For 25 years, the Butler County Warbirds Museum has been doing its part to help the next generation take flight. Guests at the Warbirds headquarters, a 1938 hangar located at the Middletown Regional Airport, are able to learn about military aviation history, gain an appreciation for veteran pilots and even enjoy a ride in a refurbished vintage plane.
“Forgotten lessons of the past are doomed to be repeated, unless taught to the next generation,” says Tim Epperhart, founding member of the Butler County Warbirds Museum. “We need role models that are more than pop stars.”
The Warbirds Museum hosts about two to three thousand guests every year and is part of the 2024-christened Ohio Air & Space Trail and the Dayton Aviation Trail. The Warbirds organization itself was created by a group of friends who shared a love of military aviation history.
“It all started with our 1943 PT-19 plane and a very small collection of artifacts,” Epperhart explains.
Today, the museum boasts a collection of more than 2,600 artifacts, ranging in age from the American Civil War to items representing the United States military's response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Although Epperhart is the only remaining founding member, he receives plenty of assistance from other volunteers, many of them military veterans and their spouses.
Admission to the Butler County Warbirds Museum is free, but guests can always opt for a paid trip into the skies aboard an impressive selection of fully restored vintage planes. In fact, more than 200 individuals do just that every year. Guests come from many different backgrounds and life experiences.
“Last weekend, we had a family from Japan visit, and they seemed impressed with the collection of World War II Japanese artifacts that we have,” Epperhart says. “A 4-year-old and his grandfather are regular visitors. And, I’ve given a ride to a 100-year-old Normandy Invasion veteran.”
The museum is funded by those affordable plane rides, in addition to grants, individual donations and community fundraising initiatives. They give back with free community events: Cookies with Santa and Candy Bomber events, which recreate a famous 1948 Berlin Airlift candy drop.
The museum also co-chairs Hops in the Hangar, proceeds of which support the Betty Stagg-Turner Memorial Scholarship for Women in Aviation. In conjunction with the Middletown Community Foundation and Tailwheel Aviation LLP, the Warbirds Museum began raising money for the scholarship in 2022 in memory of Betty Stagg-Turner, who was a member of the Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP) program. It celebrates her groundbreaking work and encourages women pursuing an interest in aviation. Stagg-Turner lived in Mason and passed away in 2003.
“She flew aircraft, not as a military member, but for the military in World War II,” Epperhart explains. “Betty was a strong advocate of women doing things that they historically weren't supposed to. She flew airplanes, rode motorcycles and she was just a blast to be around,” he adds.
Phase One of the scholarship planning included the collection of $10,000 to make the scholarship a permanent endowment with the Middletown Community Foundation. Phase Two will be adding a North American AT-6 Texan to its aircraft collection. Stagg-Turner flew that model aircraft during her pilot career.
“Revenue from (rides in) that plane will be solely used to fund the scholarship,” Epperhart reports.
Epperhart believes that measures like the scholarship, in coordination with community events to fund it, can go a long way in keeping history alive for younger generations, as well as spreading awareness.
“The scholarship is a permanent endowment,” Epperhart says. “It will last forever.”
The Butler County Warbirds Museum is open Saturdays and Sundays, 10 a.m.-5 p.m., with the exception of major holidays.
The Butler County Warbirds Museum
2351 Wedekind Drive, Middletown | 513.702.3062 | BCWarbirds.com
Hops in the Hangar
An Epic Craft Beer + Aircraft Event–August 23, 4-9 PM
Save the date for the Hops in the Hangar event, co-chaired by the Butler County Warbirds Museum at Middletown Regional Airport, 4-9 p.m. on August 23.
- Thirty local craft breweries and a lineup of food trucks will offer top-notch refreshments.
- Overhead, guests will enjoy an astounding air show, complete with aerobatic performances and dizzying maneuvers.
- On the ground, additional historic aircraft and artifacts will be on display for close encounters and an enriching educational experience.
- All attendees must be aged 21 and over.
Proceeds benefit selected nonprofits and the Betty Stagg-Turner Memorial Scholarship for Women in Aviation.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit HopsInTheHangar.com.