Here is a secret worth sharing, especially for day-trippers with a love for aircraft. It’s the Pueblo Weisbrod Air Museum, located at the city’s airport park just east of the city. For those who’ve never been there, or even heard about it, it really is a big deal.
“I would describe it as one of the best in this part of the country,” said Museum President Jeanne Sandidge. While it would be easy to boast, the Memphis-native is, plainly speaking, quite objective about the place she’s been overseeing for the last four years.
The place is easily one of southern Colorado’s ‘must-see’ stops with aircraft—military and civilian—ground equipment and war-time weaponry on display in two massive hangars stretching more than 85,000 square feet. Its collection has machinery that has fought wars going back to the twenties, essentially the early days of aviation. But there is included in the more than 40 aircraft on display, a B-29, one of WWII’s workhorses, and a modern-day jet fighter, the F-15. The F-15 on display, said Sandidge, has a special cachet. It flew in Desert Storm and was credited with taking down a Russian-built MIG
Getting new aircraft for the museum takes a little bit of moxie and finely tuned radar. It also helps if you have a retired General lending a hand. The General, whose name was not shared, “was on the crew of an F-15,” she said. He learned the jet fighter was going to be ‘mothball’ and, after making a few inquiries, got the plane donated to the Pueblo Museum.
It’s the same way the museum got its latest piece of hardware, a U.S. Air Force A-10, popularly known as the ‘Warthog,’ so named for its unique airframe. Of course, the A-10, something of an aerial acrobat for its surreal ability to maneuver across the sky, is still flying missions and is an essential tool in the American arsenal, but this one was ready for the boneyard.
The museum, Sandidge said, is “a great field trip for kids,” and says during May when schools are ready to let out, “we may have four or five school trips in a week.” But springtime isn’t the only time crowds descend on the museum. “Last year we had 13,000 visitors,” a number she said includes a majority from out of town.
Though the museum is a living and lovingly restored history of aircraft, it also sits on ground that has its own hallowed history. Pueblo and its airport, for those who may not know, had its own unique contribution to winning WWII.
Once war was declared in 1941, the government scrambled to stock its armory with every element necessary to win the war. Then, known as the Pueblo Army Air Base, the facility was used to train pilots and crews—especially the B-17 Flying Fortress and B-24 Liberator crews—for missions in the Pacific and European theaters. The late Hollywood icon, Clark Gable, was one of thousands who once called Pueblo home as he did his part to win the war.
Coming up the last weekend of September, Pueblo will host its own airshow with thousands showing up to watch world class aerial demonstrations. But, no surprise, the big draw will be the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds. The Army’s Golden Knights, a team of precision paratroopers, are also scheduled. For tickets to the air show, visit Tickets | Wings of Pride – Pueblo Air Show.
But Sandidge said the air show the museum are not connected. So far, no decision has been made on whether or not the museum will be open while the air show is on. But tickets for the Pueblo Air Museum are available on site. Adult tickets sell for $10 and children under 7 are free. Special discounts for seniors and active-duty military and veterans are available. Visit the museum website at pwam.org for more information.
From Denver, the museum is a quick 90 minute ride south on Interstate 25 to Highway 50 east.
