I remember my first visit to the War Eagles Air Museum (WEAM) in the beginning of spring 2018. Located in Doña Ana airport, Santa Teresa, NM, this museum was always on my list. While I was blown away by the mighty collection of airplanes and classic cars, I could sense that something in the museum was off. As if the ambiance was not tuned with the incredible stories all those beautiful airplanes could tell. The museum looked rather empty and sad, and I was wondering about its future. But not to worry, this story has a happy ending.

As the years flew by, the museum welcomed exciting developments. I could not recognize the museum when I returned to check it out just a few weeks ago. The new leadership lifted the museum from the ashes and turned it around. No more despair, no more sadness. The War Eagles Air Museum is now cozy, warm, full of inspirational stories, buzzing with all kinds of events and educational programs for visitors of all ages, even the airplanes look happier. I swear the angry P-40E Warhawk that was showing all kinds of teeth to my lens winked at me. I was so happy to see the museum in such amazing shape.

Hats off to the WEAM team that under the new management worked wonders. Bright ideas and hard work brought the spirit of aviation back to the museum that is now alive and its heart is beating. The WEAM team understands the vital part of being an excellent story-teller, therefore, installing new exhibits, interactive displays, and showcasing fantastic stories behind the airplanes was a no brainer. Nothing like letting those birds speak about the people who designed, built, and flew them. And what airplanes those are. Some very rare gems can be found only here. I got charmed away by wonderfully preserved Convair (Stinson) L-13A Grasshopper, Fieseler Storch FI-156, Lockheed P-38L-5-LO Lightning, Curtiss P-40E Warhawk, Hawker Fury/Sea Fury Mk. XI, Grumman/General Motors TBM-3E Avenger, P-51D Mustang with exposed gun machine system (WOW!), and, of course, the beautiful dark blue beast Chance Vought F4U-4 Corsair.

Apart from all the new developments, WEAM also took on an active role of inspiring future generations and ran far with it. Through educational programs, the War Eagles Air Museum partners with local schools and aviation organizations to reach out and introduce the exciting world of aviation to young people, and together with the donations from individuals and organizations even helps sponsor aviation summer camp and their flight training scholarship.

Let's take a sneak peek of their mighty collection of birds.

To sum up - come see them. You can even fly in. The museum offers a dedicated ramp space for you and your airplane if you wish to travel by air. A new cozy gift shop and pilot shop with all things aviation is a sweet spot to get your memorabilia and gifts for your family and friends, and heck, spoil yourself too. So, add that KDNA as your destination waypoint and spend a marvelous day in the War Eagles Air Museum.