Florida Air Museum NEWS!
May 2011

Hot News!  

The Florida Air Museum and SUN ’n FUN Fly-in boards announce management changes:  Effective July 1, John Burton will be moving from the SUN ’n FUN to the Florida Air Museum. John will assume the mantle of President and CEO of the Florida Air Museum. Ernie Sanborn, who has been interim President of FAM, will become Executive Vice President. These new assignments will bring added emphasis to a museum that is growing physically, programmatically and also in achieving influence in its educational mission. A search has begun for a new SNF Fly-in President. 

Fly-in News

During the SUN ‘n FUN International Fly-in & Expo, the Tom Davis Education Center becomes the hub of youth activities and school tours. Snow fence, tents and canopies are erected; meals for youth planned, food purchased, tables, chairs, radios and gold carts requisitioned; and volunteer credentials organized along with a thousand other details. This process is repeated at the Museum, the Buehler Restoration Skills Center and the many other hubs of activity around the Sun ‘n Fun site. I am always amazed that such a complex operation runs so smoothly and it deserves a thank you to the hundreds of people who make it happen.

Mother Nature did not give us adequate warning of her intended involvement during the recent convention. High winds, heavy rain and tornados striking Thursday at 12 noon created huge issues with overturned planes, port-a-lets, downed trees and limbs, collapsed tents, flooded parking, severed communications and people running for the nearest available shelter. A tremendous effort by staff, volunteers, local agencies, exhibitors and vendors helped to remove the debris, right tents and port-a-lets and performed hundreds of other tasks throughout the night. At 8:00 a.m. on Friday morning the gates were opened and people flocked to the site. What could have been an economic disaster for SUN ‘n FUN and the Florida Air Museum was mitigated by the crowds on Friday, Saturday and Sunday who came to see the Blue Angels. For those of us passionate about flying, a miracle had been accomplished. Unfortunately, the losses were still great for us, our guests who had damaged or destroyed aircraft and our vendors. 

The Museum had damage to the following aircraft:

Taylorcraft - aileron and wing ribs

Porterfield - struts and spars

DC-3 - aileron and elevator

Cub- major damage to wings and fuselage

Minor damage to three other aircraft.

NEW in the Museum

The Invictus is back!  Tim Neubert’s Reno gold winning Cassutt racer Invictus is here until the next race season. A fine tribute to air racing, the Invictus had engine problems during Reno 2010 but has a new engine ready for the 2011 season. 

The Molnari GyroCycle has arrived! The following link shows the aircraft flying as well as a two place development concept  Mr. Molnar is currently working on - CLICK HERE TO SEE VIDEO. As its name implies, the Molnari is both a motorcycle and gyro copter. Built of aluminum, steel and carbon fiber, the Molnari displays quite a few unique engineering concepts which explain why it has been a secret (patents) for 4 to 5 years. This year Sun ‘n Fun proudly displayed the GyroCycle in the Greenspace tent. 

During the convention we had a terrific display called “Thread Tails and Vapor Trails”. This was a colorful collection of quilts honoring the 100th anniversary of Naval Aviation. This display has been making its way around the country to events commemorating the anniversary. We were indeed fortunate to display the artistry and talent of the makers of these artifacts.

We are slowly putting together Homebuilders Corner. On the back wall of this display is an 8 x 24 foot plan for the Wright Flyer. Also included are a propeller carving machine, scales and a newly assembled RotorWay Exec.  The helicopter was recently fired up but we did not and will not fly it. This is a restriction of the donor which we will honor. Also included in this display is room for builders and restorers to show their pride and joy. Materials should be limited to color photos and text covering two 8½ x 11 sheets and we are accepting this material. We could also add video to the display with our picture frames.

Future Plans

The Tom Davis Education Center is to be expanded with an approximate 4,000 sq. ft. hangar addition. Growth in youth education programs has demanded more space which the Tom Davis Foundation and James Ray’s Aviation Education Foundation have generously agreed to support. The new addition will be called the Piedmont Hangar in recognition of the unique contribution Piedmont Airlines and their employees have made to passenger air travel. We will be asking for donations in the near future to create an endowment which will allow continuing support of education programs in the Piedmont Hangar. 

The Florida Air Museum Board of Directors is also planning an addition to fill the gap between the Museum and Pavilion with additional projects which will enhance the Museum experience for our guests and also the collaboration we have with the Central Florida Aerospace Academy. Look for more information as plans develop.

Needs

We always need volunteers to help with various tasks here in the Museum for restoration, exhibit development, visitor reception and just plain pushing a broom. Come share your talents and join the volunteer family who built this Museum. As a non-profit it goes without saying we need financial support. Please click here for more info.