Helicopter Museum Moves Forward After Ryan Rally

Director Tim Conaway deals with a lot of surprise. 

“A lot of people didn’t know we were here,” Conaway said.  “Since the last week we’ve received a lot of calls.  A lot of people are saying ‘what an amazing thing to have in their own backyard.’”

The American Helicopter Museum in West Goshen has been open since 1996.  It draws 35,000 people a year, and even though it’s a non-profit, it brings in annual revenues of $500,000.

The biggest surprise though is how vital the Delaware Valley has been to the development of the helicopter.

“Six of the eight ‘pioneers’ of vertical flight are from the Philadelphia area,” Conaway said.  “Sikorsky has a plant in Coatesville, and Boeing is also in the area.” 

Conaway added, “We’re sort of the Cooperstown of helicopters.  This is where it started.”

Located right off of Airport Road, the museum butts up against the Brandywine Airport, and it is located in a former helicopter manufacturing plant.

“This used to be a manufacturing hangar for MBB,” Conaway said.  “When it was purchased by Eurocopter we moved in.”

According to Conaway the museum houses about $2 million in helicopters, but the number in actual dollar is quite higher.

“We’re kind of a Mom and Pop museum,” Conaway said.  “The worst thing that could happen to you working here is that a kid comes in here and throws up on you.”

Conaway added that the museum has plenty of helicopters, but the ones he is most proud of is the ones that are on loan from the military.

“We’re the only museum that has an Osprey,” Conaway said.  “That was donated from Boeing.”

According to Conaway, who served in the Navy himself as a helicopter pilot, the Osprey represents the future of “vertical flight.”

“The Osprey is a great machine because it’s the first time an aircraft can hover like a helicopter, but it can also fly like an airplane.”

The Osprey has propellers that rotate at an axis so that when they are vertical they lift the aircraft like a helicopter, but they can also turn 90 degrees and act as airplane propellers.

“Every helicopter here has a story,” Conaway said.  “We have one helicopter that helped pick-up an astronaut, and we have another that served in Vietnam.”

Conaway added, “We’re dedicated to the community, and we’re a great destination for young families with kids looking for an activity.”