MAPS Air Museum

The story of the MAPS Air Museum (Military Aviation Preservation Society) in North Canton, Ohio, begins in 1990 when a small group of aviation-enthusiasts formally incorporated the organization in the State of Ohio. From its modest beginnings of meeting in a former air-national-guard maintenance building at the Akron‑Canton Regional Airport, the institution set out its mission: to acquire, restore and display historic military aircraft and aviation memorabilia to educate the public about the history of flight and its impact on society.

In the mid-1990s the museum began a visible public presence. After gaining non-profit (501(c)(3)) status in 1991, the museum opened its doors to the public in the summer of 1995. With volunteers restoring aircraft on-site and converting the hangar into a visitor-friendly space, MAPS started to grow both in collection and in community engagement. Early donations included a 1943 Beechcraft SNB-5 which remains in the collection.

As the museum matured into the 2000s, its facility and programs expanded significantly. Around 2001 the museum relocated into the larger former Air National Guard hangar at the airport, giving it room to display more than 50 aircraft and over 130 historical exhibits. The collection spans aviation history: from the 1908 Martin Glider to jets like the F-16 Fighting Falcon, and includes interactive exhibits and restoration workshops.

Today, MAPS Air Museum serves not just as a static display of aircraft but as an educational hub and memorial. It hosts school programs, STEM lesson plans, a veterans’ oral-history initiative, and special events for the public and for scouts. The museum frames its collection not just around machines of war but around the human stories behind them from designers, builders, pilots, and crews and emphasizes how aviation shaped both society and community in Northeast Ohio and beyond.