President's Update: August 2022

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Considerable planning and discussion continues with the City of Irvine, the National Museum of the Marine Corps, MCAS Miramar, and potential vendors for the build-out of the Flying Leatherneck Aviation Museum at Great Park. The MOU is now signed, which allows us to move forward with the development of a contractual agreement with Irvine. This agreement will define specific responsibilities of the City for the refurbishment of Hangar 296 and the Foundation’s responsibilities for tenant improvements, exhibits, and displays. Once the City and Foundation complete the agreement, we can move forward with demolition plans and the updating of the building to current safety/fire and building codes.

We continue working on the design and development of our layout and exhibit/display plans, which are now 80% complete. Further coordination between the City and Foundation is required to ensure our plans integrate with the overall Cultural Terrace plans and design. We are also looking at alternatives for moving the aircraft to Great Park as soon as possible. We have developed plans for the establishment of a temporary storage area adjacent to Hangar 296, which can also be used by our restoration team to perform minor aircraft restoration work, in addition to storage for those aircraft that are display-ready. We are also working with the City to utilize two hangars on the north side of the Park, near the old control tower, as a temporary storage and restoration workspace. This will all be included in the City and Foundation’s agreement. Discussions with potential transportation companies are underway. Once we have a firm agreement, we hope to start moving aircraft.

There are only about 101 ongoing specific tasks and other requirements to support our efforts. These tasks include fundraising, legal services, accounting/bookkeeping, and general administrative and other operational requirements. As I mentioned in my previous update, all of this is necessary to lay the groundwork and continue our planning for the new FLAM organization and museum facility.

Last weekend we held a plaque-unveiling ceremony recognizing the 2022 Marine Spouse Recognition awardee, Kyp Hughes. Founded by late WW2 pilot Major Glenn Ferguson, the Marine Spouse Recognition Award honors and highlights the resiliency, strength, and dedication of the spouses of active-duty military.  

I want to thank those of you who responded to my request for support to cover ongoing operating expenses by establishing a monthly donation. For those of you who may have missed my request, or are otherwise involved with a busy summer, I ask that you consider making a monthly donation. All you need to do is visit our website www.flyingleathernecks.org, go to the Join+Give tab at the top right. Click Donate Now and complete the simple donation form. If you love all things Marine Aviation, I encourage you to become a Foundation member, and you will receive a copy of our Log Book magazine plus added benefits once the Museum opens.

Semper Fi,

M.J. Aguilar

Photo Credit: C.J. Marchado