Our History

Heritage Flight Museum was founded in 1996 by William and Valerie Anders in Bellingham, Washington. The Museum’s vintage aircraft collection began with the P-51 Mustang “Val-Halla” and has steadily grown. In 2014, HFM moved to its new home at Skagit Regional Airport in Burlington, Washington. The museum currently houses 15 aircraft, several antique military vehicles, a library and many artifacts donated by veterans. Recent facilities upgrades have helped pave the way for new acquisitions and additional exhibits.

Two of William Anders’ sons joined him in the Puget Sound area to help run the museum.  The photograph used in the Museum’s logo depicts Anders in the P-51 and son Greg in the F-15, taken during a photo sortie at the first Gathering of Mustangs and Legends.

The  NASA Connection

Earthrise photograph taken by William Anders during Apollo 8 space missionOne of three astronauts to participate in the first manned flight around the moon, William Anders was a crew member on the historic Apollo 8 mission.

In late 1963, Anders was among just 14 men chosen by NASA from a pool of thousands of applicants for the Astronaut Corps. After helicopter training and serving as backup copilot for the Gemini 11 mission, he was one of the first astronauts to fly the Lunar Landing Training Vehicle. He was Lunar Module Pilot on the December, 1968 Apollo 8 lunar orbit mission. It was the first manned flight of the giant Saturn V rocket and mankind’s first flight away from the earth to another body in the solar system. On December 24, 1968, the Apollo 8 crew drew the attention of those on Earth by reading the first several verses from the Book of Genesis in a special Christmas Eve broadcast transmitted live from over 240,000 miles in space. It was while in lunar orbit that Anders, deviating from the scheduled flight plan, captured the famous “Earthrise” photograph. The iconic photo was selected for the December 1999 covers of Time , Life , and American Photography editions honoring the most significant images of the twentieth century.

After Apollo 8’s successful return, Anders was named backup Command Module Pilot for Apollo 11, the first lunar landing mission. He was then appointed by the President to be the Executive Secretary of the Aeronautics & Space Council, a cabinet-level group chaired by the Vice President, where Anders worked to increase national support for aeronautics research and development and help lay out plans for the post-Apollo space programs.

Programs, aircraft and vehicles Bill was involved with during his years with NASA include:

The USAF Connection

Both William Anders and HFM Executive Director Greg Anders had long and distinguished careers in the US Air Force, spanning from the start of the Cold War through more recent conflicts. It is their strong connection to the Air Force that guides the Museum’s focus.

USAF aircraft flown by Bill and Greg include: