- Thursday, Oct. 8 from 5 to 9 p.m.
- Manchester Community College, 1066 Front St., Manchester
- In honor of Col. Robert Fortnam, WWII P.O.W., museum volunteer
- Guest speaker: Howard Mansfield, author of ‘I Will Tell No War Stories: What Our Fathers Left Unsaid about World War II’
- Delicious catered meal served buffet style!
- Live Music! Fantastic silent auction! Spectacular raffle prizes!
- Tickets $100 per person; tables of 8 $650; volunteers $75
All are invited to the Aviation Museum’s Annual Fundraising Gala, which will take place on Thursday, Oct. 8 from 5 to 9 p.m. at Manchester Community College, 1066 Front St., Manchester, N.H.
Our theme this year is historic preservation. We’re renewing the Aviation Museum’s obligation to tell the stories of those no longer here to tell them, with focus on World War II and the Greatest Generation. It’s our mission to honor their legacy by telling their stories.
Specifically, we will use this Gala to raise funds for a new exhibit dedicated to longtime Aviation Museum volunteer Robert Fortnam, a WWII aviator and German P.O.W.
As a volunteer, Bob told his story to many Aviation Museum visitors until his passing in 2017 at age 95, using his experiences to represent the sacrifices and service of all members of his generation.
Help us create an exhibit that will use video recordings to enable Bob to continue to tell his stories to visitors so that they won’t be forgotten.
You can do that by attending this year’s Gala, which promises to be a memorable and inspiring evening of great food, live music, an exciting silent auction and raffle, and more.
Tickets for this fundraising event are $100 per person; a table for eight people is $650 or two tables for $1,200. Aviation Museum volunteers may attend for $75 per ticket. For questions, or to buy by phone, call (603) 669-4877. Also, tickets may be purchased online.
Featured guest speaker is N.H. author Howard Mansfield, who will speak about his recently published memoir, ‘I Will Tell No War Stories: What Our Fathers Left Unsaid about World War II.’
Critics have praised the book, in which Mansfield surveys the silence of the generation of World War II veterans and how it hung over the peace they had won.
“Mansfield … breaks through the wall of silence some war veterans maintain… The result is an impeccably researched and beautifully written account of the stories his father wouldn’t tell. Readers will find themselves in heated sheepskin flight suits and oxygen masks, high in the sky over enemy territory, and they will feel the frustration of a child asking his father what it was like and not getting any answers. A vital and moving history of all that is left unsaid in the aftermath of war and how that affects the next generation.”
— Booklist
The event will also feature the unveiling of preliminary designs for the planned exhibit highlighting the World War II experiences of Aviation Museum volunteer Robert Fortnam.
Also highlighting the Aviation Museum’s 2026 Gala is a spectacular silent auction featuring one-of-a-kind aviation collectibles, fantastic packages, plane rides, flight lessons, and more.
The museum’s annual fundraising raffle will also feature a line-up of fantastic prizes up for grabs. Check this page for a full line-up of items; the auction will go online later in September.
All proceeds from this great night out will go to support the museum’s planned Robert Fortnam exhibit and the museum’s historic preservation efforts.
To buy tickets, click on on this link or on the image below:
And for inspiration, check out Aviation Museum of N.H. Gala photos from prior years:
Archive: 2025 Gala took place on Friday, Oct. 10 at the DoubleTree in Manchester, N.H.
Special guest: Legendary aircraft engineer Dick VanGrunsven, founder of Van’s Aircraft and designer of the RV-12iS
About 300 people attended the Aviation Museum’s 2025 Gala, which was held on Saturday, Oct. 10 at the DoubleTree by Hilton in downtown Manchester.
The event featured special guest Dick VanGrunsven, legendary founder of Van’s Aircraft and designer of the popular “RV” line of home-built aircraft.
This year’s Gala was in support of the Aviation Museum’s student plane-building partnerships, which are now active in three New Hampshire high schools: Manchester, Lebanon, and Farmington!
They’re all building the Van’s RV-12iS—an aircraft designed by Dick VanGrunsven, the “RV” in the aircraft’s name!
Dick, who remains involved with the company he founded in 1973, spoke about his career creating airplanes that are among the most popular ever flown.
Attendees also students in the program, plus mentors and faculty members helping them in the workshop. Plus a completed RV-12iS (built by students at the Manchester School of Technology) was on display!
A silent auction and raffle featured exciting, valuable, and unique prizes. The event featured a gourmet dinner served buffet style, plus live music.
We’ll post pictures from this year’s event as soon as they’re available!
Reason #1 to attend the Aviation Museum’s 2025 Gala: You’ll help ensure the future of our high school student plane-building program
Yes! In 2019, the Aviation Museum of N.H. partnered with Tango Flight, a non-profit that facilitates student plane-build progams around the country. We then created our first high school student plane-building program at the Manchester (N.H.) School of Technology.
What started as a dream quickly became reality, with students working alongside volunteer mentors to assemble a real airplane: a two-seat Van’s Aircraft RV-12iS, one of the most popular kit-based homebuilt airplanes on the market.
And with the Aviation Museum raising $350,000 in start-up capital, there was no direct cost to local taxpayers. Manchester was only the third school district in the entire country to establish this type of program, which gives students a chance to apply STEM knowledge to a workshop environment while learning all about aviation.
The Manchester program proved a success, with students finishing their first aircraft in 2023. (They’re currently just about finished their second aircraft.) Completed planes are sold on the open market, with proceeds funding kits needed for the next airplane, making each plane-build a self-sustaining program.
In 2024, the Aviation Museum and Tango Flight partnered with Lebanon (N.H.) High School, where a “Take Flight” student plane-building program was established. In 2025, a third plane-build program was launched, this one at Farmington (N.H.) High School—one of the state’s smallest high schools.
So this fall, we have about 40 students and an equal number of volunteer mentors building aircraft in three high schools across New Hampshire!
Looking ahead, in order for the museum to continue full support for these three programs, we need your help. To keep all three programs running will cost the Aviation Museum about $50,000 annually in staff time, supplies, consumables, transportation, and other ongoing expenses.
By attending this year’s Gala, you’ll help us raise needed funds to ensure we can fully support this incredible program in future years. With your help, our plane-building program will continue to open pathways for area students into aviation, aerospace, and other important fields.
Help us give today’s youth a chance to become tomorrow’s aviation and aerospace professionals! Attend the Gala, meet the students and mentors, and help us keep this program fully supported!
More workshop photos from the 2024-25 school year:
Info about past Galas:
Many thanks to all who attended the Aviation Museum’s annual Gala, which was held on Saturday, Oct. 12 from 5 to 9 p.m. at the DoubleTree by Hilton, 700 Elm St. in downtown Manchester, N.H.
More than 200 people attended the event, which was highlighted by live music from the Bedford Big Band.
This year’s theme was ‘For The Kids,’ with all proceeds supporting our Summer Camp Scholarship Fund. In two years, we’ve grown the museum’s summer camp program so that it now provides 60 young people first-hand exposure to all phases of aviation and aerospace.
Results from the Gala are still being tallied, and will be reported here as soon as we have them.
Many thanks also to our corporate sponsors, who all played role in making this event possible:
And here’s the event program:
Join us and support youth aviation education
Those who attended the 2024 Gala ‘For The Kids’ supported the museum’s ‘Flights of Discovery’ summer camp program.
The camp, launched two years ago, gives young people ages 10-17 a potentially life-changing close encounter with all elements of aviation.
Below are scenes from this past summer’s camp, which was highlighted by “insider” behind-the-scenes tours of Manchester-Boston Regional Airport.
The camp also included field trips to the N.H. Air National Guard base at Pease Airport, the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, Nashua Community College, and more.
Your support will make these experiences possible for even more young people. Those who attended helped today’s youth become tomorrow’s aviation and aerospace professionals!
It’s not too late to contribute. Visit our Summer Camp Scholarship Page and help young people find their place in the sky!
