Foynes Flying Boat Museum

Published: Feb. 2, 2020, 1:15 p.m.

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Mary Clifford provides a guided tour of Foynes Flying Boat Museum. Travel back to the 1930s and \\u201940s, when Foynes played a pivotal role in establishing commercial transatlantic passenger flights. Learn the history of Flying Boats and the diverse range of people who arrived and departed from Foynes through our comprehensive collection of historical and interactive exhibits and memorabilia. We\\u2019ve brought these stories to life for our visitors since 1989, right here in the original Foynes Airport Terminal Building.Board the only B314 flying boat replica in the world. All the commercial flying boats landing in Foynes featured upscale amenities, but the B314 had true ocean liner luxury. Some westbound flights took 17 hours to reach Botwood before refuelling and departing for New York. This amazing Flying Boat had a 14-seat dining room, honeymoon suite, spacious flight deck catering for up to seven crew members, deck quarters for the crew, and sleeping berths for all passengers on transatlantic flights. A one-way ticket from New York to Foynes at the time cost $375.Meet pioneers of aviation, like John Alcock, Arthur Brown, and Charles Lindbergh, and get acquainted with early experiments in transatlantic flight. We also display Captain Charles F. Blair\\u2019s personal aviation collection. In 1940, he was named Chief Pilot of the newly formed American Export Airlines, later known as American Overseas Airlines. Blair was the husband of former museum patron Maureen O Hara. On September 2, 1978, tragedy struck; Captain Blair was piloting a Grumman Goose from St. Croix to St. Thomas when his plane developed engine trouble and crashed, killing him instantly.In 1989, our patron Maureen O'Hara cut the red ribbon to officially open our museum. We are proud of our achievements since those early days and look forward to many more successful years ahead. Thanks to everyone for their support over the years.https://www.flyingboatmuseum.com

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