The Erickson Aircraft Collection

By Ugo Vicenzi

Madras, Oregon, is home to a remarkable airport—one without fences or gates—where one of the largest and most active private aircraft collections in the United States resides: the Erickson Aircraft Collection. Fittingly, it occupies a historic airfield originally created for the war effort. Known during World War II as the Madras Army Air Base, the facility was constructed in 1940 with two hangars to support combat training for Boeing B-17F aircrews of the 318th Squadron, 88th Bomb Group, Second Air Force. Later, the Fourth Air Force replaced the Second, transforming the base into an aircraft maintenance site, while aircrew training moved to nearby Redmond Air Base. With the end of the war, Madras Army Air Base was declared surplus, and the property transitioned into a quiet civil airport—remaining that way for decades.

Jack Erickson and His Companies

Until 2012, few in Madras had heard the name Jack Erickson. That changed when he visited the Madras Municipal Airport in search of a new home for his aircraft collection. Jack Axel Erickson, born in Portland in 1935, grew up in a family rooted in the forest products industry. He spent his early years in logging camps in Tillamook County, Oregon, before the family moved to Portland in 1941. After graduating from Jefferson High School, Jack earned his pilot’s license in 1952 in a single-engine Luscombe. From 1953, he served six years with the Oregon Air National Guard before returning to the family’s logging operations, which spanned Oregon, Washington, California, and British Columbia. His career took a new direction when he qualified as a helicopter pilot with Columbia Helicopters and purchased his first Bell helicopter. Recognizing the potential of vertical lift in forestry, he pioneered helicopter logging.

Erickson’s early operations included leasing a Sikorsky S-61, though he soon determined it was underpowered for heavy-lift logging. He then leased the more capable Sikorsky S-64, a move that led to the founding of Erickson Air-Crane in December 1971. Under his leadership, the company became the world’s largest manufacturer and operator of the S-64, renamed the Skycrane in 1992 after Erickson purchased the manufacturing rights from Sikorsky.

Over 26 years, Erickson Air-Crane grew from aircraft sales and service to a diversified aviation group that included converting McDonnell Douglas MD-87s into firefighting tankers for Erickson Aero Tanker in Madras, modifying Boeing 757s for cargo operations, manufacturing aircraft components for Precision Engineering, and conducting medevac operations worldwide. One of the company’s most high-profile achievements came in 1993, when an Erickson Skycrane removed and replaced the Statue of Freedom atop the U.S. Capitol dome. At the time of its sale in 1997, Erickson Air-Crane employed 800 people, operated 14 Skycranes, and logged roughly 20,000 flight hours annually. Erickson later expanded into aerial firefighting, acquiring three Butler Aircraft DC-7s and establishing Erickson Aero Tanker. Today, Jack Erickson’s business interests include Erickson Aero Tanker, the Erickson Aircraft Collection, the Erickson Group, and Precision Aircraft Solutions, and he co-owns Aero Air, which provides executive air services.

The Erickson Aircraft Collection

Jack Erickson’s interest in historic aircraft began in 1983, when he acquired a North American P-51D Mustang. More aircraft followed: a Vought F4U Corsair, a Supermarine Spitfire, a Republic P-47D Thunderbolt, and a Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar. In 1991, he placed these aircraft under the massive wooden airship hangar in Tillamook, Oregon—still home to an active museum today, where visitors are greeted by the Boeing B-377 Mini Guppy.

In 2007, Jack’s grandson Mike Oliver —who earned his pilot’s license in 1988 in a Luscombe T-8F, the same model his grandfather learned to fly—took over management of the collection. One of his first decisions was to relocate it to Madras, which offers 250–300 flyable days per year thanks to its favorable climate. The goal was not to create a static museum but a living collection of flying warbirds. The Ericksons introduced a ride program, Soaring with the Warbirds, allowing enthusiasts to experience flights over scenic Oregon landmarks such as Lake Billy Chinook, Haystack Reservoir, Lake Simtustus, and Smith Rock.

A new 64,000-square-foot hangar opened in May 2014, and Oliver began ferrying aircraft from Tillamook to Madras. Later that year, the collection added a B-17 Flying Fortress and a reproduction Fw 190 from the Military Aviation Museum. Today, the Erickson Aircraft Collection includes 27 warbirds, 25 of which are airworthy. Among its most famous aircraft is the B-17 formerly known as Chuckie, renamed Madras Maiden in 2014 and currently flying as Ye Olde Pub.

Jack Erickson’s personal favorite is the Lockheed P-38L Lightning (S/N 44-27083), converted to a photo-reconnaissance F-5G-6-LO before being transferred to Tinker Field, Oklahoma. Acquired in 1990 and restored beginning in 1995, it remains one of the collection’s jewels.

• The P-51D Mustang, built under license by Australia’s Commonwealth Aircraft Corporation (CAC), participated in post-war atomic bomb testing and later served as a target-tow aircraft.
• The Grumman J2F-6 Duck, which served with the U.S. Navy at New York, Weymouth, Quonset Point, and Chincoteague before being declared surplus in 1948.
• The Nakajima Ki-43 Oscar, retaining its original configuration but powered by a Pratt & Whitney R-1830 Twin Wasp radial engine.
• The Grumman F4F Wildcat, which was transferred to NAS Tillamook in 1945, later sold to a Montana school district, and even used for agricultural spraying.
• The FlugWerk FW-190, a modern replica built in Germany.
• The Hispano Aviación HA-1112 Buchon, one of 28 aircraft used in the filming of The Battle of Britain; restored to Bf-109G-10 configuration and powered by an Allison V-1710 engine.
• The Grumman F8F Bearcat, which served with the U.S. Navy until 1957 and later became a successful Reno air racer, finishing fourth in the Gold Unlimited class in 1964.

Aircraft in the Erickson Collection

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