Flying Heritage collection is sold

Since Paul Allen, cofounder of Microsoft, died on 15 October 2018 the future of his Flying Heritage & Combat Armor Museum (FHCAM) in Everett (WA) has been uncertain.

Initially the museum and restoration center remained open and restoration projects went on, sometimes at a slower pace. But this changed in May 2020 when it suddenly and indefinitely closed stating that the then-still-young COVID-19 crisis was to blame.

Many people feared that this would be the beginning of the end and that the immense collection with its many unique items would fall apart. There were rumors that Allen’s sister had decided to sell the collection. These rumors increased when, almost a year ago, Courtesy Aircraft Sales and Platinum Fighter Sales listed a large handful of Allen’s restoration projects for sale.

FHCAM houses some very rare gems, like a DH98 Mosquito, an Ilyushin Il-2 Shturmovik, a ‘long nose’ Focke Wulf Fw-190D-13 and a Junkers Ju-87 Stuka!

Recently US aviation magazine Air Classics reported on the sale of the collection by his estate and that the assets were being prepared for a ‘cross-country’ relocation to a new owner.

This new owner now turns out to be Steuart Walton (1981), a director of Walmart, a US multinational retail corporation, founded by the Walton family. Steuart is a pilot and owner of Vought F2G-1 Corsair NX5588N, ‘Race #57’ and several P-51 Mustangs. He lives in Bentonville (AR)

Photos: Experimental Aircraft Association