If you’re familiar with Dale’s Wheels Through Time Museum in Maggie Valley, North Carolina, then you may also know its tagline is “the museum that runs.” Founder Dale Walksler tried his best to live up to that tagline, and his son Matt does the same now that he carries the reins. I mean, what could be cooler than having a transportation museum where you know just about everything could fire right up on command?
Since the early-to-mid 1990s, the Museum has held a particular one-of-a-kind custom-built plane. It’s powered by a Harley-Davidson J-series engine and was built by a guy who was about 20 years old at the time, all the way back in 1927. As the story goes, he won a contest with his blueprints for its design, snagging himself a $100 prize in the process. For reference, that’s roughly equivalent to a cool $1,630 in 2022 money. That sounds pretty sweet for an amateur builder!
