In Flight USA Article Categories
In Flight USA Articles
Contrails: Yesterday’s Treasures
By Steve Weaver
Beacon tower at U.S. Air Mail field at North Platte, Nebraska. (National Air and Space Museum Archives)If you’ve ever flown into the Elkins, West Virginia Airport (EKN) on a clear night you may have noticed during your approach to the airport that the rotating beacon became visible much sooner than you might expect. And if you stopped to consider that the airport is tucked into a broad valley guarded to the east and west by fifteen hundred foot ridges of the Appalachian Mountains, you might have wondered how you could see the beacon at all. The answer of course is that a beacon is located near the airport, but at the very top of the eastern mountain ridge. That in itself isn’t so unusual, but I find the origin of that beacon to be very interesting.
Aviation history has always had a great fascination for me. I love reading about it, and examining preserved items in aviation museums across the country is one of my favorite things to do. However, the thing that really fires my imagination is stumbling across the bits and pieces of yesterday’s aviation that still exist outside of museums.
Keeping the Spirit of Aviation Alive: The Kansas Aviation Museum
By Carl E. Chance
What gives an aviation museum spirit, a pervading animating principle? Is it the building, the aircraft displayed, or the artifacts that chronicle the past, telling the story of aviation pioneers and the craft they flew? The Kansas Aviation Museum believes that it’s much more than that.
An aviation museum needs dedicated and creative people who have the vision and the passion, giving rise to what can only be recognized as a profound spirit, evidenced by the daily work in maintaining and growing the historic collections. The difference magnifying the dimension of that spirit lies in the depth and commitment of the dedicated staff and volunteers in their quest to keep aviation history alive in the present and for future generations.
Spirit is difficult to communicate because it’s so intangible. You know that spirit itself can’t be touched, seen or heard, but when you’re in the midst of a museum that expresses the spirit of aviation, you can sense it. Spirit will manifest itself in various forms as people act on that spirit to do creative works.
The Pylon Place - May 2011
Aviation Museums - Education and Community Contribution
The best hands-on exhibit is flight in a general aviation aircraft. (Steve Wallace, Planes of Fame)By Marilyn Dash
An Aviation Museum brought me to flight. My entire flying career can be traced to that fateful day when I walked into the Hiller Aviation Museum and volunteered. I’ve told the story many times how Stan Hiller took a special interest in inspiring me to become a pilot. With his nudging and the opportunity to meet so many pilots who were available to teach, share, and inspire – I was on my way.
Since then, I have travelled to many other Aviation Museums around the country and have found so many reasons to dedicate this month’s column to these museums, their volunteers and the programs they have in place today to inspire our youth to dream of aviation as a career or just a passion.