Museum News & Views
Contact
Michael Smith National Model Aviation Museum Curator Tel.: (765) 287-1256, ext. 500 michaels@modelaircraft.org
Year‑end activity
The end of the year is nearly here, and while many might think this is a slow time for the National Model Aviation Museum, it is quite the opposite. Behind the scenes, the museum staff uses the off‑season to work on a variety of projects that they are unable to complete during the spring and summer months.
Lee Renaud Memorial Library expansion
Following several months of work, the Lee Renaud Memorial Library has been enlarged, taking over the room previously occupied by the theater. The new space allows us to increase the number of bookshelves available while also providing visitors better access to the collection.
If you cannot visit the library, do not forget to contact us if you need information on your next aeromodeling project. We might have a three‑view or a key bit of information that could assist you.
If you have aviation books from a past project collecting dust, please keep the library and your fellow modelers in mind. We are always interested in adding to the collection and happily accept donations. However, as we try to limit duplicates, please contact the library staff first so that we can compare your collection to ours.
Wright Brothers exhibit
As is nearly every aviation museum worldwide, we are busy preparing a special exhibit about the Wright brothers. Our exhibit, entitled "Spinning Tops to Whirling Props: The Wright Brothers' Progress in Aviation," will focus primarily on the years 1878–1905.
In 1878 the brothers were introduced to flight when, as Orville stated in a 1930 deposition for the court case Regina C. Montgomery et al. vs. the United States, "Father brought home to us a small toy actuated by a rubber spring which would lift itself into the air."
By 1905 they had succeeded, with their Wright Flyer III, in creating the world's first practical airplane.
Highlights of the exhibit will include:
- A drawing of the flying toy done by Orville in 1920.
- An interactive, full‑scale 1905 wing section combined with a Wright Flyer model. This hands‑on portion will enable visitors to actually lie down on the wing and see how the various control inputs affected the 1905 Wright Flyer.
Interactive and hands‑on projects
We are making progress in our goal to make the museum an interactive experience for visitors. Rather than trying to compete with the plethora of readily available computer flight simulation games, we want to create three‑dimensional displays unique to our museum.
Planned and in‑progress projects include:
- Building an RCAD (Remotely Controlled Airplane Demonstrator) for permanent display in the museum.
- Creating and constructing a helicopter version of an RCAD. Currently, the museum's only RCADs are the ones taken to tradeshows and education outreach programs. Permanent RCADs will ensure that museum visitors always have the opportunity to experience the basics of radio control flight. Museum Curator Michael Smith is working on the helicopter RCAD.
- A hands‑on display that will allow visitors to fly an airplane in a wind tunnel.
New theater and other exhibits
A new theater is being constructed in the back of the museum. Much larger than the previous theater, it will double as a classroom with tables and chairs that will enable instruction for groups of 20–30. The tables will fold into the perimeter walls when not in use.
We also have plans for:
- An exhibit on balsa wood.
- Reorganizing the museum's model airplane engine display.
Of course, there is the never‑ending process of inventory.
Transcribed from original scans by AI. Minor OCR errors may remain.
