L. Kruae

BILLING ITSELF as the "largest privately funded air museum in the world," the Pima Air Museum in Tucson, Arizona began in 1976 with the avowed purpose of preserving aviation history for the education of present and future generations. Since that time it has grown to become the third largest collection of historical aircraft in the United States, with over 130 aircraft of World War II vintage and later on display. Located conveniently just off U.S. Interstate Highway 10, the Pima Air Museum is just across the road from Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, where a portion of a collection of 3,500 retired U.S. military aircraft is stored on a 3,000-acre tract. Obviously, the museum has made use of its proximity to Davis-Monthan, and many of the aircraft exhibited at Pima are there in conjunction with a USAF loan program.