PORT CLINTON - The new Tri-Motor Heritage Museum / Liberty Aviation Museum facility at Erie-Ottawa Regional Airport in Port Clinton is to have its grand opening this weekend. The ribbon cutting ceremony is at 10 a.m. today. Military aircraft displays, B-17 rides, tours of the facility and various other activities will take place throughout the weekend. This event is free and open to the public.
For several years, volunteers with the Tri-Motor Heritage Foundation have been working to rebuild a Ford Tri-Motor plane that once flew regularly between Port Clinton and the Lake Erie islands. As the restoration proceeded, the George V. Woodling Foundation stepped in and built a museum and hangar facility to be shared by the Tri-Motor Heritage Museum and Liberty Aviation Museum, another group of aviation enthusiasts who operate a fully restored WWII B-25 Mitchell bomber.
With the new museum building nearly complete, the Tri-Motor volunteers have been moving supplies, tools and materials to the new facility. Volunteers moved the main fuselage of the partially-restored craft to its new hangar Tuesday.
The museum is located at 3515 E. State Road, Port Clinton. To learn more, visit www.trimotorheritagefoundation.org, email info@trimotorheritagefoundation.org or call (419) 366-0950.
