Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum Explained

Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum
Map Type:	Texas
Coordinates:	33.038°N -96.24°W
Location:	Caddo Mills, Texas
Type:	Aviation museum
Founder:	Lt. Col. Harold F. "Red" Smith

The Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum is an aviation museum located at the Caddo Mills Municipal Airport in Caddo Mills, Texas focused on the history of unmanned aerial vehicles.

History

A few years after retiring from the United States Air Force, Lt. Col. Harold F. "Red" Smith began a drone manufacturing business. Over the years, he gathered a collection of various drones in a 22500square feet building at the Caddo Mills Municipal Airport. By 2014, he began raising funds to establish a museum.^[1] However, Smith was killed in a car accident in 2017. His family continued the project and the museum opened to the public on 16 May 2021.^{[2] [3]}

Collection

• Beechcraft AQM-37 Jayhawk^[4]
• Beechcraft MQM-61 Cardinal
• Culver PQ-14 Cadet
• General Atomics MQ-1B Predator
• Gyrodyne QH-50 DASH
• Hayes TRX
• Lockheed X-7A
• Northrop BQM-74 Chukar
• Northrop KD2R5
• Radioplane MQM-57 Falconer
• Radioplane OQ-2
• Ryan BGM-34B Firebee

See also

• List of aviation museums

Notes and References

1. News: Farmer . Liz . Air Force Vet from Parker Advanced the Country’s Drone Program in Vietnam . 15 November 2023 . Dallas Morning News . 7 November 2014.
2. News: Skores . Alexandra . Caddo Mills Museum Opens to the History of Aviation’s Future: Drones . 15 November 2023 . Dallas Morning News . 10 May 2023.
3. News: Hairgrove . Travis . First-Ever Drone Museum Celebrates Grand Opening in Caddo Mills . 15 November 2023 . Herald Banner . 24 November 2021.
4. Web site: Exhibits . Aviation Unmanned Vehicle Museum . 15 November 2023.