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In the news

On the radar

Oct. 4: National Aviation Hall of Fame, Enshrinement Ceremony (relocated to Hope Hotel and Conference Center)

Oct. 6: Woodland Cemetery, Discover Woodland Days

Oct. 9: Woodland Cemetery, Monthly Historic Tour

NAHA partners: Want your event listed here? Post it on our Events Calendar!
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Aviation history
on the air

Hear Dan Patterson's aviation heritage  commentaries on WYSO Public Radio, 91.3 FM. 
Our partners

National Park Service arrowhead graphic
The National Aviation Heritage Area is a part of the National Park Service's National Heritage Areas program.
October 3, 2013
NAHA partners experience effects
of partial government shutdown
Photo of closure sign in window of Wright Cycle Company 
A sign in the window of the Wright Cycle Company building at the Wright-Dunbar Interpretive Center announces closure of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park (NAHA Photo by Timothy R. Gaffney)
The partial government shutdown on Tuesday, Oct. 1, affected NAHA's partners directly and indirectly, illustrating the public-private nature of this National Heritage Area.

Most directly impacted were the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park and the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, two federal facilities that were ordered closed effective Oct. 1.

The national park shutdown closed the Huffman Prairie Flying Field and visitor center and the Wright-Dunbar Visitor Center, which also closed the restored Wright Cycle Co. building. It didn't close the national park's Hawthorn Hill and the Wright Flyer III exhibit, which are owned and operated by Dayton History, a nonprofit organization, or the Paul Laurence Dunbar House, a national park site owned by the Ohio Historical Society and also operated by Dayton History.

But another nonprofit, Aviation Trail Inc., saw its Parachute Museum closed because it's located inside the the park's Wright-Dunbar center. And the National Aviation Hall of Fame is having to change the venue for its Friday, Oct. 4 enshrinement ceremony from the Air Force museum to the nearby Hope Hotel and Conference Center. 
National Aviation Hall of Fame
changes venue to Hope Hotel
Photo of National aviation hall of fame press conference
Ron Kaplan at National Aviation Hall of Fame press conference

The National Aviation Hall of Fame will hold its 51st enshrinement dinner and ceremony in the Hope Hotel and Richard C. Holbrooke Conference Center on Friday, Oct. 4, Enshrinement Director Ron Kaplan announced Wednesday.

The event had been scheduled for the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, but that facility was closed as a result of the federal government shutdown, Kaplan said.

He said the last-minute switch was possible because the Hope Hotel, located on Wright-Patterson Air Force Base but publicly accessible, was already under contract to cater the event, and its ballroom was available.

"Everyone's rallying to make it happen," Kaplan said, adding the Hope management and staff has been "very generous" in its support. The black-tie event has sold out its 600 seats.

Kaplan said the biggest disappointment is that the inductees and family members won't get to visit the Hall of Fame and Learning center to see where they will be honored in perpetuity. "This (occasion) is often the only time these enshrinees get to see the hall of fame where they're honored," he said, noting some family members are coming from as far as Spain for the event. The hall of fame's building is located adjacent to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force on Wright-Patterson; the museum and entrance road have been closed because of the shutdown.

This year's inductees include the late C. Alfred "Chief" Anderson, chief flight instructor of the legendary Tuskegee Airmen; Retired Navy Cap. and NASA astronuat Robert L. "Hoot" Gibson; the late Dwane L. Wallace, who led Cessna Aircraft out of bankruptcy to make it the world's leading producer of general aviation airplanes, and Army Maj. Gen. Patrick Brady, a Vietnam War helicopter pilot who became a legend among Army aviators for rescuing thousands of wounded airmen and soldiers.

Visit nationalaviation.org.org for updates.  
Champaign Aviation Museum's B-17 voluneers have semi-annual dinner
Photo of Champaign Aviation Museum volunteers
Photo: Champaign Aviation Museum

Volunteers building the Champaign Aviation Museum's B-17 Champaign Lady warbird enjoyed a dinner in the museum Sept. 24. Approximately 90 volunteers attended the semi-annual dinner, according to volunteer Buck Buchwalter. It was the 15th such dinner the museum has held. More than 400 volunteers have logged a cumulative 135,000 hours on the project since 2006, Buchwalter said. The project is building a World War II-era B-17 bomber from salvaged parts, but the volunteers are building much of the airplane from scratch. Visit the project's Facebook page for more information.
Dayton aviation heritage in 2 mags
Aerial photo of airplane over McCook Field in Dayton, OH
Photo: USAF

It's hard to write much about aviation history without mentioning sites in the National Aviation Heritage Area. Two features in the latest editions of leading aviation magazines make the point.

Air and Space Smithsonian includes a detailed feature about McCook Field, the Army's first aeronautical research center and the root of many critical Air Force Missions in research, development, acquisition, education and intelligence.
Photo of cover of EAA's Sport Aviation Magazine
McCook Field was located just north of downtown Dayton from 1917 to 1927, when its missions were moved to Wright Field (now a part of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base.)
 
Meanwhile, the Experimental Aircraft Association features a restored 1937 WACO Cabin biplane in the October issue of its flagship magazine, Sport Aviation. WACO, based in Troy, Ohio, was the leading manufacturer of general aviation airplanes in the 1920s and '30s. The WACO Historical Society preserves its heritage with its historic WACO Field and Museum.
The National Aviation Heritage Alliance (NAHA) is a private, not-for-profit corporation designated by Congress as the management entity of the National Aviation Heritage Area. The Heritage Area encompasses an eight-county area in Ohio (Montgomery, Greene, Miami, Clark, Warren, Champaign, Shelby and Auglaize counties.) NAHA's vision is to sustain the legacy of the Wright brothers and make the Dayton region the recognized global center of aviation heritage and premier destination for aviation heritage tourism.

PO Box 414 * Wright Brothers Station * Dayton, OH 45409