Three More Lansing Trimotor Airplane Sculptures Discovered

Three Missing Trimotors Discovered

Following a public art project installed around Lansing, Illinois, 20 years ago, three missing airplane sculptures have surfaced in private yards across Indiana and Lansing, bringing the total to 25 pieces, according to reporting by The Lansing Journal.

When the colorful fiberglass trimotors were first installed around the village 20 years ago, they anchored community sponsorships along commercial corridors like Ridge Road and Torrence Avenue. Over the years, many drifted from public view as businesses closed and properties changed hands. Now, local residents, readers, and staff have mapped out three previously unaccounted-for planes resting in new environments.

From Churchyard to Indiana Lawn

The plane named Devine Connection, originally sponsored by and located in front of the First Reformed Church of Lansing at 3130 Ridge Road, has traveled east across state lines. After a reader named Rick McFarland spotted the sculpture mentioned in a Facebook post by The Lansing Journal, a drive into Crown Point, Indiana, revealed the aircraft resting in front of a private home in the 6900 block of West 109th St., where the current owner has paired it with a small veterans memorial statue.

A second aircraft, Bon Voyage, spans a similar distance. Originally sponsored by and located at the former business All Around Travel II at 18116 Torrence Ave., the plane now stands outside a private home on State Road 10 south of Bass Lake, Indiana. Carrie Steinweg, a local author and contributor to The Lansing Journal, spotted the sculpture roughly 70 miles southeast of Lansing. Unlike many of the other trimotors that show faded and cracked paint after spending 20 years outdoors, this trimotor appears in updated condition.

A High-Flying Discovery in South Lansing

Closer to home, another piece of the original fleet turned up entirely by accident. The Lansing Journal editor Meredith Shamburger discovered Treats & Letters From America while playing Lansing tour guide to her family, who were visiting from out of state. Stopping to view emus on a property near 182nd Street and Dorchester Avenue, her twin sister, Katherine, looked up and spotted the sculpture mounted high atop a flagpole.

The plane was originally sponsored by Rich Schaeffer Wholesale Meats and displayed outside Gus Bock Ace Hardware alongside several other trimotor plane sculptures at the time. It now sits elevated above a South Lansing residential property.

Current Locations of the 25 Verified Sculptures

The Lansing Journal has incorporated all three newly discovered planes into an interactive Google Map documenting the surviving fleet. The complete list of verified installations includes:

Colorado trail ridge road rocky mountain national park usa

Lessons Explaned: The Flight Into Learning — St. John Church, 18100 Wentworth, Lansing
Besse — Kickert Bus Lines, 20575 Torrence Ave., Lynwood
Lansing Police Department — Lansing Police Department, 2710 170th St., Lansing
The Journey — All Souls Parish, 3010 Ridge Road, Lansing
Flying Above the Competition — First National Bank, 3256 Ridge Road, Lansing
Clocktower Airlines — Clock Tower Plaza, 3330 181st Place, Lansing
Gussy — Gus Bock Ace Hardware, 3455 Ridge Road, Lansing
Kilroy Was Here — Kilroy’s, 3502 Ridge Road, Lansing
Santori’s — Santori’s Liquors, 3529 Ridge Road, Lansing
United We Stand — American Legion, 18255 Grant St., Lansing
Lisa Lynn — Ford Hangar, Wade Palmer Observation Park, 3239 Glenwood Lansing Road, Lansing
Sweet Ride — Gayety’s, 3306 Ridge Road, Lansing
Split Personality — Gerber Collision & Glass, 490 45th St., Munster, Indiana
Vierk’s — Lan Oak Liquor, 18054 Torrence Ave., Lansing
Lansing Autovation — Lansing Auto, 2345 Glenwood-Lansing Road, Lynwood
Lansing Fire Department — Lansing Fire Department Station 31, 2720 170th St., Lansing
Spirit of Lansing — Lansing Historical Society Museum, Lansing Library, 2750 Indiana Ave., Lansing
Possibilities — Lansing Library (indoors), 2750 Indiana Ave., Lansing
T.F.S. Unity Through Diversity — TF South High School, 18500 Burnham Ave, Lansing
Plane and Simple — Memorial Junior High School (indoors), 2721 Ridge Road, Lansing
Lansing’s Administrative Aviator — Lansing Municipal Center (indoors), 3141 Ridge Road, Lansing
Chick-Fil-A — Chick-fil-A, 17601 Torrence Ave., Lansing
Treats & Letters From America — private home, 182nd Street and Dorchester Ave., Lansing
Bon Voyage — private home, State Road 10, Bass Lake, Indiana
Devine Connection — private home in the 6900 block of West 109th St., Crown Point, Indiana