The Art of Collecting: How The Caldwell Collection at Mustang Field is Taking Shape

The new Caldwell Collection at Mustang Field purchased another airplane this week, a "Rhinehart- Rose" named "Easter Rose" as it first flew on Easter Day in 1972 (all Parrakeets are named after some kind of "Rose" in honor of its designer Jack Rose). This is a pretty little airplane. They are so small, that it only carries the pilot and has a 20-foot wingspan. But this article really isn't about the Rose…

The "Collection" is now a not-for-profit corporation that will soon open a large 30,000 square facility to restore, display, and fly antique airplanes built in the Golden Age of aviation between the two world wars. This in itself isn't particularly unusual as many private collectors before me have been struck with the desire to show the public the treasures they've found and have enjoyed privately. The first person I knew who had done so was Don Boulton who founded Unit Parts Corporation in Oklahoma City with his brother Bill.

Bill was a friend of mine from Rotary and my wife knew Don and his wife Grace. All modest people Don's passion was automobiles from the beginning of the 20th century. Don collected cars for a long time, and when he established his museum, he also created a large shop where he and his helpers could literally make anything they needed to restore the beautiful automobiles they worked on. Don is an inspiration to the Collection and we are now doing something similar.

But Don isn't the point here either. Connection and trust are.

A friend commented to me that the Parrakeet was a "fabulous find" and it is both of those things. Fabulous and a find. And finding fabulous things is the essence of collecting. When looking for something rare, unusual, or merely interesting it's not often found in an advertisement. Though I read the listings in Barnstormers, Controller, and Trade a Plane daily that seems to almost never be where I find what I'm looking for. But it seems that I do find them.

Dan Sullivan says, "The eyes only see and the ears only hear what the mind is looking for." which I believe is absolutely true. That's why there is always an appliance sale when yours breaks. It's because there's always a sale but we don't notice until we need it. And Dan also says that it's not "how" or "what" that is important but "who" in determining success. I've also found that to be true as well. It's the combination of these two truths that have led to the discoveries that will soon populate the Collection's new hangar.

I've learned whether someone has collected one old car or airplane or many they are passionate about them. They are often very knowledgeable too. Universally they connect with others who share their passion when they meet and the ready basis for those connections often means fast friendship. In the end that is the joy and privilege of the entire enterprise. A side benefit to all of this in my experience is that as I've purchased airplanes for myself or the Collection, I've frequently been given treasure troves of historical items, information, and stories that the seller wants to be sure aren't forgotten. These things add infinite value to the object, become an important trust, and create the opportunity for the Collection itself to be much more valuable and interesting than a mere group of static displays.

This may seem to be a bit of rambling, but what I think makes collecting interesting and collections complete no matter are how large the friendships, connections, interconnections, stories, and context they create.

We begin with a wonderful group of airplanes and related memorabilia. We'll be working over the next couple of years to figure out how to best tell their stories as we open our new facility in the fall of 2025. But I hope the Collection will be no more static than the displays and that it will be constantly expanding the beautiful objects on display, the stories behind those objects, and especially relationships with those who share our passion and desire to see it all preserved.

I hope you'll reach out to us to come see what we've put together and enjoy it. I hope we'll become, as most of the people we've met on our journey so far have become, friends. If you're interested in learning more about aircraft of this period or need to research something we want to be a help to you. If you know someone or something that we should know about I hope you'll decide to connect us. There are specific things we are looking for to enhance the Collection and there are many other aircraft of the period we'd appreciate the opportunity to know about too.

We've made a nice start. But still, it's only the beginning…