Selfridge Military Air Museum

10/30/2026

A group from the Rochester Hills Senior Center visited today for a private tour of the Museum. We enjoyed having them with us and their enthusiasm about seeing all of our historic displays and aircraft.

OUR SEASON ENDS TOMORROW! We will be open from 11am - 5pm on Saturday, October 31st. Thank you to all of our visitors and supporters! Please come to visit us next year. Opening Day will be Saturday, April 3, 2027.

10/27/2026

What's That?
by Glen Broman

What's That?

Some of you that have recently visited the museum have wondered about our latest exhibit just outside the door in the Air Park. We recently added this latest acquisition to our display, the new Stealth Fighter!

It's an amazingly sleek design, as you can tell from the photograph, although they are really hard to keep track of on the Flight Line, as you can only really find them by bumping into them.

We only have the Stealth Fighter on a short term loan, as it will be replaced by our refurbished T-6 Texan trainer next year when the museum reopens in April.

10/24/2026

Restoration Progress Report
by Steve Sibal
Restoration Crew Team Leader

The restoration of our WWII era AT-6 training aircraft is well underway. Earlier this month our restoration crew dismantled this historic plane to make it possible to move her from her space in our outdoor airpark into our workshops so that work could take place over the winter. This was accomplished by removing both wings and the tail surfaces from the fuselage. If you visit some of our earlier posts you can see this complex work in process.

The first three photos are from a week ago in workshop 1007. The crew is stripping yellow latex paint from the top of the right wing. They are using razor blade scrapers and lots of elbow grease. It took us three days to strip this side. Cleaning paint from around the multitude of round-headed rivets was very time consuming.

Today we were able to flip this wing so it was bottom-side up and moved it to workshop 1045 which offered more elbow room. Continuing with razor blade scrapers, we were able to strip over half of the wing and remove the bolt-on wing tip to repair its mounting structure inside the wing.

Progress is being made each week on this restoration. Work will continue over the winter. We will keep you informed.

10/23/2026

It was a beautiful day today to host a group from the Macomb County Planning and Economic Development Staff at the Museum. Thank you for making us part of your fun!

We encourage the public to visit the Museum during these last weeks of October as our season will end at 5pm on Saturday, October 31st. WE WILL BE OPEN FOR VISITORS ON OCTOBER 24, 25, 30, 31, FROM 11am - 5pm. So please don't miss out!

Museum admission and Pre-Arranged Base Security Access are necessary. Please go to our website (www.selfridgeairmuseum.org) for information and our help in gaining Pre-Arranged Base Security Access.

On our home page you should click on the yellow button that says 'Visitor Information and Access'. Then click on the yellow button that says 'Pre-Arranged Access'. Then fill out the form, then click on 'Submit'. This process is easy but usually takes a week to get approval. So, we hope that you get started soon!

10/21/2026

The Base Trunk or Treat event was held last Saturday and the Museum was well represented by our volunteers Dave and Lois. Over 125 youngsters participated and seemed to have a wonderful time. Thank you Dave and Lois!

We encourage the public to visit the Museum during these last weeks of October as our season will end at 5pm on Saturday, October 31st. WE WILL BE OPEN FOR VISITORS ON OCTOBER, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, FROM 11am - 5pm. So please don't miss out!

Museum admission and Pre-Arranged Base Security Access are necessary. Please go to our website (www.selfridgeairmuseum.org) for information and our help in gaining Pre-Arranged Base Security Access.

On our home page you should click on the yellow button that says 'Visitor Information and Access'. Then click on the yellow button that says 'Pre-Arranged Access'. Then fill out the form, then click on 'Submit'. This process is easy but usually takes a week to get approval. So, we hope that you get started soon!

10/17/2026

We had a Home School group of families from Macomb and St. Clair Counties visit the Museum yesterday. Thank you for making us part of your fun day!

We encourage the public to visit the Museum during these last weeks of October as our season will end at 5pm on Saturday, October 31st. WE WILL BE OPEN FOR VISITORS ON OCTOBER, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, FROM 11am - 5pm. So please don't miss out!
Museum admission and Pre-Arranged Base Security Access are necessary. Please go to our website (www.selfridgeairmuseum.org) for information and our help in gaining Pre-Arranged Base Security Access.
On our home page you should click on the yellow button that says 'Visitor Information and Access'. Then click on the yellow button that says 'Pre-Arranged Access'. Then fill out the form, then click on 'Submit'. This process is easy but usually takes a week to 10 days to get approval. So, we hope that you get started soon! See less

10/15/2026

Plane Facts – Engines
By Glen Broman

And now for something completely different, not just Things Under Wings, but Things Over Wings.

Engines come in different flavors, some are piston powered, some are turboprops and some are jets. They are all a critical part of the four elements of flight; Lift, Drag, Thrust and Gravity. As you can imagine, engines are a handy piece of kit to combine with lift to overcome drag and gravity.

Our specific subject for this edition of Plane Facts is the Allison T-56 Turboprop engine. The T-56 engine powers both our C-130’s and our P-3. The engines are mounted under the wings on the C-130’s and over the wings on the P-3. The usual comment is that the engine on the P-3 is upside down. In reality, not so much.

Actually, both engines are mounted “right side up”, but the reduction gearboxes are mounted differently to match each aircraft’s wing configuration. The illusion of “upside down” on the P-3 relates to the difference in how the engine nacelle and air intakes are shaped. So why is that?

The C-130 has a high wing and the P-3 has a low wing. The C-130 places the propeller shaft in a high position. The P-3 gearbox places the propeller drive shaft in a low position to align with the low mounted wing. Placing the gearboxes at a 180 degree difference, along with the exhaust placement and oil cooler intake locations, gives the illusion of an upside down orientation on the P-3.

Who knew engines could be so much fun?

We encourage the public to visit the Museum during these last weeks of October as our season will end at 5pm on Saturday, October 31st. WE WILL BE OPEN FOR VISITORS ON OCTOBER, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, FROM 11am - 5pm. So please don't miss out!
Museum admission and Pre-Arranged Base Security Access are necessary. Please go to our website (www.selfridgeairmuseum.org) for information and our help in gaining Pre-Arranged Base Security Access.
On our home page you should click on the yellow button that says 'Visitor Information and Access'. Then click on the yellow button that says 'Pre-Arranged Access'. Then fill out the form, then click on 'Submit'. This process is easy but usually takes a week to 10 days to get approval. So, we hope that you get started soon!

10/15/2026

A Friendly Reminder from the Selfridge Military Air Museum

We would like to remind our supporters and visitors that the Selfridge Military Air Museum has a wonderful gift shop located right here at the museum! We also offer merchandise through our official website.

Please be aware that we do not promote or sell merchandise through any other channels, including our page.

Unfortunately, we occasionally see unauthorized posts advertising custom T-shirts and other merchandise.

If you come across one of these posts, we ask that you:

1. Do not click on any links or attempt to make a purchase.

2. Report the post to our page moderators so we can remove it and ban the account responsible.

Looking for official museum merchandise?

You can visit our gift shop in person or shop online using the link below:

https://selfridgeairmuseum.org/museum-shop/

While the museum will close for the season on Saturday, October 31, 2026, our online gift shop remains open year-round!

Thank you for your continued support of the Selfridge Military Air Museum. Your purchases help support our mission of preserving and sharing military aviation history.

We appreciate your support and look forward to seeing you at the museum!

SELFRIDGE MILITARY AIR MUSEUM Museum Shop Collector Prints Sale! F-4C William Tell $150.00 Original price was: $150.00.$100.00Current price is: $100.00. Sale! “Corsair Over Grosse Ile” Prints $10.00 – $100.00Price range: $10.00 through $100.00 Sale! “Miller Time” Giclee Canvas – Special ...

10/13/2026

We encourage the public to visit the Museum during these last weeks of October as our season will end at 5pm on Saturday, October 31st. WE WILL BE OPEN FOR VISITORS ON OCTOBER, 16, 17, 18, 23, 24, 25, 30, 31, FROM 11am - 5pm. So please don't miss out!

Museum admission and Pre-Arranged Base Security Access are necessary. Please go to our website (www.selfridgeairmuseum.org) for information and our help in gaining Pre-Arranged Base Security Access.

On our home page you should click on the yellow button that says 'Visitor Information and Access'. Then click on the yellow button that says 'Pre-Arranged Access'. Then fill out the form, then click on 'Submit'. This process is easy but usually takes a week to 10 days to get approval. So, we hope that you get started soon!

10/08/2026

Yes, you read it right. After initial pilot training (IPT) the Tuskegee Aitmen transferred to Selfridge Field for advanced training in high performance fighters. See their story and so much more at the Selfridge Military Air Museum. Base entry requirements are outlined on th home page of our website www.selfridgeairmuseum.org. hurry, we close for the season after the last weekend of October. Hope to see you soon.

On This Day, October 8, 1943, Benjamin O. Davis Jr. took command of the 332nd Fighter Group at Selfridge Field, Michigan.

He had just returned from leading the 99th Fighter Squadron in combat in North Africa and Sicily. Back in the United States, he also had to defend the squadron against officers who questioned its performance and wanted it removed from combat. Davis brought the record of the men who had flown those missions to Washington and made their case.

Now he was responsible for preparing a larger group of Tuskegee Airmen for war. The 332nd would deploy to Italy and eventually bring the 99th together with the 100th, 301st, and 302nd Fighter Squadrons under his command.

What do you think he was feeling?