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CAM News
Inspiring future generations... Fourth Quarter 2016
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From the Director
At this time, I have made the decision to make a change in my life and therefore will be stepping down as the director of the museum. Although it has been a tough decision to make, I feel I can now make some time for myself and "catch my breath" after this long run.
Over the past 5 years it has been my pleasure to work as both as a volunteer, and as the Executive Director. We have seen the museum change from a hangar full of aircraft to an inspiring gallery of planes that tell stories of those that have shaped our aviation heritage. The museum's growth will continue with the help and dedication of people who support it. I look forward to hearing about the great things that will be coming out of this museum in the years ahead.
Sincerely,
Wally Coppinger
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From the Board
On behalf of the Board, I want to express our deep and heartfelt appreciation to Wally for everything he has done for the Museum during his tenure as Executive Director. Wally's steadfast and inspiring leadership enabled the Museum to soar to heights never imagined when he took office.
Wally has guided us through one of our most dynamic and transformative periods, that of reassembling and developing the Miracle on the Hudson aircraft exhibit. For a museum the size of ours to undertake and accomplish such a project is a miracle in itself, and one that would not have been successful without Wally's direction.
Wally will be deeply missed by all of us, and on behalf of the Board, staff, volunteers, and members, I want to wish Wally success and happiness in all his future endeavors.
Sincerely,
Shawn Dorsch
Chairman
Carolinas Aviation Museum
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Coming Up at CAM!
Girls STEM Camp October, November, and December....
Thanks to a generous grant from United Technologies the museum is starting a new program meant to inspire girls. The Girls STEM program is a hands-on educational opportunity targeting middle school girls. The goal of the program is to provide a fun, yet educational experience giving participants the opportunity to learn more about aviation and aerospace opportunities, inspire students to study STEM and to demonstrate exciting career opportunities in these fields in hopes that students in this underrepresented population will pursue STEM related careers.
There will be 6 STEM Sessions in the last quarter of 2016 in conjunction with Coulwood, Kennedy, and McClintock Middle Schools.
Home School Day ... Our first home-school day is coming up on November 2nd from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm! We will be providing STEM related guided tours and education stations. Guided Tours will be on a first come, first serve basis. STEM education stations will be available all day in our hangar and will be appropriate for ages 5-18. Everything is included at a reduced admission price of $7.51 per person, and because our home-school days focus more on families we will allow those under 5 in for free. Keep an eye on our website and social media pages for any updates to home-school day.
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See the Movie, Then Come to CAM See the Actual Aircraft!
It's not a replica, it's not a model, it's the real deal.
That's right! We have the actual
Miracle on the Hudson aircraft on display here at Carolinas Aviation Museum. The Clint Eastwood movie
Sully staring Tom Hanks has been getting rave reviews and sometimes standing ovations in the theater. But be sure to watch through the credits at the end because that's where you'll see the real aircraft and many of the actual characters of the event, including Sully, his wife - Lorraine, First Officer - Jeff Skiles, and many of the real passengers.
See the movie then bring your ticket stub to the museum and get $2 off admission.
Don't miss it!!
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CAM Opens the Community Gallery with Photos of Space.
Can you imagine being in 5th grade and being able to access images from space using high powered telescopes located over a thousand miles away?
Recently, rising 5th - 7th graders did just that! They captured images from space, added their own creativity to them and these images are on display in our new Community Gallery at the museum.
During this camp, Students learned about astrophotography through a partnership with the
Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics. They studied the basics of the MicroObservatory software, how to view space through special software using the Harvard telescopes located in Arizona and Boston, how to request images, and how astronomy influences their everyday lives. By the end of the camp, students were able to use JS9 software to create and refine composite images and false color images, creating all sorts of artistic, brightly colored galaxies and moons.
Be sure to make your way to the
Community Gallery the next time you visit us. It's located at the back of the museum.
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Elliott White Springs - WWI Flying Ace...in a Sopwith Camel
At CAM, it's about the story!.
Elliott White Springs had hoped to write
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Replica of the Sopwith Camel F-1 flown by
Colonel Elliott White Springs
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books. But as often happens, life threw a curve his way... namely, World War One.
Son of a well to do business man in SC, Springs graduated from Culver Military Academy in 1913 and then Princeton in 1917. He studied military aviation at Oxford University and then joined the British Royal Flying Corp (later the RAF) where he soon found himself flying the S.E.5 and then the Sopwith Camel like the one on display at the Carolinas Aviation Museum, built in his honor by students of Fort Mill High School. Although the aircraft was difficult to fly for new pilots, it scored more kills than any other fighter in WW1.
Colonel Elliott Springs (from Fort Mill, SC) was a superb pilot and he understood air combat tactics. Not only did he live though the war, he became the 5th ranked US Fighter ACE of the war. He was awarded the British Distinguished Flying Cross and the American Distinguished Service Cross. At the age of only 22 he was Squadron Commander.
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The 4th Quarter in Aviation History
Lots of historical events occurred during the last quarter and here are a just a few of them. .
October
1957: Russia launched the world's first orbiting satellite
- Sputnik
- and everyone huddled around their radios to hear the "beep" signal as it passed overhead while they speculated on how this would change the world. Ironically the US could have launched one a year earlier, but as usual politics got in the way.
1958: Spurred by this event, the National Air and Space Administration (NASA) was created and immediately absorbed the earlier National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (
NACA) along with its people and budgets. The technology race was on and the resulting technology has touched all areas of our lives and the lives of our children. Poke'mon included!
November
1942: - One of the most unique aircraft ever built. The
Chance Vought V-173 was designed to take-off and land from a ship with little or no runway. Note the windows on the bottom part of the leading edge so the pilot could see the deck or ground when landing and taking off. Hard to find any 90 degree corners in this example of "out of the box" thinking!
1953:
Scott Crossfield flew a Douglas 558-2 Skyrocket to became the first man to exceed the speed of Mach 2. The museum has one of the two surviving Douglas D-558-1
Skystreak series aircraft which was the predecessor to the Skyrocket. The D-558-1 aircraft was used to study
transonic speeds. Scott Crossfield also flew our aircraft...just not as fast!
December:
1903: - First successful controlled, powered flight at Kitty Hawk, NC by the Wright Brothers. Several folks flew aircraft like a kite but the Wright Brothers discovered how to control the aircraft to make it do what they wanted. Come out to CAM, learn their story and see an exact replica of this aircraft.
1909: - Glenn Curtiss won the Gordon Bennett Cup in an international speed race at Rheims. Speed attained, a blistering 43 miles per hour on Curtiss machine. Glenn Curtiss was the first aviator to win the trophy.
1998: - Assembly of the International Space Station began.
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Become a Member of Carolinas Aviation Museum!
Come out to the museum often and for FREE!! Check out the member benefits below.
- FREE ADMISSION every time you visit us.
- Free admission to other participating SERM museums.
- Half off admission for 2 - 4 guests (depending on your membership level).
- Discounts in the museum store.
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Volunteer at CAM
Do you have a passion for aviation and an interest working with others who share this passion? If the answer is yes, get involved and become a volunteer at CAM.
You don't have to be a pilot or have an aviation background to volunteer. We are looking for people over the age of 15 who have good public speaking skills and enjoy working with adults and children of all ages. As a volunteer you will be fully trained and well supported by our professional museum staff.
Interested? Learn more here
email Dave at: volunteer@carolinasaviation.org
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