By the time construction of its new museum, theater, restaurant, and hangar is complete 3 years from now, the Lone Star Flight Museum will likely be only one of 3 museums showcasing historic airplanes at Ellington International Airport. After Hurricane Ike caused $18 million in damage and destroyed or submerged several aircraft (see the immediate aftermath above), museum officials began seeking a higher elevation than its current location at Galveston’s Scholes International Airport was able to provide. Houston’s city council approved a 40-year lease for 14 acres at Ellington last week. Also possibly opening at Ellington: A building featuring the Collings Foundation‘s collection of Vietnam and Korean War-era military aircraft; the president of the Texas Flying Legends Museum at Ellington says he’d like to sell tickets that allow visitors to visit all 3 collections.

• Lone Star Flight museum moving inland to Ellington [Houston Chronicle]
• Flight museum to fly north to Ellington [Galveston County Daily News]
• Texas Flying Legends Museum
• The Collings Foundation Collection [Collings Foundation]
• Previously on Swamplot: Space Expansions: Big Upgrades to Ellington Field

Photo: Lone Star Flight Museum