Soplata Airplane Sanctuary

The Soplata Airplane Sanctuary was a private aircraft collection created by Walter Soplata, an aviation enthusiast and scrapyard worker who lived in Newbury, Ohio. Beginning in the 1950s, Soplata devoted his life to rescuing retired or scrapped military and civilian aircraft that might otherwise have been destroyed. Instead of allowing them to be melted down, he purchased and transported dozens of aircraft—sometimes in whole or in large sections—to his rural property.

Over the decades, the sanctuary grew to include a remarkable variety of planes, such as a B-25 Mitchell bomber, a Douglas DC-7, and even the fuselage of an F-86 Sabre jet. Unlike conventional museums, Soplata’s collection was not displayed in polished condition but rather left outdoors, where the aircraft aged among trees and fields. This gave the site an almost surreal, hidden quality that fascinated aviation enthusiasts and urban explorers. After Walter Soplata’s death in 2010, parts of the collection were preserved, with some aircraft restored or moved to museums, while others remained in place as a testament to his unusual passion for aviation history.Space Magazine. (See link below)