Bellanca Air Cruiser - Erickson Aircraft Collection - Madras, OR - Static Aircraft Displays on Waymarking.com

The Erickson Aircraft Collection relocated approximately 20 aircraft to the Madras Airport in 2014. This collection of mostly WWII vintage planes were previously housed in a military hanger at the Tillamook Air Museum (NW coastal town in Oregon).

The following verbiage is taken from the Erickson Aircraft Collection website to describe its history:

PT-17 Stearman

NARRATIVE

Built by the Bellanca Aircraft Corporation in New Castle, Delaware in 1938 as a modification of the Airbus, the Aircruiser was considered by many pilots to be the most efficient single engine airplane ever built. It was originally intended for commercial airline passenger service, but because of regulations that prohibited the use of single-engine transports in such service, it was forced to spend its life in the bush country where it soon made a name for itself. The long and spacious cabin has room for fifteen passengers and when the seats are removed, enough floor space to carry over two tons of cargo. It is one of the few aircraft that can carry its own weight in cargo, because of its large lower stub-wings and the large airfoil wing struts. Every square foot of airframe is devoted to some useful purpose. Even the stub-wings, which assist with lift and are strong anchoring points for the landing gear, have storage area for baggage and cargo.

SPECIFIC HISTORY

The museum’s airworthy Aircruiser was custom built in 1938 by Bellanca for the Elizade Company at a cost of $56,000 and sent to the Philippines to support a gold mining operation. In 1940 it was sold and pressed into bush service in Canada. Following a crash landing, it was restored in 1944 and continued in this service until 1968 when it ran aground while taking off fully loaded with fish. In 1972 it was rescued and restored to flying condition. The museum bought the aircraft in 1990 and keeps it in flying condition, the only Aircruiser still flying.

I wasn't able to locate an inventory page for this aircraft but was able to locate a serial number from the book titled Oregon Airplane Survivors 2003.

Each aircraft contains its own interpretive display and I've included a picture of it which contains additional info on this aircraft.

This collection is definitely worth the visit for any aircraft enthusiast.

Type of Aircraft: (make/model): Bellanca Model 66-75 BTW Air Cruiser Tail Number: (S/N): 723 Construction:: original aircraft Location (park, airport, museum, etc.): Erickson Aircraft Collection - Madras Airport inside / outside: inside Other Information:: Admission GENERAL: $9.00 SENIOR: $8.00 VETERAN: $7.00 YOUTH (6-17): $5.00 CHILD (5 and under): FREE Access restrictions: The Erickson Aircraft Collection is open to the public this summer daily from 10am to 5pm, except Monday. The Collection will be closed to the public Thanksgiving Day, and Christmas Day.

Visit Instructions:
Photo of aircraft (required - will be interesting to see if the aircraft is ever repainted or progress if being restored)
Photo of serial number (required unless there is not one or it is a replica)
Photo(s) of any artwork on the aircraft (optional but interesting)

Tell why you are visiting this waymark along with any other interesting facts or personal experiences about the aircraft not already mentioned.

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