Helmerich Exhibit Hall

Brought to the Museum by two Oklahomans, Eric Benson of Sallisaw and Senator James Inhofe of Tulsa. TASM’s F-14A Tomcat is painted in the squadron colors of VF-41 “The Black Aces.”  Listed on the nose are the names of Oklahomans who were pilots or crew members of the Tomcat, a gold star indicating those who were killed in action or during training.

The Ray Booker Flight Lab is reopened with limited capacity. Open from 11am-4pm, with last admittance at 3:30pm. The flight lab includes everything you need to feel, and train, like a pilot- from yoke to throttle!

$5: 30 minutes of free play time. Members free.

Ages 12 and up only, all youth must be accompanied by an adult.

As part of President Roosevelt’s “Arsenal of Democracy” to aid WWII efforts,  Tulsa was selected as the new location of a Douglas plant.  Employees of the Douglas-Tulsa plant bought enough war bonds to cover the cost of the last B-24 built in Tulsa, and so dubbed it The Tulsamerican.  The Tulsamerican fought in Europe, it’s last mission was on December 17, 1944 where is was attacked and crashed.  It currently rests in the Adriatic Sea off the coast of Croatia.

The Tuskegee Airmen were the first black aviators in the Army air corps. They were trained in Tuskegee, Alabama at the Tuskegee Institute. The Tuskegee Airmen had many firsts including the ground-breaking status of African-American combat aviator, but also served a variety of rolls including navigators, bombardiers, technicians, and leadership positions. The airmen were trained for combat missions in the western theater of WWII. Trained primarily in the cockpits of the legendary P-51 Mustang, the Tuskegee Airmen were tasked with dangerous bomber escort missions and later transitioned into independent fighter squadrons designed to attack the enemy head on. They painted the tail of their aircrafts red which created a distinct and recognizable color in the heat of battle. This was also the reason for the nickname “Redtails” which has since been associated with the Tuskegee Airmen. They excelled in every area of combat aviation and disproved many racist stereotypes that African Americans could be successful in the air corps.

Funding for Phase I of this exhibition provided by Oklahoma Humanities, The Ed Darby Foundation, Allen and Barbara Smallwood and The Bernard and Marcy Robinowitz Family Fund

The Ranger is a well-loved aircraft by all ages! Designed by Rockwell for the Joint Primary Training Systems (JPATS) competition, the Ranger was built in Germany in conjunction with Messerschmitt, Bolkow and Blohm. Unfortunately, the Ranger was not selected but found her home here at TASM! Climb into the cockpit and feel the thrill of being a pilot!

The Tulsa Air and Space Museum shuttle simulator is a fully interactive exhibit designed to recreate the unique aeronautical experience astronauts have when landing a space shuttle. The simulator can host two individuals as they attempt a landing scenario. Test your ability to glide on to the runaway for a successful landing. Visitors will not only be able to practice their pilot skills on the simulator but also will learn about Oklahoma’s incredible heritage within the shuttle program including those who flew on shuttle missions and the countless individuals who helped design this amazing craft.

The Manned Maneuvering Unit Simulator is one of TASM’s newest exhibits. Constructed with the help of the University of Tulsa and Cymstar, the MMU allows visitors to experience the weightlessness of a zero-gravity environment while navigating obstacles. Modeled after the original MMU used by Astronaut Bruce McCandless II in 1984, visitors will learn about one of NASA’s most daring creations and its unique capabilities as an untethered space vehicle.

This touch screen interactive gives you missions for your own aircraft to complete! Do you have cargo to carry? Is speed the name of you game? See what it takes to engineer an aircraft and what factors can affect flight and more.