Politics & Government
Aviation Museum Still in Flight
The volunteer group that runs the Wings of Freedom Museum received conditional approval Wednesday for a sub-lease that would allow the museum to stay open following the air base's closure.
The crossed a major hurdle in its attempt to survive amid the closure of .
The Horsham Land Reuse Authority on Wednesday voted unanimously to execute a sub-lease with the nonprofit group that runs the along Route 611 in Horsham conditioned upon DVHAA’s successful acquisition of a $200,000 letter of credit and a certificate of insurance.
“It’s assured that it will happen,” DVHAA President Ron Nelson told the board. “But, they couldn’t get it done today.”
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DVHAA currently leases land from the Navy. That . Without a sub-lease with the HLRA – the entity leading the charge to redevelop 892 acres of base property – the military would begin removing aircraft and closing the building, according to HLRA and DVHAA officials. Since the HLRA does not have another board meeting scheduled until June 15, officials said it was best to grant conditional approval Wednesday.
The HLRA had previously requested that DVHAA secure a performance bond to ensure that if the museum were to close, the HLRA would be covered in terms of expenses incurred from aircraft removal, officials have said.
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HLRA Executive Director Mike McGee said a letter of credit is preferred over a performance bond.
“The letter of credit is extremely good,” McGee said. “With a letter of credit ... it’s just a matter of walking into a bank and saying ‘give me money.’ ”
DVHAA Executive Director John Rehfuss said prior to Wednesday’s meeting that while the group continues to work with the HLRA, a bond or letter of credit was not necessary.
“If we were to fail, and we are not, Pensacola, who administers well over 300 museums like us, would notify the appropriate museums that we have aircraft for them,” Rehfuss said in an e-mail. “The hitch in this is that the museum would need to remove the aircraft and relocate them to the museum that wants to add them to their collection.”
The HLRA’s conditional sub-lease came as a surprise to Rehfuss, who had hypothesized that it would not be finalized Wednesday, as well as DVHAA representatives at the meeting.
“This is the first step,” Nelson said. “We believe we’re going to stay on the base.”
DVHAA is one of as part of the ongoing redevelopment process. Decisions about the base’s future will likely not be known until July, when the HLRA weighs in on three yet-to-be-crafted possible redevelopment alternatives.
If DVHAA had its own facility, it might ensure the group’s receipt of a vital addition to its existing collection: Aircraft designed by famed aviator Harold F. Pitcairn, the man who owned the air base property prior to the military and who is memorialized in displays throughout DVHAA’s museum.
Since 2008, a Pitcairn Autogiro and a Pitcairn Mailwing have been on hold, in the estate of Pitcairn’s son, according to David Pitcairn, a nephew of Harold F. Pitcairn.
“(DVHAA) can’t get it and it’s going to go away if they can’t ensure that they have a facility,” David Pitcairn said. “It’s so up in the air.”
While David Pitcairn said Wednesday’s action was a “step forward,” he said he didn’t know if it was adequate to land them more aircraft – at least from his family.
“I don’t know if it’s enough for the lawyers,” he said. “The lawyers have to give the planes to a facility that’s stable.”
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