AUGUST 2011

HANGAR HAPPENINGS
By Claude Sanford

A lot has been going on at the hangar this month especially with 1549. If you are on a return visit to the museum, you will notice that 1549 is now on solid ground. The fuselage is supported on its frame, the nose wheel has been removed and its support is in place. The tail feathers have had various moving parts, such as elevators and rudder, removed to facilitate installing the vertical stabilizer. The J. Supor and Sons frame and hydraulics that were supporting the fuselage have been removed. Thanks to the help of US Air volunteers, Hunter Crane, Don Creason and others whose names I do not have at the present time. Hopefully in the future there will have a full accounting of everyone who has had a part in the work going into the 1549 display. Efforts have been underway to work out the problem of being unable to display the aircraft displaced by 1549. After all they are also an important part of our museum and visitors ask to see them. Hopefully in the near future we will be able to do tours of the ramp and the other hangar where the planes are now stored. This will probably be accomplished by a scheduled walking tour arrangement. You will note in HANGAR NOTES that our attendance has been up despite the extreme temperatures. People want the see the airplanes. A return visitor will notice some changes that have taken place with the various displays. This is a continuing effort to have the display relate to the various aspects of our collection rather than just being stationed randomly along the walls. We are also looking into acquiring additional display cases so more information can be given to the public. You can follow current happening on 1549 work on Twitter and Facebook by going to the sites listed on the bottom of this page. Lowering 1549 and Removing crane Nose cone goes on
Photos from Facebook

On the ground

Rudder is removed

You can now follow the Miracle on the Hudson 1549 Plane on Twitter and Facebook
Twitter: http://twitter.com/#!/CarolinAirMusem Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/#!/ft1549

CAROLINAS HISTORIC AVIATION COMMISSION

AUGUST 2011

Book Report
By Steve West

Mosquito Victory
By Jack Currie CONTACT 2011
2011 by

Claude Sanford, Editor editor@carolinasaviation.org

Mosquito Victory is Mr. Curries third book about flying in WWII; the other two are Wings Over Georgia and Lancaster Command. If you are looking for a book about combat, this is not the book to read. If you are looking for a book about what it was like to be in the RAF when not flying combat missions, this is the book to read. Mr. Currie shows a deft sense of humor throughout the book, but his use of English slang was difficult to interpret at times. He met his wife to be, who was in the WAAF, and from what the author reported she appeared to be a steadying influence on him. This was something Currie admits he needed. In this book he has completed his required number of bombing missions in an Avro Lancaster. After his Lancaster duties Mr. Currie, like a lot of his crew and former Lancaster crews, became a trainer. His first trainees were the ones learning to fly the Halifax bomber. The sad part about being trainers was the number of his mates that survived combat only to be killed in training accidents. I found his observations on the difference between the Halifax and Lancaster bombers quite interesting. The Lancaster seemed to him to want to fly and not want to land. The Halifax grumbled about taking off, staying in the air and was always ready to land. The Halifax was in his opinion the easiest bomber to land. Throughout the book Mr. Curries makes it clear he was always getting into difficult situations with his commanding officers. This caused him to first be assigned to combat training and then to gliders after his Halifax days. But in the end he was able to worm his way into the Mosquito squadrons. The Mosquito was known as the wooden wonder. He refers to the Mosquito as the Mossie. He was to serve in the Mosquito Pathfinder force until the end of the war. The Pathfinders were to lead the way for bombers on their night bombing missions. As the war wound down the threats to the Mossie came either in the weather, in the aeroplane itself, or in some failure by the crew to fly it right. The Fock-Wulfs or 109s, the flak, the night flight search lights were gone but the need for the pilot to stay alert and hone his skills was not diminished. This book Mosquito Victory is worth reading and is available in the Members Loan Section of the Dolph Overton Aviation Library of the Carolinas Aviation Museum and is book # 27.685.

HANGER NOTES
Wally Coppinger reports that during the month of June, 46 Volunteers gave 1895 hours of their time for an average of 42 +/- hours each. Dottie Evans also reported attendance for June as 2828 visitors.

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AUGUST 2011

THE BAT CAVE SHUFFLE

By William Serreno

The museum has been lucky enough to utilize space in the old Dobbs House food preparation site on the airport. Unfortunately our space is being reduced due to a new tenant in part of the building. The project was started about mid June but was accelerated by airport facilities management in mid July. The shuffle involved packing and moving all artifacts of the library stored at this location which included items such as magazines, various office equipment, textiles (mostly parachutes), survival gear and equipment, and aircraft instruments donated to our museum over the past years. Dean Demmery and crew have been relocating the museums aircraft parts, engines and other equipment to the new space. There is much left to be done in reorganizing and cataloging what we have in each location for future reference. Our hats are off to the volunteers who have been giving their time and energy to this effort. Mr. Dorsch
Photos by Bill Serreno

WE HAVE LOST THE LIBERTY BELLE

By Claude Sanford

Many of you aircraft enthusiasts may already know about the demise of the B-17G affectionately known as LIBERTY BELLE owned by the Liberty Foundation. The BELLE has been touring around the country for several years and one of her earliest stops was right here at Carolinas Aviation Museum. About a month ago, BELLE suffered an engine fire shortly after takeoff. After emergency measures failed to control the fire, the crew decided it was best to put the plane on the ground as soon as possible rather than return to the airport. A controlled wheels-down landing in a farm field was made and all the crew exited the plane safely. The fire continued and the fire department responded quickly. However, the fire trucks could not get to the plane due to the soft muddy field and so BELLE went up in flames and smoke. You can read the full story at www.libertyfoundation.org
Photos from the internet

TUeSdAY nIGHT AT THe MOVIeS HAS been cAnceled UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE
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AUGUST 2011

NEW MEMBERS
FROM 7/1 to 7/27:
Mr. and Mrs. Isaac Hill, Fayetteville, NC Johnnie Spell, Hope Wells, NC Ronald McCall, Fayetteville, NC Paul Constantine, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Thomas Stalvey, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Jose Cancel, York, SC Mr. and Mrs. Kirk Walsh, Waxhaw, NC Mr. and Mrs. Mark Brown, Charlotte, NC Jerry Eden, Covina, CA Mr. and Mrs. Chip Abbott, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Mark Montgomery, Waxhaw, NC Mr. and Mrs. Jason Sirmon, Belmont, NC Benny Lingerfelt, Hildebran, NC Mr. and Mrs. Brian Ludden, Charlotte, NC David Bryant, Gastonia, NC Mr. and Mrs. Russell Roux, Harrisburg, NC Mr. and Mrs. Franasco Bermudez, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. John Godmo, Concord, NC Mr. and Mrs. Kevin Thompson, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. David Wessel, Pennisula, OH Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Cusa, Charlotte, NC Antonio Hebron, Simpsonville, SC Mr. and Mrs. Jonathan Anderson, Davidson, NC Mr. and Mrs. Chris Pratt, Fort Mill, SC James Dawson, Lumberton, NC Clara Ferreri, Fayetteville, NC Emanuel Matthews, Fayetteville, NC Gerome Chavis, Lumberton, NC James Helvey, Hope Mills, NC Sheryl Jett, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs.Jesse Perry, Indian Trail, NC Mr. and Mrs.Waylon Lingerfeldt, Kings Mountain, NC Mr. and Mrs. Steve Mura, Matthews, NC Ralph Stevenson, Concord, NC Carson Norris, Lillington, NC Kelly Seagle, Lincolnton, NC Mr. and Mrs. Darrell Klotz, Charlotte, NC Jim Phelps, Concord, NC Mr. and Mrs. Brent Krug, Lincolnton, NC Erin Gormley, Concord, NC Mr. and Mrs. Domenic Dadio, Sr., Harrisburg, NC Mr. and Mrs. Dan Duncan, Clover, SC Mr. and Mrs. Aaron Pura, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Jeremy Funk, Charlotte, NC Beverly Sartain, Fort Mill, SC Mr. and Mrs. John Jones, Mt Holly, NC Mr. and Mrs. Goetz Hagen, Fort Mill, SC Nilesh Choudhary, Matthews, NC Mr. and Mrs. Don Dyer, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Eric Worden, Dallas, NC Mr. and Mrs. Jeffrey Geiss, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Matt Gantt, Charlotte, NC Glenn King, Asheville, NC Mr. and Mrs. Bryant Carrington, Durham, NC Mr. and Mrs. Brian Wilder, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Peter Luther, Jr., Jupiter, FL Mr. and Mrs. Roberto Gonzalez, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Smit Gupta, Weddinngton, NC Mr. and Mrs. Eddie Fain, Rock Hill, SC Gordon Michael Weigand, Travelers Rest, SC Barrie Clark, Rock Hill, SC Mr. and Mrs. J. Molina, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Tom Mueth, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Richard Hiner, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Adrian Wyrick, Charlotte, NC Kevin Queen and Anne Pipkin, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Jack Philemon, Matthews, NC Mr. and Mrs. Nicholas McMasters, Columbia, SC Lela Becker, Charlotte, NC Mr. and Mrs. Michael Caison, Supply, NC Beverly Spell, Rock Hill, SC

PATRON:
Mr. and Mrs. James Epstein, Charlotte, NC

Mr. and Mrs. Scott Schumann, Charlotte, NC Scott Weaver, Bessemer City, NC

WHERE ARE 1549s WINGS?

By Claude Sanford

That seems to be the big question around the museum. Visitors are coming in even in all the recent heat expecting to see a completed aircraft. Unfortunately they are still in storage at the J. Supor storage yard in New Jersey. Shawn Dorsch said due to unexpected heavy demand from customers for J. Supor and Sons services, they have had to delay for a few weeks the shipment of the wings. As soon as we have a new shipping date we will let you know. Although this is a small bump in the road and causes some re-planning by the museum, we are grateful that the move of 1549 to Charlotte, including the wings, has been a gift from J. Supor and Sons. Work continues, in the meantime, installing the tail feathers. I wonder if the delivery of the wings will create as much excitement and attention as the fuselage did on its journey? Well have to wait and see.
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AUGUST 2011

INTERESTING WEB SITES

By Claude Sanford

Recently I have come across several web sites that I thought would be of interest to you. First are the Twitter and Facebook sites listed on the bottom of page one for tracking 1549 progress. Make them your favorites for easy access. Another site that I have found has excellent shots of the recent 2011Reading Air Show, including the C-46 Tinker Bell out of Monroe, NC. This site has links to all types of interesting information that you can investigate. Try http://www.warbirdsandairshows.com/Airshows%202011/reading2011.htm .
Photo fron the Reading site

Another unusual and interesting site is www.nmusafvirtualtour.com which is a 3-d, panoramic format of the assets of the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force at Wright-Patterson AF Base, Dayton, Ohio. www.aerofiles.com is an informative site with information of every airplane and helicopter produced in North America.

LIBRARY NEWS
By Claude Sanford

Well another hot month bites the dust. What a time for the air conditioning to act up. It is like the flat tire on the car; always when you are running late and you need to be somewhere NOW it happens at the most inopportune time. We have survived and work goes on. We continue to inventory stuff that has been stored over the years. We have made good headway with updating the database. PastPerfect, the computer program, is beginning to pay off. Just the other day, we had a request to see an object given to us in 1999. With a few keystrokes we found it on the computer, went to the room where the item was suppose to be, and there it was. That is real progress! Could not have done that a few years ago. The Library staff continues to try to improve our methods of preservation. We talk regularly with other museums about how to do things as none of us have had formal training in library science or museum procedures. Surprisingly, we have better procedures than some museums that have professional staff and government backing: a.k.a. funds. Just last week, Charlie Wagner spent the better part of a day over at the Charlotte Museum of History to see how they care for their Textile collection as we have a very large one here. We have everything from airline uniforms to a high altitude space suit minus the bubble helmet. He discovered we were not too far out of line in what we are doing to preserve ours. I am certain we could do better with more money but we do what we can with what we have. We are planning to have an in-house seminar in the fall conducted by Charlotte Museum of History personnel to guide us in other aspects of artifact storage and care. Learning is a continual process in this area we have discovered. I have been attending the Monday morning staff meeting at the museum. This is an attempt to bridge the gap of physical separation that exists between the library and the museum. It is helping in our communications and understanding what is going on at both the museum and library. To be continued

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CAROLINAS HISTORIC AVIATION COMMISSION

AUGUST 2011

Moments in Aviation History

By: K. D. Wentzel

August 1, 1941 first flight of the TBF/M Avenger at Grumman Aircraft. August 1, 1943 the 467th Bombardment Group (Heavy) is activated, deployed to UK. August 1, 1943 "Operation Tidalwave" B-24's drop 311 tons of bombs on the oil refineries at Ploesti, Romania. (heavy heavy losses!) Flown by the 376th, 93rd, 44th, 389th, and 98th Bomb Groups. August 1, 1997 the Queen is on hand to open The American Air Museum in Britain. Located at Duxford, just south of Cambridge. August 2, 1967 North Vietnam's Paul Doumer Bridge is destroyed by F-105's August 3, 1981 Air traffic controllers go on strike, disrupting flights. President Reagan is having none of this! August 4, 1955 first flight of the prototype U-2 reconnaissance plane. Product of Kelly Johnson at Lockheeds Skunk Works. August 4, 1989 Piedmont Airlines flew off into the sunset and became USAir. August 5, 1964 aircraft from the USS Constellation and Ticonderoga struck the North Vietnamese fuel depot at Vinh and three enemy PT boat bases. August 5, 1964 Lt. j.g. Everett Alvarez Jr. of San Jose, CA is shot down in his A-4 Skyhawk, the first American pilot shot down and captured in the Vietnam War. August 6, 1945 the 1st Atom Bomb is dropped on Hiroshima by the B-29, 'Enola Gay' at 8:16:02 am 'Little Boy' a Uranium Bomb. 140,000 + die. August 7, 1997 a Fine Air Cargo Jet, DC8-62, crashes on a street in Miami, FL. 5 die August 8, 1946 first flight of the B-36 Bomber at Consolidated-Vulte. August 8, 1945 the 2nd Atom Bomb is dropped on Nagasaki, by the B-29 'Bock's Car'. at 11:02 am 'Fat Man' a plutonium bomb. est. 74,000 die. August11, 1927 Charles Lindbergh took Henry Ford for his first flight, about 10 min. in the Spirit of St. Louis. August 11, 1981 the striking Air traffic controllers are dismissed from their positions! August 12, 1977 the space shuttle Enterprise makes its first test flight near Edwards AFB despite being used in multiple earthbound tests, the Enterprise never flew in Space. August 13, 1940 "Battle of Britain" begins with the "Day of the Eagle". August 13, 1927 Cessna's first production aircraft takes to the skies. August 15, 1935 Comedian Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post are killed when their plane crashes into a lagoon just outside Barrow, Alaska. August 15, 1958 Congress approves a bill creating the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) to regulate all US commercial and military aviation. August 16, 1942 The 82nd Airborne (All American) paratroop Division is formed in Louisiana. August 16, 1995 An Air France Concorde lands at NY's Kennedy Airport at 7:16pm, cutting 1 hour, 21 minutes and 14 seconds off the round-the-world speed record for a passenger jet set in 1992. The 99 people aboard the supersonic jet saw 3 sun rises and 3 sunsets during the eastbound flight of 31 hours, 27 minutes and 49 seconds. August 17, 1923 the Governors of NC and SC meet to dedicate the new Buster Boyd Bridge. Gov Cameron Morrison addressed the crowd and there
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AUGUST 2011

was a "fly under" by Capt Elliot White Springs, WWI flying ace. August 17, 1942 363 B-17's bomb Schweinfurt and Regesburg, 59 aircraft lost. August 17, 1978 the first successful trans-Atlantic balloon flight ends as Maxie Anderson, Ben Abruzzo and Larry Newman land their Double Eagle 2 outside Paris. August 19 National Aviation Day August 19, 1940 first flight of the North American B-25 Mitchell Bomber. August 19, 1942 2nd Lt. Sam F. Junkin becomes the first American pilot to shoot down a German fighter. A Focke-Wulf 190, while giving air support to a Commando raid on Dieppe, France. August 20, 1960 Pan Am sells its last 14 Boeing Stratocruisers to a scrap-metal dealer for $105,000. August 22, 1963 NASA pilot Joe Walker sets an altitude record of 345,200 feet (67 miles) in the experimental X-15 rocket plane. August 25, 1946 The Navy Blue Angles transition from their F6F's to new F8F Bearcats. August 27, 1991 first flight of the YF23 V-22 Osprey tilt rotor aircraft. August 30, 1983 a South Korean Boeing 747 bound for Seoul apparently strayed into Soviet airspace and was shot down by a Soviet SU-15 fighter after it had tracked the airliner for two hours... All 269 aboard were killed, including 61 Americans.

THANKS TO..
John Gibson A large collection of NC WWII photos and news clippings Lance Bratten 9 Aviation magazines Claude Sanford 4 Aviation books Manual Ferrara 111 Aviation magazines Bill Fish 2 decks of Aviation recognition cards, and 1 leather WWII flying helmet Jim Martin 1 large collector model of B-17G, 1 9 inch die cast model of Stuka dive bomber, 1 1/42 scale die cast model of Spitfire, 2 painted Aviation signs, 7 miniature die cast models of B-17, 1 book on the B-17, and misc photos and news articles Laura Magee Several Piedmont Flight Attendant uniforms

BIRTHDAYS
August 6 Tommy King August 7 Eric Schmidt August 23 Jennifer Bradshaw August 26 Ed Milano November 4 Jimi Oates August 27 Max Goebel November 5 George Morgan November 12 Scott Edwards September 1 Brad Gibbs November 18 Theodore September 6 Floyd Wilson Thevaos September 14 D ale Bartels November 19 William SerSeptember 23 Dan Englereno hardt November 26 Don Creason October 5 October 5 October 5 October 8 October 9 Lance Braaten Richard Parsons Chuck McGraw Randy Breedlove Ralph Huey

PLANNING YOUR CHILDS BIRTHDAY PARTY AGES 3-10

Make a birthday party take off with the airplanes, jets and other aircraft at Carolinas Aviation Museum. The Birthday Package includes: a party host for the 2-hour party, a guided tour of the museum, a birthday cake with drinks and goodie bags for the kids to take home. Please call 704-359-8442 for further details. Page 7

CAROLINAS HISTORIC AVIATION COMMISSION

AUGUST 2011

CHAC Calendar of Events

Date
August 1 August 7, 1945 August 9, 1945 August 15, 1945 August 19 September 2, 1945 September 5 September 11 September 16 September 18, 1947 September 25

Event

Contact

Museum & Gift Shop

Ph. 704/359-8442 Fax 704/359-0429 4672 First Flight Drive Charlotte, NC 28208

Operating Hours
Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday 10 a.m.- 4p.m. 10 a.m.- 4p.m. 10 a.m.- 4p.m. 10 a.m.- 4p.m. 10 a.m.- 4p.m. 10 a.m.- 5p.m. 1 p.m.- 5p.m.

Air Force Day Atomic bomb on Hiroshima, Japan by B-29 Enola Gay Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki, Japan by B-29 Bocks Car V-J Day is declared. Victory over Japan National Aviation Day V-J Day. Japan signed Formal Surrender on the USS Missouri Labor Day Patriot Day POW/MIA Recognition Day U.S. Air Force established Gold Star Mothers Day

Admissions:

Membership Dues:

Adults: $11 Seniors (60+): $9 Students and Active Military w/ID: $7

Family: $50 Individual: $30 Patron: $100

T UESDAY NIGHT AT THE MOVIES CANCELLED UNTIL FURTHER NOTICE

Carolinas Historic Aviation Commission 4672 First Flight Drive Charlotte, NC 28208