Microsoft cofounder Paul Allen has plenty of interesting hobbies, including playing in a rock band and collecting real estate and sports teams.
One of his biggest passions over the years, however, has been aviation.
When he was young, his father was named the associate director of libraries at the University of Washington.
"I'd spend hours reading about the engines in some of those planes," Allen told Forbes. "I was trying to understand how things worked — how things were put together, everything from airplane engines to rockets and nuclear power plants. I was just intrigued by the complexity and the power and the grace of these things flying."
Allen started collecting planes and other World War II artifacts in the 1990s. In 2004, he opened his 31-piece collection — rumored to be worth many millions of dollars — to the public. It's currently housed in the Flying Heritage Collection, in a hangar in Everett, Washington.
Allen's collection includes two types of British planes that served in WWII. The Supermarine Spitfire has often been credited with winning the Battle of Britain. This particular plane was heavily damaged during a raid on enemy territory, though it has since been restored.
Source: Flying Heritage Collection
The Hawker Hurricane destroyed more enemy aircraft than any other British plane. This plane never saw combat and was recovered from a farm in Ontario, Canada, not far from where it was manufactured.
Source: Flying Heritage Collection
He also owns a number of German planes, some of which were actually used by pilots during WWII. The Fieseler Storch was named for the German word for "stork" because its wings could be folded down to be transported by train.
Source: Flying Heritage Collection
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