NATIONAL AVIATION HERITAGE AREA 
Newsletter
May 1, 2014 
Demolition reveals more of Wright factory
Photo of back wall of Wright Company factory building 1
Demolition at the former Delphi Home Avenue auto parts manufacturing plant continues to reveal more of the Wright brothers' airplane factory.

In recent weeks, demolition crews have been removing an old steam plant that stood immediately behind the Wright Company building 1, exposing the back wall of the building for the first time in many decades.

Wilbur and Orville Wright formed the Wright Company in New York in November 1909 and built the factory buildings in Dayton in 1910 and 1911. The factory was the first in America built for the purpose of manufacturing airplanes. NAHA is working with Home Avenue Redevelopment LLC, National Park Service and other partners to preserve the buildings as a unit of the Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park. See more photos of the factory and demolition on our Flickr page.
WACO Learning Center makes news   

The Troy, Ohio-based WACO Historical Society's Learning Center is making news. 

 

Located in the WACO Air Museum on the heritage group's Historic WACO Field, the society's nonprofit arm has seen dramatic growth in programs and participation. Approximately 1,600 children participated in programs last year, a 43 percent increase over the year before. The Dayton Daily News reported on the Learning Center's activities in an April 16 article.  

 

Earlier this year, the Dayton Power and Light Co. awarded a $30,000 grant to the Learning Center. Programs range from preschool activities to a history lecture series and the WACO Aerobotics Lego team.  

USAF museum schedules Space Fest
National Museum of USAF's SpaceFest logo

The National Museum of the U.S. Air Force  and more than 20 participating organizations will offer a multitude of space-related activities for visitors of all ages at the museum's Space Fest May 16-17.

A special showing of the film Gravity (in 3D) at 7 p.m. May 16 in the Air Force Museum Theatre will kick off the two-day event with former astronaut and retired Air Force Col. Gregory Johnson on hand to answer questions. Read the museum's news release for more information. 
Champaign Aviation Museum holds dinner
Photo of people at tables in Champaign Aviation Museum hangar
The Champaign Aviation Museum on Grimes Field Airport in Urbana, Ohio, drew nearly 300 people to its annual fundraising dinner on Saturday, April 26.

The event included a fly-over by the museum's restored B-25 Mitchell bomber Champaign Gal and a speech by Amanda Wright Lane, great-grandniece of the Wright brothers and a NAHA trustee. Dinner was served in the hangar where volunteers are building the B-17 Flying Fortress Champaign Lady.
X-51 Waverider team recieves AIAA award
Artist's rendering of X-51A Waverider in powered flight.
X-51A Waverider. Image: Boeing

The American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics' AIAA Foundation presented its Award of Excellence, the foundation's highest honor, to the X-51A Waverider team on Wednesday, April 30 in Washington, D.C.

The foundation presented the award "for the demonstration of the feasibility of sustained air breathing hypersonic flight by achieving a 300 second flight at Mach 5," or five times the speed of sound.

The Air Force Research Laboratory managed the X-51A project at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. Other team members recognized by the award include the Boeing Co. and Aerojet Rocketdyne. The project used AFRL's hypersonic wind tunnel at Wright-Patterson to develop the technology for the aircraft's revolutionary scramjet engine.

Recognizing that our aviation heritage includes the latest aerospace projects, NAHA's board of trustees held its December board meeting at Wright-Patterson and toured the wind tunnel.
NATIONAL AVIATION HERITAGE AREA
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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. www.visitNAHA.org

PO Box 414 * Wright Brothers Station * Dayton, OH 45409
[email protected] * 937-443-0165
Be a Leader in Flight!
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Show your pride in Ohio's aerospace industry and support aviation heritage. Your registration provides $15 to support NAHA's activities.

www.leaderinflight.org
Urban Nights May 9!
Dayton Urban Nights graphic
Urban Nights is coming to downtown Dayton and the Wright-Dunbar Business Village and neighborhood on Friday, May 9. Enjoy great R&B and gospel live entertainment, Kids' Educational Fun-N-Play area, cultural arts and step shows, unique and tasty cuisine, all set in the historical neighborhood of the Wright brothers and Paul Laurence Dunbar.

 

Urban Nights in Wright-Dunbar is a collaboration with the Downtown Dayton Partnership (DDP). NAHA is supporting Wright-Dunbar with staff resources and planning. Visit DDP's website for more details and check our Facebook Page for updates.
In the news
Former Delphi plant getting demolished (Dayton Business Journal)

Connecticut house tied to aviation pioneer meets wrecking ball (Reuters)

Full-size fighter plane replica now announces entrance to MAPS Air Museum (Akron Beacon Journal)

Drone images reveal ancient village in New Mexico (CBS News)
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The National Aviation Heritage Area is a part of the National Park Service's National Heritage Areas program.