The Empire State Aerosciences Museum (ESAM) began in 1984 when four aircraft and flying enthusiasts, Carl Battaglia, Ernie Tetrault, James Delmonaco and Steven Israel, banded together in their desire to create a museum with the purpose of inspiring and educating the public about the wonders of flight. As the years went by, visitation and membership grew exponentially as did the museum itself. What was once a small collection, now includes over 20 planes in our Airpark and exhibits. We have interactive displays in 2 buildings, a simulated reality vehicle ride, and a research library with more than 10,000 books, over 5,000 photographs, and over 6,000 other archival documents.
ESAM was not always as large and exciting as it is today. When the museum first started in 1984, it occupied offices where Richmor aviation is today, on the south end of Schenectady County Airport. By the end of the 1980's, the museum's exhibits were moved into the Donovan Building, our current Gallery 2. However, that was not nearly enough space to exhibit all the history of aviation in New York State. In 1993, ESAM knew they needed to expand. With the help of our volunteers, and the funding brought in by The Great Northeast Airshow, ESAM was granted the opportunity to expand into the 9 buildings on the western perimeter of the Schenectady County Airport. These buildings were the perfect environment to tell the story of aviation, as they were a huge part of the aviation history of NY on their own. ESAM’s large hangar and outer buildings were originally occupied by the General Electric Flight Test Center From 1946 to 1964, where groundbreaking jet engine research and other aviation advances were pioneered.
The Schenectady County Airport itself is a highly significant location to aviation history. This airport was one of the earliest consolidated airports in the country, dating back to 1927, when one of the first planes to land was the Spirit of St. Louis, flown by Charles Lindbergh, shortly after his famous transatlantic flight. During the 1930’s, the airport became an aircraft manufacturing site, a military training area and an Army Air Force (AAF) base during World War II. In 1946, due to pivotal aircraft research and development conducted right here in Schenectady, this airport was the location of the first transport of air mail in a jet plane, as part of an Army Air Force demonstration. With the later establishment of the General Electric Test Flight Facility and the Malta Rocket Test Station (in Malta) toward the end of WWII, this airport became known as “The Little Peenemunde of the US” because of the revolutionary rocket and jet engine research & development.
Empire State Aerosciences museum's helps our communities by:
-Stimulating interest in aviation, particularly that of NYS, for residents & visitors of all ages
-Provides a repository for historical artifacts, documents & aircraft
-Assisting schools by exposing students to aviation technology and career opportunities
-Provides space for meetings for aviation advocates and other groups
