Wed, Apr 20, 2022
Rumors Place Owner as Walmart Heir and GameBird GB1 Owner Steuart Walton
The infamous aviation collection acquired by Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has reportedly been liquidated, sold in its entirety by his estate to the grandson of Walmart founder Sam Walton.
Allen's death almost 4 years ago had placed the extensive collection's status in doubt, held at the Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum in Everett, Washington. One aviation outlet recently reported that the philanthropist's large assortment of vintage equipment has been sold off by the Allen estate, and currently being carefully crated for shipment to their new home. The aircraft are being readied for a long cross country flight, where appropriate, to make their way to Steuart Walton, co-founder of Runway Group and Game Composites.
As far as recipients go, Walton is about as good a new owner as one could hope for. His composites business designs and builds small composite aircraft, gaining notoriety in the air race circuit for their GB1 Gamebird. Walton is a longtime aerospace nerd, pilot, and aircraft collector in his own right, and should prove to be a suitable caretaker for Paul Allen's gems. All 24 of his vintage planes, like his Spitfire, de Havilland Mosquito, IL-2 Shturmovik, Ju-87 Stuka, P-47 Thunderbolt, and WhiteKnight demonstrator should be in good hands. Currently, the sale remains a rumor, with Walton's companies keeping mum about any developments or public displays.
The Flying Heritage Museum remains in limbo, having closed "temporarily" for the duration of the pandemic. Its website says that it will re-open in the future, though such developments are doubtful without the prized assortment of WWII aircraft. Its collection of armored vehicles appears to remain, though the trustee of the Allen estate could well have buyers lined up for it, too. The pandemic was particularly hard on museums, often operating on shoestring budgets and thready attendance even in healthier times. If the museum is well and truly closed in all but name, it's a sad state of affairs, but certainly not a rare one.
More News
Takeoff Roll The process whereby an aircraft is aligned with the runway centerline and the aircraft is moving with the intent to take off. For helicopters, this pertains to the act>[...]
“We’re proud of the hard work that went into receiving this validation, and it will be a welcome relief to our customers in the European Union. We couldn’t be mor>[...]
Also: 1800th E-Jet, Uncle Sam Sues For Landing Gear, Embraer Ag Plane, Textron Parts A friend of the family reported that Lt. Col. (Ret.) Richard Glenn Rutan flew west on Friday, M>[...]
Also: Virgin Galactic, B-29 Doc to Allentown, Erickson Fire-Fighters Bought, FAA Reauthorization After dealing with a big letdown after the unexpected decision by Skyreach to disco>[...]
"Aircraft Spruce is pleased to announce the acquisition of the parts distribution operations of Wag-Aero. Wag-Aero was founded in the 1960’s by Dick and Bobbie Wagner in the >[...]