Founded by U.S. Air Force Major General William Lyon, Lyon Air Museum is located on the west side of John Wayne Airport. The Lyon Air Museum contains many historic aircraft, rare automobiles, military vehicles, military motorcycles and other memorabilia related to World War II. Gen. Lyon is Chairman of the Board and CEO of William Lyon Homes, Inc., in Newport Beach.
The Museum is a 30,000-sq.ft. facility with tours led by volunteer docents and interactive educational exhibits intended to give visitors historical narratives about the history of each aircraft.
The collection of authentic aircraft in Lyon Air Museum includes rare vintage World War II airplanes such as the Boeing B-17 “Flying Fortress," the Cessna O-1E “Bird Dog,” the Douglas DC-3 “Flagship Orange County,” the Douglas C-47 “Skytrain” or “Dakota,” and the North American B-25 “Mitchell”. The “Mitchell” was named after General “Billy” Mitchell who strongly advocated the potential power of military airplanes. General “Billy” Mitchell, along with Jimmy Doolittle, led the first successful air strike on Tokyo, Japan, on April 18, 1942.
