The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force says it’s ready to move ahead with a planned 224,000 square foot addition that will house the museum’s Presidential Aircraft Gallery and other exhibits.
Turner Construction Co. of Washington, D.C. landed the $35.4 million dollar contract to build the new hangar at Wright-Patt, though the non-profit Air Force Museum Foundation is privately financing the expansion.
Officials say it will be similar in size and shape to its three existing hangars and will house planes used by Presidents Roosevelt, Truman, and Eisenhower, as well as John F. Kennedy’s Air Force One.
The new building will also have dedicated areas for Air Force and STEM education programs and a relocated Research and Development Gallery featuring the world’s only remaining XB-70 aerospace vehicle, which could fly three times the speed of sound.
Construction is set to begin in late spring of 2014 and a public opening is anticipated in late 2015.
