Vintage Aviation Museum to take over storm-damaged Tillamook Air Museum

The Port of Tillamook Bay Commissioners have approved a term sheet covering the land lease and eventual sale of the historic Hangar B, home to the Tillamook Air Museum in Oregon. Under the agreement, the Vintage Aviation Museum, a nonprofit based in Utah, will take over operation of the site and become its future owner.

The museum has been shut since December 2025, when a windstorm tore a roughly 200-foot hole in the crown of the hangar's roof. Loose roofing material remained tethered to the structure for months while port officials weighed how to proceed, and the building was kept closed to visitors over concerns about its structural integrity. Repair preparations reportedly began only a few weeks ago.

Hangar B dates to World War II, when it housed blimps used for coastal reconnaissance. It is described as 192 feet high, 296 feet wide and more than 1,000 feet long, making it one of the largest wooden structures of its kind.

According to a statement from the Port, the museum's name and identity will remain tied to Tillamook and its naval aviation history even as new ownership takes over. The Vintage Aviation Museum has said it intends to relocate much of its own aircraft collection to the site, adding historic airframes to the existing display and expanding exhibit space across the hangar for aviation history, preservation and education programs.

No timeline for completion of repairs or reopening to the public was given in the announcement.