It's not too early to start thinking about the 4th Annual Flights and Fantasies Quilt Show. It will be held from Monday, September 21 to Sunday, September 27 when you will be able to see a spectacular array of quilts among the Air Museum's collection of aircraft.

Find out more details about the show and how to enter here.

The Air Museum is sponsoring a membership trip to Pensacola, FL, and New Orleans, LA from September 7 - 13, 2015. Highlights include a tour of the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, and a visit to the National World War II Museum in New Orleans, as well as visits to other attractions and extra time to explore New Orleans.

Take a trip to Fall River, Mass. and tour the world’s largest collection of historic Naval ships at Battleship Cove on Saturday, June 13, 2015. Climb aboard the battleship USS Massachusetts, destroyer USS Joseph P. Kennedy, Jr, submarine USS Lionfish and much more.

Learn more about this trip here and details about how to register.

The January update on the progress of the P-51D Racer from restoration crew chief, Pete McConnell is now available.

Meet the P-51D restoration crew here.

Wonder where our Douglas DC-3 has been? It has been taken off display to undergo a complete restoration. Find out the restoration team's efforts here. Check back for more updates on this and the other major restoration projects.

On June 13-14, 2015, the Air Museum will be hosting FlightSimCon which is an annual aviation and flight simulation conference that brings pilots and flight simmers together in an interactive social setting. Conference attendees have the opportunity to meet other simulation enthusiasts, experience how online flight simulation can benefit student and rated pilots, and engage with exhibitors and speakers to learn about improving their desktop flight simulators.

The 2015 50th Bomb Wing Reunion will be held from May 15 to 17 at the Air Museum. It will a visit to the the 58th Bomb Wing Memorial and archives, a chance to climb inside our B-29 "Jack's Hack," a dinner buffet and memorial service.

An original play by Alison Moncrief Bromage based on Connecticut aviation pioneers and daredevil Charles Hamilton will be performed at the Air Museum. Live the excitement generated by Hamilton's flights over the New Britain fairgrounds in 1910.

Further information and details on dates and times can be found here.

These performances are made possible as a result of a cooperative grant with the Connecticut Humanities Council.

The Air Museum was honored to be the host of Senators Chris Murphy and Richard Blumenthal's press conference recognizing the U.S. Senate's passage of the Honor Flight Act (H.R. 48120). The Honor Flight Act, which was introduced in the House by U.S. Congressman Cedric Richmond (D-La.), will cut down on cumbersome pre-flight screening processes for elderly veterans who participate in the Honor Flight Network - an organization that arranges free trips for U.S. military veterans to visit the DC memorial of the war in which they served.

See photos from this event on the Museum's Facebook page.

Scott Ashton, President of the Board of Directors, has announced the appointment of Jerry Paul Roberts as Executive Director of the New England Air Museum effective December 15, 2014. Mr. Roberts succeeds Michael P. Speciale, who retired on December 1, 2014 after 29 years of service.

Mr. Roberts has been a writer, an historian and a museum professional for over 30 years. He began his museum career at the Intrepid Sea Air Space Museum in New York City and served as Aerospace Curator, Senior Curator and ultimately, Vice President in charge of exhibits and education. Here he created dozens of interactive experiences and exhibitions and oversaw the transformation of the British

Airways Concorde into a major walk-through attraction.

Mr. Roberts then served as Executive Director of the National Lighthouse Museum and most recently as Executive Director of the Connecticut River Museum where he continued to design and build world class exhibits, create dynamic public programs, and cultivate strategic collaborations and strong donor involvement and support.

In Connecticut, Mr. Roberts also coordinated the History and Heritage component of OpSail 2012. He directed the effort to have Essex recognized as the state’s first War of 1812 battle site, coordinated the 1812 bicentennial commemorations, wrote and co-produced a documentary on the battle and recently published, The British Raid on Essex, the Forgotten Battle of the War of 1812, through Wesleyan University Press.

“We enthusiastically welcome Jerry’s experience, expertise and commitment to our mission”, said Mr. Ashton. “He has just the right blend of skills, energy and vision needed to lead NEAM into the future.”

“This is an exciting opportunity,” said Mr. Roberts. “I believe my experience, passion for aviation history and unique skills can help broaden NEAM’s already impressive appeal and make the museum and its exhibits even more dynamic and relevant. I am looking forward to working with the staff, volunteers, board of directors and the aviation community to take NEAM to the next level.”

Mr. Roberts lives in Deep River, CT with his wife, Jeni and their two young children.

NEAM Board of Directors worked with Marie Dalton-Meyer, a transition consultant affiliated with Third Sector New England’s Executive Transition Program. The program supports nonprofit organizations before, during and after the critical time of change in executive leadership.

The New England Air Museum is committed to presenting the story of aviation, the human genius that made it possible and the profound effects that it has had on the way in which we live.

On October 7, 2014 33 Museum staff and members left on a 12 day trip to Normandy. We are compiling a daily pictorial diary of the trip highlighting the sites the group saw and visited. We start with the group's first stops and the de Havilland museum an Cambridge England which included trips to the Imperial War Museum Duxford and the American Cemetery in Cambridge. We will continue to add updates as we continue our journey so check back! you can find the trip diary here.

The September to November update on the progress of the Burnelli CBY-3 from restoration crew chief, Harry Newman is now available and can be viewed here.

A new group of panorama views of the Restoration Hangar, P-51D Racer restoration and Liberty engine restoration have been added to the Air Museum panorama views page. They have been created by Museum member John Wood and include not only aircraft cockpit views, hangar interiors and aircraft restoration projects. Look for more in the future!

New library volunteer Alex Shongut has reorganized the library's entire audio/video collection, and is creating a searchable database index for research use." Click here for further information on the John Ramsay Research Library.