate their dreams for years to come. Gotta start young!

How old were you when you caught the aviation bug?

🗓️ On This Day in History: Bessica "Bessie" Medlar

🗓️ On This Day in History: Bessica "Bessie" Medlar Raiche became the first American woman credited with a solo flight on September 16, 1910.

Born in April of 1875, Raiche was a pioneer in multiple fields for women. At the time, it was already unheard of for a woman to be a dentist, physician (one of the first female OBGYNs in America), drive an automobile, and... *GASP* wear pants sometimes!

Her husband, Frank, shared her feminist vision, and together, they built their own Wright-type biplane, albeit lighter - from bamboo and silk. It was this plane Bessie herself took up into the air. Less than a month later, on October 13, 1910, Raiche was awarded a diamond-studded gold medal inscribed "First Woman Aviator in America."

The Raiches went on to build several more airplanes as well, becoming known for their innovations in lightweight materials. Does anyone know what kind of wire they used in replacement for heavier iron wire?

Mark his words. One day, he will fly…* *for legal

Mark his words. One day, he will fly…*

*for legal reasons, we must add: no, we will NOT let the cat fly.

#MotivationalMonday

#MotivationalMonday

We got the landing gear in to test tubing clearanc

We got the landing gear in to test tubing clearance and eventually function! Who’s excited for this one?

🇺🇸 A Day of Remembrance at Yanks Air Museum This

🇺🇸 A Day of Remembrance at Yanks Air Museum

This Friday, September 11, Yanks Air Museum will offer visitors a place to pause, reflect, and remember.

For those who choose to spend part of the day with us, we will be honoring the lives lost on September 11, 2001, the families forever changed, and the first responders, heroes, and everyday people who stepped forward to help others in the midst of unimaginable tragedy.

Throughout the day, a special video presentation in our Flight Center will share stories of courage, compassion, and selflessness from September 11. We will also ring a ceremonial bell—once in remembrance of those who lost their lives, and once in honor of the heroes and helpers who answered the call.

There is nothing to celebrate about this anniversary. Instead, we simply want our community to know that if you're looking for a place to spend the day reflecting on our nation's history and remembering those we lost, you are welcome to join us.

📅 Friday, September 11, 2026
🕙 10 a.m. – 4 p.m.
📍 Yanks Air Museum | Chino, California

We remember. We honor. We will never forget. 🇺🇸

We've got a lot of planes packed into our museum.

We've got a lot of planes packed into our museum. Which one is your favorite?

🇺🇸 Happy Labor Day from Yanks Air Museum! Today,

🇺🇸 Happy Labor Day from Yanks Air Museum!

Today, we recognize the generations of hardworking men and women whose skill, dedication, and determination have helped build our nation—including the countless pilots, mechanics, engineers, factory workers, ground crews, and innovators who have shaped more than a century of American aviation.

Behind every aircraft is a story not only of flight, but of the people whose hands built it, maintained it, and kept it in the air.

This Labor Day, we honor all those—past and present—whose hard work continues to move us forward.

📅 On This Day in Aviation History — September 5, 1

📅 On This Day in Aviation History — September 5, 1984

On this day in 1984, a new chapter in American spaceflight touched down on a California dry lakebed.

At 6:37 a.m. PDT, Space Shuttle Discovery landed at Edwards Air Force Base, successfully completing STS-41D—its very first mission into space.

Over six days, Discovery and its six-person crew circled Earth 97 times and traveled approximately 2.5 million miles. Along the way, they deployed three communications satellites and put an unusual piece of technology through its paces: a lightweight experimental solar array that unfurled to more than 100 feet in length from a remarkably compact container in the Shuttle's payload bay. The experiment tested lightweight, deployable solar-array technology envisioned for powering large future structures in orbit.

The mission also carried another piece of aviation and space history. Charles D. Walker became the first commercial payload specialist to fly aboard the Shuttle, operating a McDonnell Douglas biotechnology experiment during the mission.

And if some of STS-41D looks unusually cinematic in archival footage, there's a reason for that. The crew carried an IMAX camera into orbit and filmed satellite deployments, experiments, and life aboard Discovery. Some of that footage later appeared on enormous theater screens in the 1985 IMAX film The Dream Is Alive.

After six days, Commander Henry 'Hank' Hartsfield Jr. brought Discovery down on Runway 17 at Edwards, bringing Discovery's maiden voyage to a successful conclusion.

It turned out to be just the beginning.

Discovery ultimately completed 39 missions, more than any other Space Shuttle. During that remarkable career, it would deploy the Hubble Space Telescope, carry John Glenn back into orbit, and fly both of NASA's "Return to Flight" missions following the Challenger and Columbia tragedies.

But all 39 missions started with STS-41D—and on September 5, 1984, Discovery proved for the first time that it could make the journey to orbit and safely come home again. 🚀

Aviation Trivia: Discovery was NASA's third space-qualified orbiter to join the Shuttle fleet. Can you name the two orbiters that flew before it?

Someone took a trip to the groomer last weekend… C

Someone took a trip to the groomer last weekend… Come see if our museum cat will let you pet his new coat! 😻

Wow! We're so proud to have one of our doggy jacke

Wow! We're so proud to have one of our doggy jackets put to good use!

We just got news from one of our fans that she had ordered a bomber jacket from us for her dog about a month ago in preparation for a huge fundraising event at her local dog shelter. Walter, the good-boy himself, and his owner, won the People’s Choice Award that evening for their “Top Gun, Maverick and Goose" theme. Overall, the event raised over $900,000 for the Humane Society of Elkhart County.

Give it up for Walter! 🎉

Wait... does this make Geebs Iceman?

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✈️ Happy Girls in Aviation Day! If you've been fo

✈️ Happy Girls in Aviation Day!

If you've been following along this month, you've already met two remarkable women whose stories became intertwined during the earliest days of American aviation, but since September also marks the birthday of another pioneering woman, Thérèse Peltier, let's rewind the story another two years.

In July 1908, Peltier became the first woman known to fly as a passenger in a heavier-than-air aircraft. Soon after, Peltier learned to operate the aircraft herself and made several solo flights, becoming one of the earliest women ever to take the controls of an airplane.

Then came September 1910.

Sometime early that month, Blanche Stuart Scott unexpectedly became airborne while practicing with an aircraft. Whether that brief flight was entirely intentional—and even its exact date—has been debated ever since.

On September 16, Bessica "Bessie" Raiche deliberately took to the air in a Wright-type biplane she and her husband had built themselves, earning recognition for the first accredited solo flight by a woman in the United States.

Aviation itself was still in its infancy, yet women were already riding in airplanes, learning to control them, building them, setting records, and exploring what this extraordinary new technology could do. Women weren't late to aviation history. They were there while aviation history was being written.

More than a century later, that's what makes their stories particularly fitting for Girls in Aviation Day.

Created by @womeninaviation International, this annual event introduces young people to the enormous variety of possibilities within aviation and aerospace—careers the pioneers of the early 1900s could scarcely have imagined.

Our collection tells the story of what happens when people look at the limits of aviation and decide to push beyond them. Preserving that history isn't only about remembering the people who came before us. It's also about giving the next generation somewhere to begin.

Maybe one of the girls discovering aviation today will become a pilot. Maybe she'll design an aircraft, turn wrenches on one, explore space—or find an entirely new way to leave her mark on aerospace.

September 19th is Girls in Aviation Day! And while

September 19th is Girls in Aviation Day! And while we're excited to delve into the history of it tomorrow, we thought we'd give you all a heads up, so you can celebrate it WITH us.

If you're looking to inspire the little girls in your life to join your passion for aviation, bring them along to the museum this weekend and watch their eyes widen at the majesty of these huge and magical machines. Imagine the skies in one of our kids' rides and then take home a memory to motivate their dreams for years to come. Gotta start young!

How old were you when you caught the aviation bug?

🗓️ On This Day in History: Bessica "Bessie" Medlar

🗓️ On This Day in History: Bessica "Bessie" Medlar Raiche became the first American woman credited with a solo flight on September 16, 1910.

Born in April of 1875, Raiche was a pioneer in multiple fields for women. At the time, it was already unheard of for a woman to be a dentist, physician (one of the first female OBGYNs in America), drive an automobile, and... *GASP* wear pants sometimes!

Her husband, Frank, shared her feminist vision, and together, they built their own Wright-type biplane, albeit lighter - from bamboo and silk. It was this plane Bessie herself took up into the air. Less than a month later, on October 13, 1910, Raiche was awarded a diamond-studded gold medal inscribed "First Woman Aviator in America."

The Raiches went on to build several more airplanes as well, becoming known for their innovations in lightweight materials. Does anyone know what kind of wire they used in replacement for heavier iron wire?

Mark his words. One day, he will fly…* *for legal

Mark his words. One day, he will fly…*

*for legal reasons, we must add: no, we will NOT let the cat fly.

#MotivationalMonday

#MotivationalMonday

We got the landing gear in to test tubing clearanc

We got the landing gear in to test tubing clearance and eventually function! Who’s excited for this one?

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10:00am–4:00pm, Tuesday thru Saturday

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15121 Stearman Drive, Chino, CA 91710

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