YAKIMA, Wash. – Millions of people plan to travel this Memorial Day weekend. Even if you don’t have any big plans, it could be a good weekend for a quick road trip on a single tank of gas.
The McAllister Aviation Museum is just over 80 miles from the Tri-Cities and offers a glimpse into the history of flight in the Yakima Valley.
According to board member Lynn Harden, the museum opened in 1999, shortly after Charles McAllister, an aviation pioneer in the Yakima Valley, died.
Before it was a museum, the building served as a training school for pilots and a refueling station for planes and military aircraft.
The museum has over 30 displays chronicling the history of aviation in the Yakima Valley.
According to Harden, Charlie McAllister, along with his brother, built the Yakima Clipper, the first certified glider in Washington. McAllister set a Pacific Northwest record of gliding over nine hours in the air. Harden said the glider had no instrumentation and was flown all on feel by finding rising winds.
The museum is open Thursday through Saturday, from 11 a.m. until 3 p.m. Adult tickets are $5.00, and kids under 12 are free.
Harden said the museum will host an Aviation Day event on June 1, during which all ticket fees will be waived.
