Fort Worth Aviation Museum is saving historic military aircraft, one warbird at a time

Joel Solis
·2 min read

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North Texas has a remarkable history in aviation, going back to the first years of powered flight, and much of that history is on display at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum.

The museum at Meacham International Airport has more than 30 aircraft on display, some of which were pivotal to Fort Worth’s growth over the decades.

Among the collection is a General Dynamics YF-16 Fighting Falcon, a 1970s prototype jet that would be used to design F-16s, which were delivered from a plant on Lake Worth or assembled using parts made in Fort Worth.

There’s also an original factory mockup of the OV-10 Bronco, a twin-turboprop light attack aircraft developed in the 1960s for the Air Force, Navy and Marines Corps. A Blue Angels F/A-18 Hornet is an example of the highly versatile fighter and attack jet that went into service in the early 1980s.

And an F-14D Tomcat is easily recognizable as the iconic fighter jet from “Top Gun.”

After power-washing the tail end of an F-18 Hornet, Keven Nelson coils the hose back on the trailer on Thursday, August 1, 2024, at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. Staff and volunteers are dedicated to preserving military aviation history. “Generally, this I’ve been doing for 10 years now,” Nelson said. “It gets me out of the house on a Saturday.”
After power-washing the tail end of an F-18 Hornet, Keven Nelson coils the hose back on the trailer on Thursday, August 1, 2024, at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. Staff and volunteers are dedicated to preserving military aviation history. “Generally, this I’ve been doing for 10 years now,” Nelson said. “It gets me out of the house on a Saturday.”
Air force veteran Keven Nelson sands the paint off a retired Blue Angels F-18 Hornet on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. After receiving the F-18 from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida due to sun damage the restoration team plans on restoring the paint to its original glossy finish.
Air force veteran Keven Nelson sands the paint off a retired Blue Angels F-18 Hornet on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. After receiving the F-18 from the National Naval Aviation Museum in Pensacola, Florida due to sun damage the restoration team plans on restoring the paint to its original glossy finish.

The museum doesn’t just display aircraft. Its team of mostly retired military mechanics use their knowledge and love for aviation to restore these war birds with accuracy and attention to detail.

Operating under the charter of the nonprofit OV-10 Bronco Association, the museum carefully carefully considers acquisitions and how they’d fit in with the collection. The museum relies on donors and fundraisers to cover the costs.

When looking for parts, the museum staff looks through technical manuals on each aircraft and determines what is needed in order to complete a restoration.

Retired Air force veteran Keven Nelson sands the paint off a sun damaged plane on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. Nelson retired from the Air Force in 1979 after saying “no more” to the military constantly moving him from place to place. He now been restoring planes for the past 10 years at the museum. “I just needed something to do” Nelson said “I’d been up here a couple of times just to visit. They’re always looking for somebody to come out to help. I just get into it.”
A yard where the museum keeps a variety of parts and equipment for restoring planes on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. The yard also contains a OV-10 Bronco mockup. The mockup is used as a display to understand and educate how other OV-10’s are constructed and function.
A yard where the museum keeps a variety of parts and equipment for restoring planes on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. The yard also contains a OV-10 Bronco mockup. The mockup is used as a display to understand and educate how other OV-10’s are constructed and function.

“Finding the landing gear for that, that’s not something you can just get in the yellow pages,” said Wes Cloud, a Navy veteran who is part of the restoration staff. “Sometimes we have to have parts that are already made. Sometimes we actually make parts.”

Aircraft are sanded, primed and repainted. Staff frequently tend to them to maintain the original colors.

“It’s a constant job,” Cloud said. “We’re trying to get a facility to put some of these inside, because the sun really just wears them out.”

The tail wings of a F-18 Hornet used by the Blue Angels as a plane flies over head on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. The museum is located at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport.
The tail wings of a F-18 Hornet used by the Blue Angels as a plane flies over head on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. The museum is located at Fort Worth Meacham International Airport.
A retired YF-16 on display in a hanger on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. In 2020 the museum received the aircraft on loan from National of United States Air Force and has been under restoration since and is the second ever built YF-16 making this aircraft special to the museum.
A retired YF-16 on display in a hanger on Thursday, August 1, 2024 at the Fort Worth Aviation Museum. In 2020 the museum received the aircraft on loan from National of United States Air Force and has been under restoration since and is the second ever built YF-16 making this aircraft special to the museum.

Museum visitors also can try out flight simulators and see exhibits including the history of what’s now the Lockheed Martin plant, nearly a century of aviation art, and early aviation in North Texas.

Tickets to visit the museum are $10 for ages 17 and up; $8 for seniors or veterans; and $5 for ages 4 to 16. Kids under 3 are free. You can save a dollar per ticket by ordering them online.

Summer hours are Wednesday to Friday, 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.; Saturdays, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.; and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The main door to the restoration workshop where the Fort Worth Aviation Museum hold a variety of tools and parts to service planes on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Most volunteers and staff worked as military mechanics during their service.
The main door to the restoration workshop where the Fort Worth Aviation Museum hold a variety of tools and parts to service planes on Thursday, August 1, 2024. Most volunteers and staff worked as military mechanics during their service.

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