Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum The Wings Over the Rockies Air and Space Museum ( WOR ) is located on the former grounds of Lowry Air Force Base in Denver , Colorado . The museum , which opened in 1994 , is housed in the Hangar # 1 built in 1939 . The museum preserves the history of Lowry AFB ' s operations from 1938 to 1994 in its collections , archives , and research library . Features of the museum ' s collection include Colorado Aviation Historical Society ' s Alexander Eaglerock biplane built in Englewood , USAF ' s B - 1A Lancer bomber , and many other military and generation aircraft . In 1997 , the Colorado State Legislature passed House Bill 1269 that made the Wings over the Rockies Air and Space Museum the official state air and space museum , and the site of the Colorado Aviation Historical Society ' s Colorado Aviation Hall of Fame . Overview . The Wings Museum is open seven days a week and provides services , aircraft collections , a variety of exhibit rooms and cases , hands - on exhibits , and open cockpit demonstrations hosted by volunteers and Civil Air Patrol Cadets . Traveling exhibits and loans are also shown . During the summers , the Museum hosts weekly Space Camp events tailored to different age brackets of children . The children experience the basics of the theory of flight , computer flight simulator s , hand - built aircraft exercises and guided tours of aircraft and cockpits . The Museum hosts annual events , such as a B - 17 Flying Fortress Bomber Fly - in , " Denventure " and rides at the local general aviation Centennial Airport . Other events include visits by well - known aviators such as Burt Rutan and Gen . Chuck Yeager , and private events . On April 30 , May 1 & 2 of 1999 , the official Star Wars Fan Club in conjunction with Lucasfilm held " Star Wars Celebration " at the Museum ' s location . The first of several official Star Wars fan events , Star Wars Celebration was host to an estimated 20 , 000 Star Wars fans . Another resident of the Hangar 1 is the Colorado Air Heritage Museum , sponsored by the Colorado Air National Guard Air Heritage Committee , retired Guardsmen and volunteers that displays the long history of the Colorado Air National Guard . Aircraft collections . The museum holds over three dozen aircraft in its collection . Detailed aircraft history . B - 52B Stratofortress s / n 52 - 005 ( previously RB - 52B ) . The B - 52B was the first truly operational version of the venerable Stratofortresses . The RB - 52B was nearly visibly identical to the B - 52A , but the primary mission was to be an enhanced reconnaissance aircraft with a new bombing / navigation system . A few odd - shape panels and sensors protruded from the rear section as it sloped upward to the tail . A total of 50 were built , with 23 being pure bomber B - 52Bs and 27 being dual - capable reconnaissance / bomber RB - 52Bs . Wings Museum ’ s B - 52B , 52 - 005 , was from the February 1951 contract , as an RB - 52B . While at Castle AFB , 005 ' s nickname was known as " Balls 5 " , went through the conversion to a full bomber . It arrived at Lowry AFB in 1966 , as a B - 52B , to be assigned to Lowry Technical Training Center as a weapons trainer ( GB - 52B ) and was featured in an air show that summer , before Lowry ’ s runways were permanently closed that year . Lowry was the premier training site for B - 52 ordnance loading and unloading . For 11 years prior , it flew training and live nuclear flights during the Cold War . Similar to its ‘ little brother ’ bomber , the medium range B - 47 Stratojet , downward - firing ejection seats were provided for the bombardier and navigator , in the case of an in - flight emergency . General LeMay insisted that the tandem seats , again similar to the B - 47 , as demonstrated in the XB - 52 , was NOT to be the design and the side by side seating arrangement prevailed . The engines of the B / RB versions were turbojets , J - 57s , with water injection , the same engines that had powered the B - 52A , and also the F - 100C , Ds and the F - 102A . Great improvements in engine design and increase in thrust occurred in later versions . The first B - 52B took off on its maiden flight in December 1954 . The “ Strat ” had a complex bombing / navigation system , which combined an optical bombsight , a radar presentation of target , and an automatic computer , together with radar modifications designed for use in a high - speed aircraft . The bomber included a fire - control system for the tail - mounted defensive armament . This B - 52B used an A - 3A fire control system , which operated a quartet of 0 . 50 - inch machine gun s . The last B - 52B was delivered in August 1956 . The first change of Balls - 5 was in September 1955 , when it was converted from the RB to the B , at Edwards AFB . Improvement programs known as Sunflower brought 7 early B - 52Bs up to B - 52C standards . New Cs and later versions had the Big Belly Modifications . B - 52Bs also went through many other modifications in subsequent programs such as Harvest Moon , Blue Band , and Quickclip , which were initially intended for the benefit of subsequent B - 52 models . Cold War and training flights with nuclear status were continued . Factoids . In June 1959 , the sister ship of Wings ' Double - O - 5 , serial number 52 - 008 , " Balls 8 " , was transferred to NASA , where it served alongside the NB - 52A , 52 - 003 , as a mother ship for the X - 15 rocket plane and with the Lifting Body project ( early research for the Space Shuttle program ) . It was credited with 140 of the 199 X - 15 flights . It was still active with NASA ' s Dryden Flight Research Center at Edwards AFB up until retirement in 2004 , where 003 retired in the 90s . 008 retired as the gate guard on October 1 , 2004 at the entrance to Edwards AFB and 003 retired to Pima Air & Space Museum , Tucson , Arizona . Specifications of Boeing B - 52B / RB - 52B Stratofortress . Manufacturer / Model : Engines : Performance : Dimensions : Weights : Armament : External Stores : Avionics :