TAM Museum

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TAM Museum
Map
Established11 November 2006
LocationSão Carlos, São Paulo, Brazil
TypeAviation museum

The TAM Museum (Portuguese: Museu TAM), also known as the Museu Asas de um Sonho (Wings of a Dream Museum), is an aviation museum in the city of São Carlos, within the state of State of São Paulo, Brazil. The museum was located 15 kilometers (9.3 mi) from central São Carlos, and 250 kilometers (160 mi) from São Paulo City.[1]

The museum was the creation of Rolim Adolfo Amaro, founder and president of TAM Airlines, and his brother João Francisco Amaro. The building is annexed to the TAM Airlines Technology Center at São Carlos Airport, in the district of Água Vermelha in São Carlos.[2]

History

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In 1996, after finishing the restoration work on a Cessna 195, brothers Rolim Adolfo Amaro and João Francisco Amaro decided to buy some classic aircraft, and keep them near São Paulo, in order to make them available for flights on weekends with friends. However, once purchased, it was realised that the small collection could become a museum representative of the memory of aviation and the world. The brothers then decided to create the "Museu Asas de um Sonho" (Wings of a Dream Museum), that was maintained by the Education Service and Culture, a non-profit association founded by TAM on 23 December 1991, to administer the social programs of the company.

In 2006, the museum opened with 32 aircraft and was intended to have more than 80 aircraft. The opening was part of the celebrations of 150 years of the city of São Carlos.

In July 2008 the museum was closed to visitors in order to allow a complete reorganization of its installations, which included an expansion of the covered space from 9.5 thousand square metres to over 20 thousand square metres. The grand re-opening occurred in June 2010 and among the collection of 90 airplanes, held the sole surviving S.55 seaplane christened "Jahú", a F4U Corsair, a Bf 109, a Dassault Mirage III, a Brazilian aircraft Neiva Regente.

On January 29, 2016, TAM announced that the museum would be ceasing operations due to budget concerns.[3] Closure actually happened on February 2, 2016, and on May 18, 2018, it was announced that it would be relocated close to the Brazilian Aerospace Memorial at São José dos Campos Airport, near the Embraer plant, but this never happened.[4]

On December 16, 2019, the president of the Brazilian Aviation Institute (IBA), Francisco Lyra, announced to an audience at the opening of the São Paulo Catarina business aviation airport that his next project would be to preserve the "Asas de um Sonho" aviation museum.[5] It was intended by the follower Latam Airlines Group to postpone the acerve to Campo de Marte Airport, which also never happened.

In March 2022, it was mistakenly reported that the museum pieces had been acquired by Helisul, an air taxi company, and would be displayed at the Foz do Iguaçu Convention Center, however the company denied the purchase, not ruling out the possibility of a future partnership.[6][7]

Finally, in May 2023, the museum was reopened on the original location in São Carlos, but soon reclosed.[8]

Unfortunate, Marcos Amaro, owner of Museum, could transfer its pieces to Itú.[9]

Aircraft exhibits

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Source: Ogden[10]

The museum has more than 35 aircraft in a historical building measuring 450 metres long by 130 metres wide and 11 metres high. The exhibits planned to be accessible to visitors in 2010 were as follows:

Designation FAB desig Identity Notes
Aeronca C-3 NC14630
American Flea Ship PP-TKX Universal Aircraft
Boeing-Stearman Model 75 LV-FGD
Bücker Bü 131 Jungmann E3B-595
Cessna 140 PP-DYX
Cessna 180 PT-BXZ
Cessna 185 PT-KJM
Cessna 195 PT-LDK
Cessna L-19 Bird Dog 54736
Cessna L-19 Bird Dog 62612
Cessna L-19 Bird Dog 72774
Douglas DC-3 N101KC "Rose"
EAY Ypiranga Paulistinha PT-ZGY
EMB110 Bandeirante TAM
Fairchild 24 UC-61A 2687
Fairchild PT-19 Cornell PP-GAY
Fokker F27 Frienship TAM
Gloster Meteor F.8 F-8 4440
Lockheed 049 Constellation PP-PDD Bought in Paraguay and painted as Panair do Brasil
Messerschmitt Bf 109G-2 12456
MiG-15 6247
MiG-17 23
MiG-21 17
Miles M.2H Hawk Major G-ADAS
Neiva CAP-4 Paulistinha N-505 Marinha
Nord 1203 Norecrin PP-EBE
Republic P-47D Thunderbolt 229265
Piper PA-12 Super Cruiser
IPE Quero Quero KW.1 PT-PEI Sailplane
IPE Quero Quero KW.1 PT-PFJ Sailplane
RWD-13 PT-LFY
Santos-Dumont 14-bis Replica
Santos-Dumont Demoiselle Replica
Savoia-Marchetti S.55 I-BAUQ "Jahú"
Schneider Grunau Baby IIb Glider
Supermarine Spitfire Mk.IX EN398
Vought F4U Corsair 17-F-13
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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Visitação e Localição." TAM Museum. Retrieved on December 15, 2011. "Rodovia SP 318, km249,5 – Água Vermelha São Carlos SP – CEP 13578-000" and "Rod. Eng. Thales de Lorena Peixoto Júnior São Carlos - São Paulo"
  2. ^ Wikipedia Portuguese article
  3. ^ "Museu da TAM encerra as atividades?" Aero Magazine. Retrieved on February 2, 2016.
  4. ^ "Museu Asas de um Sonho seria instalado em São José dos Campos (SP)" (in Portuguese). Poder Aéreo. 15 May 2018. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
  5. ^ Pedicini, Richard. "Brazil's First Greenfield Bizav Airport Opens Amid Fanfare". Aviation International News. Retrieved 2019-12-19.
  6. ^ "Acervo do 'Museu da TAM' poderá ser exposto em Foz do Iguaçu". AEROIN (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-03-10. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  7. ^ "Helisul diz não ter comprado o acervo do Museu da TAM, mas que considera futura parceria". AEROIN (in Brazilian Portuguese). 2022-03-14. Retrieved 2022-03-21.
  8. ^ "Museu Asas de um Sonho da TAM será reaberto em São Carlos" (in Portuguese). 2023-03-02. Retrieved 16 July 2023.
  9. ^ "Após anos sem um rumo certo, Museu TAM finalmente deve mudar de cidade ao ser assumido por Marcos Amaro". 20 April 2024.
  10. ^ Ogden (2008)

References

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21°52′35″S 47°54′12″W / 21.87639°S 47.90333°W / -21.87639; -47.90333