The Military Aviation Museum in Virginia Beach, Virginia, is home to one of the world's largest collections of warbirds in flying condition. It includes examples from Germany, France, Italy, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States, from both World War I and World War II, and its complete collection ranges from the 1910s to the early 1950s. Its mission is to "preserve, restore and fly these historic aircraft and to allow a new generation to experience and learn from what [their forebears] might have endured in the skies so very far from home." The majority of the historic aircraft at the Museum have been restored to flying condition and they fly in twice-yearly major airshows (one in the spring for World War II aircraft, and one in the fall for World War I aircraft) The collection also includes a large reference library, along with artifacts and materials to illustrate the historic context of the aircraft in the collection. History The Museum was founded by Gerald "Jerry" Yagen in 2005, and the museum's hangars were opened to the public in 2008. He had been collecting and restoring warbirds since the mid-1990s, starting with a Curtiss P-40E Kittyhawk, Difficulties in 2013 In June 2013 it was reported that the museum and its collection of planes was to be sold off, due to some financial difficulties which Yagen's business was then experiencing. He was selling his vocational schools business, and no longer had the resources to finance the Museum. An article in The Virginian-Pilot reported that Yagen had said "I'm subsidizing it heavily every year and my business no longer allows me to do that financially, and therefore I don't have a solution for it". However, the announced sale of the museum and aircraft was premature; it was announced only a week later that "the museum won't close soon, some of the facility's planes ... may have to go to keep the operation aloft" and "'we are still open for business and business is normal'". Several aircraft were sold, see below, but both Yagen's businesses and the museum are now operating normally. Since the sales in 2013, additional aircraft (including a projected replacement de Havilland Dragon Rapide) have been acquired and are under restoration to fly. Facilities The museum is housed at its own small private grass airfield, the Virginia Beach Airport, in the Pungo area of Virginia Beach, Virginia. The complex