Hiller Aviation Museum

What Hiller Aviation Museum does

Hiller Aviation Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit aviation museum founded in 1998 by helicopter pioneer Stanley Hiller Jr. and located at San Carlos Airport in the San Francisco Bay Area. It operates a single-site collection of more than 50 aircraft spanning a century of aviation history, supplemented by interactive exhibits including an FAA-approved FMX full-motion flight simulator, a Drone Plex, an Invention Lab, an Imagination Playground, parachute launch towers, paper airplane launchers, a real-time air traffic display fed by Flight Aware and FlightRadar24, and a Sky Portal Google Earth exhibit. The museum also maintains the Michael King Smith Research Library with over 5,400 aviation-related books and materials.

The museum serves four primary audience segments: walk-in individual visitors and families; K-12 school groups on field trips; scout troops (Girl Scouts and Scouts BSA) completing merit badges; and children ages 5-12 enrolled in Aviation Camp. Educational programming is structured around California STEM curriculum standards and badge requirements, with curriculum-aligned field trips, multi-track summer camps (Air & Space, Extreme Flight, Land Sea & Air, STEM Explorers, Spaceflight Tech), school-year camps, and scout badge workshops. A separate Ray Foundation-funded $15,000 Flight Training Scholarship targets motivated individuals ages 16-18 pursuing FAA Private Pilot Certificates.

Revenue is generated through general admission ($15-$24 per visitor), annual Family Memberships (starting at $139/year), multi-tier Aviation Camp enrollments ($659-$839 per week), school field trip fees ($6-$12 per student), scout workshop fees ($30-$76 per scout), private event venue rentals, retail sales through an in-museum and Shopify-based Flight Shop gift store, and tax-deductible donations (one-time, recurring, employer-matched, stock, and vehicle). Distribution is primarily physical at the San Carlos site with a small digital footprint via the Hiller at Home virtual program and online ticketing. Marketing is multi-channel: email newsletter, Facebook, Twitter/X, Instagram, YouTube, website/SEO, and direct institutional relationships with Bay Area schools and scout organizations.

Name

Hiller Aviation Museum

Legal name

Hiller Aviation Institute & Museum

Website

https://hiller.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Hiller Aviation Museum is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit Smithsonian Affiliate at San Carlos Airport operating a 50+ aircraft collection, interactive STEM exhibits, and FAA-approved flight simulator for Bay Area families, K-12 schools, scouts, and aviation camp attendees.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Carlos

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Others

Revenue model

1. Museum Admission: Entry fees charged to visitors for access to the museum galleries, aircraft displays, and exhibits.
2. Aviation Camp Programs: Week-long day camp programs for children in aviation and aerospace topics, with different pricing for members and non-members.
3. Museum Memberships: Annual membership programs providing free admission, discounts on gift shop and camp enrollment, and invitations to special member-only events.
4. Donations: Tax-deductible contributions including one-time gifts, recurring monthly/quarterly/annual sustaining gifts, employer matching gifts, stock transfers, and vehicle donations. Nonprofit tax ID# 94-3226411.
5. Museum Gift Shop: Retail sales of aviation-themed merchandise including books, toys, clothing, posters, models, RC aircraft, and drones, available both in-store and online via Shopify.
6. Private Event Venue Rental: Rental of museum space for private events including weddings, corporate events, and birthday parties with various packages and pricing tiers.
7. School Field Trip Programs: Discounted admission and educational programs for school groups with hands-on activities and tours.
8. Scout Merit Badge Programs: Badge workshops for Scouts BSA including Aviation and Weather Merit Badge programs, and Girl Scout badge programs.
9. Flight Training Scholarships: $15,000 scholarship program funded by Ray Foundation for flight training culminating in FAA Private Pilot Certificate for motivated individuals ages 16-18.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Hiller Aviation Museum operates a Smithsonian Affiliate aviation museum at San Carlos Airport in California, displaying over 50 historic aircraft and prototypes. It sells general admission tickets, runs hands-on STEM and aviation education programs (day camps, school field trips, scout badge workshops), and provides private event venue rentals and a retail gift shop. The organization is structured as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, with funding derived from admissions, memberships, donations, and program fees.

Product overview

Hiller Aviation Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate museum located at San Carlos Airport in California, offering a unified visitor experience centered on aviation education and inspiration. The core offering is general museum admission providing access to over 50 aircraft on display, interactive exhibits, and hands-on activity zones. Supporting this core experience, the museum operates Aviation Camp as its flagship educational program (summer and school year day camps for grades K-7), specialized Scout Merit Badge Programs, and School Field Trips for Pre-K through 12th grade. Hands-on activity modules including Flight Sim Zone, FMX Flight Simulator, Invention Lab, Drone Plex, Imagination Playground, Parachute Launch Towers, and Paper Airplane Launcher enhance the visitor experience. Additional offerings include Museum Memberships, Private Events/Venue Rental, the Flight Shop gift store, a research library, Flight Training Scholarships for teens, and Hiller at Home virtual programming. The museum was founded by helicopter pioneer Stanley Hiller Jr. and opened in 1998.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• General Museum Admission Daily museum admission providing visitors access to over 50 aircraft on display, flight simulators, and interactive exhibits at the San Carlos, California museum.
• Aviation Camp Week-long day camp programs for children ages 5-12 focused on aviation and aerospace topics, with summer camps (Air & Space, Extreme Flight, Land Sea & Air, STEM Explorers, Spaceflight Tech) and school year camps (Aviation Adventures, Wings & Flying Things, Wonders of Flight).
• FMX Flight Simulator Experience FAA-approved full-motion flight simulator offering realistic cockpit sensations for an additional fee per session.
• Flight Sim Zone Hands-on flight simulation experience where visitors control virtual aircraft with assistance from volunteer pilots across the Bay Area.
• Scouts BSA Merit Badge Workshops All-day merit badge workshops for Scouts BSA including Aviation and Weather Merit Badge programs for Grades 5 and up.
• Girl Scout Programs Specialized programs for Girl Scout Daisies through Juniors featuring robotics badges, mechanical engineering challenges, and aviation-themed activities with official badge awards.
• School Field Trip Program Educational field trip programs for Pre-K through 12th grade featuring interactive exhibits and hands-on STEM activities aligned with science, technology, math, and engineering curriculum.
• Private Events and Venue Rental Event hosting services including birthday parties, corporate events, weddings, and private gatherings held in the museum's unique aviation-themed setting.
• Annual Museum Membership Annual membership program offering free admission, gift shop discounts, camp enrollment discounts, and invitations to special member-only events.
• Flight Shop (Museum Gift Store) Retail gift shop offering aviation-themed merchandise including books, toys, clothing, posters, model kits, RC aircraft, and drones, available in-store and online via Shopify.
• Flight Training Scholarships $15,000 scholarship program for motivated individuals ages 16-18 to obtain an FAA Private Pilot Certificate, funded by Ray Foundation and administered through Bay Area flight schools.
• Hiller at Home Virtual at-home aviation education program providing downloadable activities, aircraft stories, NASA simulations, and STEM projects for home learning.

Quantifiable outcome

• Thousands of students enriched with science learning opportunities annually
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Smithsonian InstitutioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHiller Aviation Museum is a Smithsonian Affiliate, connecting it to the world's largest museum complex and research organization. This affiliation enhances the museum's credibility and access to resources.
• Provident Credit UnionminorOthersProvident Credit Union sponsors the Hiller at Home program, providing at-home aviation-themed STEM activities and resources for families.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Emerging players

• Fantasy of Flight: A Florida-based aviation attraction blending a vintage aircraft collection with immersive flight experiences and tour flights. Less of a traditional museum and more experiential/themed, but comparable aviation-focused audience overlap.

Broad incumbents

• National Naval Aviation Museum: A large military aviation museum at NAS Pensacola with hundreds of aircraft and strong educational programming. Compared as a regional aviation heavyweight, though focused on naval/military aviation versus Hiller's broader civil/prototype collection.
• Museum of Flight: A major Seattle-based aviation museum with a globally significant aircraft collection and large-scale operations. Significantly larger than Hiller and a destination tourist attraction, but offers overlapping aviation exhibit, education, and event experiences.
• National Air and Space Museum: The Smithsonian's flagship aviation and space museum on the National Mall and Dulles. A defining broad incumbent in aviation museums — overlapping in subject matter and Smithsonian affiliate network, but vastly larger scale and public funding.

Direct peers

• Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum: An Oregon-based aviation museum housing the Spruce Goose and diverse aircraft, with similar educational programming including camps and school field trips. Comparable scale and aviation-focused specialty museum positioning.
• San Diego Air & Space Museum: A Smithsonian-affiliated regional aviation museum operating a permanent collection of historic aircraft and aircraft plus interactive flight simulators. It is the closest scale and structure match to Hiller in terms of offering mix, programming (camps, school field trips), and Smithsonian Affiliate positioning.
• Wings Over the Rockies Air & Space Museum: A Denver-based aviation museum housed in a historic hangar on a former Air Force base. Operates a similar aviation exhibition + education programming model including flight simulators, summer camps, school groups, and private events, with comparable collection scale to Hiller.
• Pima Air & Space Museum: A large Arizona aviation museum with one of the world's premier aircraft collections, including rare WWII-era and experimental aircraft. Comparable in aviation-focused specialty museum positioning, but operates at significantly larger scale with broader visitor draw.
• Museum of Aviation: A free-admission Smithsonian-affiliated aviation museum at Robins AFB in Georgia with a comparable exhibit-plus-education model. Operates similar K-12 field trip programming, special events, and a vintage aircraft collection spanning multiple decades of aviation history.
• Air Zoo Aerospace & Science Center: A Kalamazoo, Michigan-based aviation/science center with flight simulators, interactive exhibits, and educational programming. Closely comparable to Hiller in terms of integrated STEM + aviation positioning and scale of offerings.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Hillermuseum
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCxnfJbbBAgRCBtKXAcQb4WQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/HillerAviationMuseum
• Instagraminstagram.com/hiller_aviation_museum
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hiller-aviation-museum

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Hiller Aviation Museum