Palm Springs Air Museum expands with new 20,000 square foot hangar

It was a big day for the Palm Springs’ Air Museum, a celebration of a multi-million dollar expansion that’s just weeks away from completion.

The new Major General Kenneth P. Miles hangar is just two months away from its debut, and on Thursday, people gathered for a “beam signing” ceremony, where visitors had the opportunity to write a message and sign their names on a piece of the structure. The hangar is named after the late Major General Miles, who was an active member of the Palm Springs Air Museum and an Air Force veteran. The project has been in the works for nearly five years. “We didn’t have a gallery right after WWII, so this new hangar picks up from WWII to about 1980 and that covers all the other aircraft in our collection,” said Fred Bell, the managing director vice chairman at the Palm Springs Air Museum. Major General Miles’ wife, Karen Miles, is the largest donor to the hangar. “Individual donations built this, so that was a wonderful thing. I just knew he was there and he’s looking down and he’s as proud as can be,” said Miles. The Palm Springs Air Museum sees more than 150,000 visitors each year, and now the expansion is billed to bring in even more crowds. “We will be the largest air museum in California once this is completed,” Bell said. “As if the Palm Springs Air Museum isn’t on the map already, it certainly will be after this one,” Miles said.