From the Carolinas Aviation Museum

THE CAM News.  A Changing Newsletter for a museum on the move! 


DirectorFrom the Director 

It is amazing to watch this museum continue to deliver an outstanding visitor experience and see record numbers of people pass through our doors. This past summer we saw 18,614 visitors, including 70 educational group tours totaling 1,797 students. We introduced new programs such as Family Day Saturdays and a Community Day, which allowed visitors to enter the museum free of charge. All of this could not have been accomplished without the tireless dedication and planning of the museum's small staff and the assistance of countless numbers of volunteers.

As we end a successful summer and enter a new season, we begin the process of evaluating our programs to determine how we can elevate them to the next level of excellence. Although we continue to receive very positive feedback, we will strive to offer the visitor an even greater meaningful experience. One of the best things to hear when a visitor departs the museum is that their visit was beyond what they expected. The other is that they plan to return and bring others with them!


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community-daysOver 1000 Visit the Museum on Smithsonian - Museum Day Live


Young lady selects the winning raffle ticket! 
There was something for everyone on this day and these events help to define the new personality of Carolinas Aviation Museum.  Visitors listened to Miracle on the Hudson passenger Beth McHugh describe her experience being rescued from a raft and they visited the ramp to learn about the C-130, DC-7 and DC-9 while watching aircraft take off and land from one of the busiest airports in the US!  Kids designed and flew bottle rockets, made their own tee-shirts, climbed into cockpits, and participated in our creative aviation related art projects.  And everyone was fascinated by the Caroline Calouche Aerial Dancers' demonstration of "weight and balance."

The day ended with a drawing for a US Airways gift card worth $500.

More images here. 
   
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vankirk
Passengers From Flight 1549 - Miracle on the Hudson participate in the ALSA Ice Bucket Challenge!


Six passengers from the aircraft that landed in the Hudson were here in September to participate in the Ice Bucket Challenge.  They chose to sit in a raft like the one in which some were rescued, while visitors volunteered to pour buckets of ice water over their heads!  Is was cold but not as cold as the day some of them actually jumped into the freezing waters of the Hudson. 

Click here to watch the video...
bookBook Review   

Birdmen

The Wright Brothers, Glenn Curtiss, and the Battle to Control the Skies.

By Lawrance Goldstone

Published by Ballantine Books.  

 

Birdmen is a non-fiction book that will capture the imagination of anyone with an interest in aviation history. There are lots of books written about the Wright Brothers and their quest to master controlled, powered flight, but few provide the detail that Mr. Goldstone has done.   While many would be aviators were trying to build a "flying machine" through trial and error, Wilbur and Orville were true scientists and spent most of their time in research and testing with various devices they invented...including the first wind tunnel. They kept meticulous notes and each experiment built on the results of a previous one. But once their goal of controlled, power flight had been achieved, the Wrights focused on protecting their patents from "scoundrels" who were "stealing" their ideas...most notably...Glenn Curtiss.  Read more here. 

   

libraryHave You Visited the CAM Library lately?

 

The Carolinas Aviation Museum Dolph Overton Aviation Library is named in honor of Dolph Overton, an American ace pilot and native of South Carolina who upon retirement, donated many artifacts to the Carolinas Aviation Library.  The library is open to museum staff, volunteers and docents, museum members, academic researchers, students, and aviation enthusiasts. Collections include magazines, technical manuals, flight manuals, documents, books, photographs, scale models, engineering drawings, uniforms (textiles), and multimedia.

The library, located at 5318 Morris Field Drive, is open on Tuesdays and Thursdays from 10-4 and Saturdays by appointment.

Stop by and see us! 
   
halloweenTime Warner Cable Night at CAM 
A Halloween SpooK-TACULAR Night!    
Join us on October 30th from
5:00 - 9:00 for a Costume Contest, Scavenger Hunt, and Halloween
games & crafts!  

Admission is only $4.   
(Admission free with a current TWC bill). 

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 early The Early Years of Aviation

 Early Years of Aviation items are submitted by Don Opgenorth   


From the CAM Library.  More literature from the early years of aviation.   Zoom in on your computer for some of the fine print.

Editor's Note:    

As you can see from this 1911 Ad page, there was an explosion of aviation activity around the world at this time. The engine shown on the top left is Indian Motorcycle's brief entry into the aviation industry.   Actually it was manufactured by Hendee Manufacturing Company (makers of Indian Motor Cycles) in 1911 and based on the French Gnome rotary engine (which you can see up close and personal at the Carolinas Aviation Museum). You may remember from the September issue of CAM News that the Sopwith Camel had a rotary engine which means that the  crankcase and cylinders rotate around the crankshaft. The Indian engine produced 50 hp. It was light weight, weighing only 185 pounds.   See how a rotary engine works here

   
 
    

 

 triviaAviation Trivia
  1. Who made the first takeoff from a ship, ushering in Naval aviation?
  2. Who built the aircraft used for this historic event?
Answers will be in next month's newsletter. 
   
    *****
September's  Plane Spotter Aircraft was an -

Aeronca 11AC

The Aeronca 11AC was produced in 1946 as a trainer/personal aircraft and featured a simple instrument panel and side by side seating.  The one shown in the picture was used by Popular Science.  

  Be sure to check out our website at:

October          2014

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Contacts

CAM - 704-997-3770 

Wally Coppinger
Executive Director
Extension: 3771
  
Clint Bauer
Facilities Manager
Extension: 3041
  
Katie McClamrock
Education and Exhibits Director
Extension: 3772
  
Lynn Wyles
Senior Accountant
 Extension: 3777
  
Donna Auer
Gift Shop Manager
Extension: 3773
  
Christopher Sandel
Volunteer Coordinator
Extension: 3778
 New Members 

Silver Wings 
Jere Witherspoon  
Charlotte, NC

Jim Scalia 
Charlotte, NC

Golden Wings  
John Boehme
Salem, SC

   

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