Hidden Gems Of Hartford And Tolland Counties

WINDSOR LOCKS, CT — To get to the latest Hidden Gem, all we have to do is take a couple of steps back from where we were a week ago, and then travel a few steps more across the courtyard of the New England Air Museum. There, we will find a replica of an aircraft developed by a household name in aviation with Connecticut and international ties.

Last week, we made a stop at the Navy ZNP-K Airship Control Car. That's the crew compartment that hung below blimps in support of U-boat patrols along the Atlantic Coast during World War II.

This week, we go back a bit more in history — 1915 to be exact. It's a a bi-plane developed by Igor Sikorsky before he came to the United States — the S-16 Fighter. It's in the historical hangar at the museum.

Sikorsky. of course, became an aviation legend for helicopters that are now built in Connecticut, but the S-16 was a revolutionary plane for its time. According to the museum and the Sikorsky Historical Archives, the plane was flown in World War I by the Imperial Russian Air Force.

Here's more about the aircraft:

(Chris Dehnel/Patch)

The New England Air Museum has reopened with some restrictions. Hangars can be viewed outside through large open doors and aircraft are scattered about the grounds. Experts are available for in-depth lectures on the aircraft.

The New England Air Museum can be a bit tricky to find at 36 Perimeter Road in Windsor Locks, despite it being next to Bradley International Airport. Once there, visitors quickly discover it is loaded with aviation history.

See the website here.

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The Hidden Gems series features out-of-the-way mom and pop restaurants, small specialty stores you may have never heard of, little-known historical markers or beautiful nature spots that may be a bit off the beaten path, all located within Hartford and Tolland counties. Do you have a favorite "hidden gem" in the area that you wish to see featured in this column? Email your ideas to tim.jensen@patch.com.

Other columns in this series:

• Navy ZNP-K Airship Control Car
• Rosedale Farms & Vineyards
• Nathan Hale Homestead
• Burke Ridge Farms
• Necker's Toyland
• Civil War Monument at Mt. Hope Cemetery
• Gene Pitney Memorial Benches
• Joe McCluskey/Manchester Road Race Statue
• Samuel Field Knight Historic Marker
• Carol's Lunchbox
• Country Casuals
• Dakota Restaurant
• Country Cobbler
• Beau's Burger Shack
• Daniel Glazier Tavern
• Mount Southington Ski School
• Awards & More
• Marquis de Lafayette Monument
• The Little Red Store
• River Bend Bookshop
• Gerry's Donuts
• Traveler Restaurant
• First Decorated Christmas Tree
• The Stanley-Whitman House
• Vernon's Santa House
• Vintage Radio and Communications Museum of Connecticut
• Old Country Banquet Hall
• Brazilian Gula Grill
• Thomas' Smokey Pit Stop
• Congregational Church of Burlington labyrinth
• Noah Webster House
• The Bushnell's Green Room Wall
• Belding Wildlife Management Area
• The Aborn Castle
• Heublein Tower
• Birthplace of Jonathan Edwards
• Grave of Revolutionary War Soldier Heman Baker
• Jessica's Garden, Lobster and Ice Cream Shack
• Shade Swamp Sanctuary
• Ken's Corner Breakfast & Lunch
• Tolland Red and White
• The Packing House
• Cold Harbor Seafood
• Nye Holman State Forest/Heron Cove Park
• Hosmer Mountain Soda Shack
• Connecticut Trolley Museum
• Matterhorn Mini Golf
• Wood Memorial Library & Museum
• Hastings Farm
• Liquid Nirvana
• Iwo Jima Survivors Memorial Park
• Academy Hall
• Southington Drive-In
• Little Theatre of Manchester at Cheney Hall
• Somersvillage Gifts & Gourmet Baskets
• New England Civil War Museum
• The Pinchot Sycamore
• Stafford Palace Theater
• Mansfield Hollow State Park
• Old Tolland County Jail and Museum
• Hill-Stead Museum
• Mark's Restaurant

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