BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 208: (a) Pioneers of Flight, Barron Hilton

DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 208: (a) Pioneers of Flight, Barron Hilton:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GAL208_051118_001.JPG: Original spinner cap from the Spirit of St. Louis: The original nose cone of the Spirit of St. Louis was replaced after Lindbergh arrived at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, on May 12, 1927, when a crack was discovered in the spinner shroud. The men and women who worked on the aircraft signed the nose cone. The names include B.F. Mahoney, president of Ryan Airlines, and William Hawley Bowlus, Ryan factory manager and a well-known figure in sailplane design. The figure in the center [the swastika] is a Native American good luck symbol.
2. GAL208_051118_024.JPG: Bell 206L-1 LongRanger II: Spirit of Texas: In this aircraft, H. Ross Perot Jr. and J. Coburn completed the first round-the-world flight by helicopter. They departed Dallas, Texas, on September 1, 1982, and returned 29 days later after flying over 26 countries. They flew an average of eight and a half hours a day, refueled 56 times, and encountered no major mechanical problems along the way. Powered by an Allison 250-C28B turbine engine, the LongRanger is a typical helicopter built for business and utility use. The Spirit of Texas was modified for its round-the-world trip. Nonessential items were removed and an extra fuel tank was added, along with special safety, communication, and navigation equipment. The aircraft was painted bright colors to enhance its visibility.
3. GAL208_051118_036.JPG: Lockheed Sirius "Tingmissartoq": In this low-wing monoplane, Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh made two flights to survey possible overseas airline routes during the pioneer days of international air travel. Their 1931 flight from Maine, over Canada, Alaska, and Siberia, to Japan proved the feasibility of using the Great Circle route to reach the Far East. In 1933, while serving as Pan American Airways' technical advisor, Lindbergh and his wife surveyed an area from Newfoundland to Europe via Greenland. The information they gained on weather conditions, terrain, etc., proved invaluable in planning commercial air transport routes for the North and South Atlantic. The name "Tingmissartoq" was given to the aircraft by an Eskimo boy in Greenland. It means "one who flies like a big bird."
4. GAL208_051118_073.JPG: The Douglas World Cruiser Chicago: The First World Flight: April 6, 1924-September 28, 1924: In 1924, a flight of four U.S. Army Air Service airplanes completed the first circumnavigation of the globe by air. The World Flight began in Seattle, Washington, on April 6, 1924, and ended 175 days later on September 28. The flight made 74 stops and covered about 44,080 kilometers (27,550 miles). The airplanes were named by their crews for U.S. cities: Seattle, Boston, Chicago, and New Orleans. They flew over all the world's oceans and encountered climatic extremes from arctic to tropical. Of the four airplanes to start the trip, only the New Orleans and the Chicago completed it. The Idea: "The purposes of this project are to demonstrate the feasibility of establishing aerial communication with all the countries of the world, the practicability of travel by air through regions where surface transportation does not exist... to prove the ability of modern types of aircraft to operate under all climatical conditions; to stimulate the adaptation of aircraft to the needs of commerce; to bring before the people of the world the excellence of American products in the interest of our American aircraft industry, and lastly to bring to the United States the honor of being the first Nation to fly around the world." -- Gen. Mason Patrick, Chief of U.S. Army Air Service The Objective: The publicly stated objective of the World Flight was to establish air routes, improve commerce, and foster better international relations. But its underlying intent was to garner popular support for the Army Air Service and the creation of an independent Air Force. Any benefits relating to the creation and expansion of commercial air routes were slow to materialize. The Flight Plan and Logistics: Preparing for the World Flight was a massive undertaking. Thousands of gallons of fuel and oil, 35 replacement engines, and numerous spare parts for the airplanes had to be distributed throughout the world, in some places where airplanes had never flown before. Each individual leg of the flight required over 5,300 liters (1,400 gallons) of gasoline to fuel the four planes. The task of establishing the remote supply depots fell to the United States Navy and Coast Guard. Planners divided the world in six geographic regions to ease the organization of equipment of supplies. The detailed preparation was critical to the World Flight's success. The U.S. Army Air Service required a strong airplane that could endure the harsh conditions of a world flight. The Air Service chose a modified Douglas DT-2 Navy torpedo bomber. Because the flight would take place over land and water, the airplanes had to have interchangeable floats and wheels. To increase range, fuel tanks were added to the upper wing center section, the lower wing roots, behind the firewall, and under the pilot's seat. These tanks increased the fuel capacity from 435 liters (115 gallons) to 2,438 liters (644 gallons). Other modifications included a larger radiator, strengthened bracing, increased rudder surface, a cutout in the upper wing for increased visibility, and moving the observer's cockpit closer to the pilot's. The Chicago comes to the Smithsonian: Two weeks before the Douglas World Cruisers completed their flight around the world, a young museum aide named Paul E. Garber recommended that the Smithsonian Institution acquire one of the aircraft for its collection. Eleven months later, the Secretary of War approved the transfer of the Chicago to the Smithsonian. On September 25, 1925, the Chicago made its final flight from McCook Field in Dayton, Ohio, to Bolling Field in Washington, D.C. Later that fall, the airplane was placed on display at the Arts and Industries Building on the Mall.
5. GAL208_051118_077.JPG: Lockheed Vega: This bright red Lockheed Vega 5B was flown by Amelia Earhart on two history-making flights in 1932: the first solo flight by a woman across the Atlantic and the first nonstop solo flight by a woman across the United States. On May 20, 1932, Miss Earhart flew across the Atlantic from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Culmore, Londonderry, Ireland, a flight of 3260 kilometers (2,026 miles) in 15 hours 18 minutes. Later in the year, on August 24-25, she flew this airplane across the United States between Los Angeles, California and Newark, NJ, a distance of 3937 kilometers (2,447 miles). Her flight time was 19 hours 5 minutes.
6. GAL208_051118_091.JPG: Patty Wagstaff: National Aerobatic Champion: In September 1991, flying the Extra 260 aircraft displayed here, Patty Wagstaff became the U.S. National Aerobatic Champion, a title she successfully defended in 1992 and 1993. She is the first woman to win this title since the men's and women's aerobatic competitions were merged in 1972. Wagstaff's achievement, a great personal success, is also the culmination of years of aerobatic flying by women who competed in the female national championships, including multi-time champions Betty Skelton and Mary Gaffaney. Wagstaff competes annually at the National Aerobatic Championships held each September near Denison and Sherman, Texas. The contest is sponsored by the International Aerobatic Club, Inc. Wagstaff is a five-time member of the U.S. Aerobatic Team, which competes at the World Aerobatic Championship held every two years. Besides competition flying, Wagstaff performs a smooth and aggressive aerobatic routine of many airshows across the United States and Canada.
7. GAL208_051118_118.JPG: Wright Model Ex "Vin Fiz": In 1911, Calbraith Perry Rodgers flew this aircraft to achieve the first U.S. transcontinental flight. He left Sheepshead Bay, Long Island, on September 17 and landed in Pasadena. CA on November 5, having covered the 6953-km (4321-mile) distance in 82 hours, 2 minutes flying time at an average speed of 84 km/hr (52 mph) with 70 landings in between. William Randolph Hearst had offered a prize of $50,000 to the first person to make a transcontinental flight in 30 days or less. Although the last date Rodgers could qualify for the prize found him only as far as Oklahoma and he could not win the money, his own determination to succeed kept him going. The name "Vin Fiz" came from the name of the grape-flavored soft drink being marketed by the Armour Company which sponsored the flight.
8. GAL208_051118_144.JPG: Balloon Basket of Capt. Hawthorne Gray: After two attempts to beat the existing world record for high-altitude balloon flight. U.S. Army Air Corps Capt. Hawthorne Gray reached a record height of nearly 13 kilometers (42,470 feet) on May 4, 1927, in this basket. But during the flight Gray ran out of oxygen, fell unconscious, and died. His death, in what had been a highly publicized event, demonstrated that improved life-support systems had to be developed if stratospheric flight was to become practical.
9. GAL208_051118_152.JPG: National Geographic Society-Army Air Corps Explorer II Gondola: Launched on November 11, 1935, near Rapid City, SD, Explorer II carried two aeronauts and an assortment of instruments to a world-record altitude of 22,066 meters (72,395 feet). Explorer was the brainchild of Capt. Albert W. Stevens, chief of the Army Air Crops' photography laboratory at Wright Field, Ohio. With funding from the National Geographic Society, he attempted a world altitude-record flight in 1934 with Explorer I. The flight ended in disaster when the balloon ripped shortly after launch, and its hydrogen mixed with air and exploded. After a harrowing few moments while Stephens had trouble escaping through the manhole, he and his two fellow aeronauts parachuted to safety. For his next attempt, in Explorer II, the manholes were widened for easier escape and the balloon was filled with nonflammable helium. To ensure that it attained a record altitude, Explorer II's balloon was enlarged, the crew was cut from three to two, and its scientific payload (the stated rationale for the flight) was halved. Like Explorer I, Explorer II was constructed of welded magnesium/aluminum allow sections. The 2.8-meter (9-foot) sphere weighs 290 kilograms (640 pounds) and can carry a payload of 700 kilograms (1500 pounds).
10. GAL208_051118_161.JPG: Fokker T-2: This aircraft made the first U.S. nonstop transcontinental flight. Piloted by Lts. Oakley G. Kelly and John A. Macready, the T-2 took off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, on May 2, 1923, and landed at Rockwell Field, San Diego, on May 3, slightly more than 26 hours, 50 minutes later. Two west-to-east attempts had been made prior to the successful east-to-west flight. Kelly handled the takeoff and Macready the landing, and the pilots exchanged positions at the controls several times during the 3974 km (2470 mile) flight. Their average speed was 148 km/hour (92.05 mph).
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Description of Subject Matter: Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery
November 19, 2010 – October 15, 2019
This renovated exhibition highlights the growth of aviation and rocketry during the 1920s and '30s and features famous "firsts" and record setters. It has been updated with new research and includes a broader selection of artifacts. The individuals featured were pioneering men and women who pushed the existing technological limits of flight and broke both physical and psychological barriers to flight. The exhibition features sections on "Military Aviation," "Civilian Aviation," "Black Wings," and "Rocket Pioneers." To engage children, the gallery features hands-on activities, as well as toys, books, and childhood memorabilia of the era in an area entitled "Don's Air Service."
Highlights include:
* Anne Lindbergh's telegraph key
* Jimmy Doolittle's "blind flight" instruments
* Tuskegee Airman Chauncey Spencer's flight suit
* The "Hoopskirt" rocket test stand
* Lindbergh memorabilia
* Gifts received by the crew of the Douglas World Cruiser
* Kiosk featuring archival film clips
Aircraft on view include:
* Wright EX Vin Fiz biplane: flown by Cal Rogers as the first pilot to make a transcontinental flight in fewer than 30 days, 1911
* Fokker T-2: first nonstop U.S. transcontinental flight, 1923
* Douglas World Cruiser Chicago: first around-the-world flight, 1924
* Lockheed 5B Vega: flown by Amelia Earhart in the first solo flight across the Atlantic by a woman, 1932
* Lockheed 8 Sirius: flown by the Lindberghs on airline-route mapping flights, 1930s
* Curtiss R3C-2 Racer
* The gondola from the Bud Light Spirit of Freedom, the first balloon to carry one person—Steve Fossett —nonstop around the world
* 1/4-scale model of the Montgolfier balloon: 1st manned aerial vehicle, 1783
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Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Everything)] [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Non-Events)] [Museums (History)]
2005 photos: Equipment this year: I used four cameras -- two Fujifilm S7000 cameras (which were plagued by dust inside the lens), a new Fujifilm S5200 (nice but not great and I hated the proprietary xD memory chips), and a Canon PowerShot S1 IS (returned because it felt flimsy to me). I gave my Epson camera to my catsitter. Both of the S7000s were in for repairs over Christmas. Trips this year: Florida (for Lotusphere), a driving trip down south (seeing sites in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia), Williamsburg, and Chicago. Number of photos taken this year: 147,000.
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