Continuing our journey, and across the driveway is Byron’s personal airplane hangar. You heard me right, he owned an his very own airplane and parked it in here! Now, instead of an airplane being housed
Continuing our journey, and across the driveway is Byron’s personal airplane hangar. You heard me right, he owned an his very own airplane and parked it in here! Now, instead of an airplane being housed here, there are smaller model airplanes hanging from the ceiling on display. Eric told me that this facility does get used periodically throughout the year. In the past it has been rented out for bands to play and entertain guests, as well as various company meetings.
1970s throwback
When you walk into the airplane hangar you immediately see a world map on the floor and insulated ceilings to absorb the echo. Off to the left is a small room with architecture magazine worthy furniture styled right out of the seventies. Continuing with the green carpet the hangar also has burnt orange velvet couches, stone fireplace, fake palm trees that look like they belong in Vegas, and miniature ships perched all along the walls.
This legitmately looks like yet another swanky speakeasy hidden away. Byron beared no expense to entertain his guests and having this secret room is an obvious display of how eccentric this Ida Grove legend truly was. And to round off his airplane exhibit is a one-of-a-kind signature from Paul Tibbets, the pilot who dropped the first atomic bomb on Hiroshima.
To bring more light in, Eric flipped the switch to draw up the hangar door. He said he wasn’t sure how much this door weighed, but that it was on a pully system similar to how garage doors work, and that with the limited engineering knowledge Byron had, he was still able to design this entire door and its mechanisms!
We are land and sea explorers now
Overall, the airplane hangar and the chalet (which is housed on the same property, and which we visited in our previous post) look like something straight out of historical Virginia, or maybe Florida, where the pilgrims first landed. All the memorbelia reminded me of what a nautical museum might have in its inventory. I felt like I was witness to someone’s life’s work and accomplishments. Almost like a secret doorway to another world.
Again, just as the chalet is private property, so is the airplane hangar, but alas you have me to bring you inside and show you around! This space, however, can be rented out, you will just need to contact someone from the city for more information.
***Note: Featured image is not mine, and is sourced from www.idagrove.com.