Local News

Freedom Plane traveling exhibition of nation's founding-era documents lands in Van Nuys

By Julie Sharp

April 13, 2026 / 1:37 PM PDT / CBS LA

CBS News Los Angeles

A white airplane with blue and red striping carrying nine of America's most significant founding-era documents touched down at the Van Nuys Airport today as part of a national traveling exhibition.

The Freedom Plane National Tour: Documents that Forged a Nation is part of America's 250th anniversary celebration. The traveling exhibition was inspired by the 1975-1976 Bicentennial Freedom Train, which toured the country with national historic treasures, including the original Louisiana Purchase Treaty.

In all, the 2026 Freedom Plane tour is making eight stops, and this one in Los Angeles marks its third city stop. The idea is to reconnect Americans with the nation's founding ideals by bringing history to people.

Alexander Hamilton Oath of Allegiance Freedom Plane National Tour

USC Fisher Museum of Art will host the exhibition from April 17 to May 3, with the following documents available to view:

Articles of Association (1774)
Oaths of Allegiance (1778)
A Stone engraving of the Declaration of Independence (1823)
Treaty of Paris (1783)
David Brearley's Secret Printing of the Constitution (1787)
State Delegation votes approving the Constitution (1787)
Senate Markup of Bill of Rights

The Boeing 737 has already stopped in Missouri and Georgia, and after Los Angeles, the exhibition will move to Texas, then Colorado, Florida, Michigan, and finally to Seattle, Washington.

The Freedom Plane National Tour is being brought to the public by the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and the National Archives Foundation.

"What they prove today is that the nation that our Founding Fathers brought forth has more than survived the test of time – it has thrived," Jim Byron, Senior Official at the National Archives Serving with the Authority of the Archivist of the United States, said in a statement. "And 250 years on, we are charged with carrying on what they started, to ensure that this noble American experiment lives on, boldly and proudly."

While tickets are free, a timed reservation is required.

Julie Sharp

Julie Sharp is a digital producer at CBS Los Angeles. She is a South Bay native and majored in print journalism at Cal State University Long Beach. Julie previously reported for the Beach Reporter, contributed to the Palos Verdes Pulse and worked as a video journalist for CBS News before joining the CBS News Los Angeles website team.