Kettering Model Aircraft Collection Undergoes Conservation

Philanthropist’s hand-built replicas are being restored and readied for a new display case at the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force.

Meg Godlewski

Friday, March 15, 2024 at 10:00 AM ET

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Some of the model aircraft in the Kettering collection date back to the 1930s. [Courtesy: National Museum of the U.S. Air Force]

Key Takeaways:

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force is conserving the extensive collection of 624 handcrafted model aircraft built by its co-founder, Eugene Kettering.
Dating back to the 1930s, these delicate, mostly wooden models were deteriorating due to age, light exposure, and material breakdown, requiring specialized care.
The Intermuseum Conservation Association (ICA) is undertaking the restoration, which includes addressing material fragility and testing for hazardous substances like lead paint.
The conserved collection will be reinstalled in a new, climate-controlled display case in Kettering Hall by summer 2025 to ensure its long-term preservation.

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Many of us begin our aviation careers by building model aircraft— and some never stop.

That would have described the late Eugene Kettering, an engineer, philanthropist, and first chairman of the Air Force Museum Foundation. Kettering went to work at General Motors in 1930 and helped in the development of the modern diesel locomotive. He also built aircraft models on the side, and when he retired in 1960, he and his wife, Virginia, looked for philanthropic endeavors for that outlet—one was the creation of the Air Force Museum.