From the Carolinas Aviation Museum

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

directorFrom the Director  

This past summer the museum hosted student interns from two local community programs and two separate universities. The internships provide opportunities and experiences that help them develop and achieve both career and academic goals, enhance social skills, build character, and interact with business professionals.

One of our college interns, John Diana, did a wonderful job of writing the organizational history of the museum by transcribing recorded oral histories he conducted with some of our long term volunteers, staff and our founder, Floyd Wilson. Many organizations do not always have this type of recorded history and we are excited that we are able to add this to our archives.  Click here to view John's organizational history.

Another intern that contributed his time and talents this summer was high school student, Cher Xiong. He was the ideal intern who was always willing to pitch in where needed, which is a big help for any non-profit organization. He assisted with the summer camps, ran STEM Education stations for tour groups, helped with data entry for group tours and was even willing to push a broom to help keep the hangar gallery clean.   You can click here to see Cher's project video telling about his internship.

Hosting interns at the museum is a very critical part of being a good community partner and we look forward to inspiring the minds of interns in the future.
 
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HarrierSpotlight on the Harrier
Definition:  A harrier is any of the several species of hawks. Harriers have keen eyesight allowing them to see prey at long distances and while flying at high speeds.  They characteristically hunt by flying low over open ground.

With this definition, there can be little wonder as to how the Harrier got its name.  Actually, the Harrier has its roots in the 50's.  Aircraft designers were visualizing the "next" war and that seemed to point to a nuclear confrontation. Both Russia and the US knew the coordinates of the other country's military air bases and in the event of a war, these runways would all be destroyed (probably in less than a half hour) to prevent aircraft from taking off.   One solution was to have aircraft in the air at all times (Strategic Air Command - SAC), or position the aircraft on a runway that is constantly moving....a carrier. Another solution would be the use of Jet or Rocket Assisted Take-off.  However, the US, Britain, and Germany were researching a fourth alternative...an effective ground attack aircraft that could take out surface to air offensive and defensive weapons and do it without using a runway at all (Vertical Take-Off and Landing - VTOL).  It meant that a 13,000 pound aircraft would have to lift off vertically then transition to horizontal flight and fly at speeds of over 600 mph.

It was a unique design and one that took years to develop. During this time, the parent company changed from Hawker to Hawker-Siddeley to British Aerospace (BAe). The American version was produced first by cooperative efforts of BAe and Douglas, then McDonnell-Douglas and finally to Boeing. The aircraft itself was extremely complex and lots of problems had to be solved. To add to the problems, while all of this development was in process the British Minister of Defense announced that most future fighter and bomber development was to be cancelled in favor of guided missiles.  Yet another roadblock.

But Hawker continued to develop the Hawker P.1127 which first flew in 1965. This led to the Hawker Siddeley - Kestrel and finally to the Harrier.  The BAe (British Aerospace) developed the Sea Harrier exclusively dedicated to the Navy and designed for air-defense and as a ground attack aircraft.

Boeing and BAe collaborated on a second generation aircraft called the AV-8B to be used with the USMC. Although the objective was to create a true VTOL aircraft, as development progressed, weight increased because of upgrades to the aircraft and because of the increased amount of armament it would carry.  This required  a new procedure for take off ... the Vertical / Short Take-Off and Landing (V/STOL).  This meant that the aircraft could take off with a short forward motion from the ground but on a carrier it would use a sort of "ski Jump" to lift off.

The Harrier ("SHAR" for Sea HARrier) first proved itself in the 1982 Falklands War and followed up with great success in both Gulf Wars.  They are currently being replaced by the F-35.

You can watch a complete detailed documentary of the Harrier here.

Click here to see our Harrier as it arrived at CAM.
 
museum



Don't miss Museum Day Live on Saturday September 26, 2015!  Learn the stories of our aircraft and participate in exciting activities, including:
  • Create your own aircraft using recycled materials
  • Build and fly your own bottle rocket
  • Try our hypothermia race
PLUS - Three passengers from the Miracle on the Hudson (Flight 1549) will be here on Museum Day from 11:00 - 2:00 to talk with our guests. Come out, talk with them, and hear their stories.
The passengers are:
  • Beth McHugh
  • Beverly Waters
  • Dan Vinton
Museum Day Live! is an annual event hosted by Smithsonian magazine in which participating museums across the country open their doors to anyone presenting a Museum Day Live! ticket... for free.  Each Museum Day Live ticket will provide FREE ADMISSION for two people.  


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americanAmerican Airlines - World's Largest Airline 

Upon completing its merger with US Airways, American Airlines is now the world's largest airline, and the museum is proud to announce their continued corporate sponsorship.

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aviators
Famous Aviators  

Starling Burgess was born into a  wealthy Boston family in 1878. He excelled in math, mechanics, poetry, and sailing and although both of his parents had died by the time he was 13, he attended Milton Academy and Harvard.   He withdrew from Harvard his senior year to start his own design company and by the time he was 26, he had designed a machine gun, married (but his wife committed suicide), opened his own naval architecture firm, published his first volume of poetry and then married one of his best friends' wives.

 

In September of 1908, he was invited to Washington by a Harvard Physics professor and former colleague to see Orville Wright fly; an event that made a lasting impression on him as the aircraft soared over his head. He later wrote, "Tears came unbidden to my eyes. Shall I ever forget that moment!"

Even though the following day he witnessed the first fatal aircraft accident when Orville Wright crashed killing Army Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge, Burgess began to shift focus from boats to aircraft.

 

He contacted Augustus Herring (the same person who lost favor with both the Wrights and Glenn Curtiss) and together they created their first aircraft - the Flying Fish.  

 

   

The name FISH is a result of their trying to avoid Wright patents. The aircraft had no ailerons or wing warping.   Instead it had 6 triangular shaped fins on top of the wing designed to control the aircraft.  

 

Over the next few years, Herring left and Burgess joined with Greely Curtis (no relation to Glenn Curtiss).   He improved the design, attended the Wright Flying School and eventually teamed up with the Wrights, Glenn Curtiss, and others.  (See the Early Years ad in last months newsletter). 

 

In 1915 Burgess won the Collier Trophy awarded for "the greatest achievement in aeronautics or astronautics in America, with respect to improving the performance, efficiency, and safety of air or space vehicles, the value of which has been thoroughly demonstrated by actual use during the preceding year."  The award was previously won by Orville Wright and Glenn Curtiss.

 

Starling Burgess was a brilliant designer and had he stayed in aviation he would have most certainly left a much larger footprint in aviation history. He liked to create or improve but he didn't like to manufacture the same thing over and over - and he was not a business man.   Eventually he returned to previous interest designing award winning yachts - including America's Cup Yachts.  Burgess was the first American to design twelve-meter class yachts 

 

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model
The Sea Knight's Last Flight 

The CH-46 Sea Knight is being retired and the last of the Marines'  'Phrogs' just made its final flight to the Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center on August 1, 2015.  

This iconic helicopter has been in every conflict since the Vietnam War and it performed virtually any task asked of it - including carrying our Marines into and out of battle zones and carrying the wounded out for medical assistance. It was a Sea Knight that the world saw as it picked up the last Marines off the U.S. embassy rooftop in Saigon on April 30, 1975.

It got the name 'Phrog' almost immediately after being introduced to the Marine Corp in the mid 60's and that name stuck throughout it's operational life.  It's easy to see where the name originated when you see it from the front on the ground, but the spelling is more of a mystery. There are all kinds of theories but the one that is most plausible is that the hottest fighter of the day was the Phantom - thus the Phrog.  Read the story about its final flight here.

The Sea Knight is a popular exhibit at the museum and as with all of our exhibits, it has a story to tell.  Our Sea Knight was used in a Medal of Honor event in which Private First Class Mike Clausen saved the lives of his fellow Marines by running through a mine field several times to rescue themRead about it here.

What the approaching "Phrogs" looked like from the ground.

The CH-46 Sea Knight is being replaced by Bell Boeing MV-22 Osprey.
  

 early The Early Years of Aviation  

From the CAM Library.  More literature from the early years of aviation.

We mentioned that Starling Burgess was awarded the  Collier Trophy and we often read about a well known aviation pioneer winning the award.  The original trophy was called the Aero Club of America Trophy  and it was awarded to someone who made an outstanding contribution to Aviation.   Click here and read about it.

Collier Trophy
 
spotter Plane Spotter 
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Can you name the aircraft below?   Click on the link on the right side under the photograph for the answer.   

Be sure to check out our website at:
September       2015

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Contacts

CAM - 704-997-3770 

Wally Coppinger
Executive Director
Extension: 3771
  
Clint Bauer
Facilities Manager
Extension: 3041
  
Katie Swaringen
Education and Exhibits Director
Extension: 3772
  
Lynn Wyles
Senior Accountant
 Extension: 3777
 
Lindsay Stuber
Gift Shop Manager
Extension: 3780
  
Christopher Sandel
Volunteer Coordinator
Extension: 3778

Kent Lupton
Education Coordinator
[email protected]

Dave Bonivtch
Museum Programs Assistant
[email protected]

New Members

Thomas Speich
Spartenburg, NC

Willie Richardson
Spring Lake, NC

Steve Cottle
Hendersonville, NC

Phillip King
Jonesville, NC

Ryan Welsh
Charlotte, NC

Christa Sumwalt
Matthews, NC


Carolinas Aviation Museum