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FLIGHT March 2019 March A PUBLICATIONLINES OF THE SOUTHERN MUSEUM OF FLIGHT BIRMINGHAM, AL WWW.SOUTHERNMUSEUMOFFLIGHT.ORG Page 4 Page 5 Page 7 FLIGHTLINES Message From The Director Board Officers To the Members of the Southern Museum of Flight ‘s George Anderson Holly Roe Constituency Hank Collins Susan Shaw Paul Maupin Dr. Logan Smith Alan Moseley Jim Thompson Gary Nash Finance Director t is my honor and privilege to serve as a City of Birmingham I member of the Southern Museum of Flight’s leadership team. It is my sincerest wish that your involvement with the museum will be Members rewarding and enjoyable. Steve Allen, Jr. Fred McCallum In all we do, we investigate, preserve, and promote the rich stories of Al Allenback Billy McDonald, III Jay Miller Southern Aviation and provide enjoyable, experiential, and educational Ruby Archie William H. Barnes Jamie Moncus programming for people of all ages. Through our collaborative Dr. Brian Barsanti Dr. George Petznick partnerships within the community, we provide a continuum of J. Ronald Boyd Marlin Priest exhibitions, displays, and educational services with a sincere devotion Mary Alice Carmichael Charles Regan to cultural and historical literacy. We support skillful, reflective Chuck Conour Raymon Ross professionals who improve the quality of aviation education within the Ken Coupland Herb Rossmeisl museum setting, and we accomplish our mission within the confines of Whitney Debardelaben A. Page Sloss, Jr. Research and Development, Educational Programming, Tourism, and Steve Glenn Billy Strickland Aircraft Restoration. This along with our Core Values – Education, Dr. Jim Griffin (Emeritus) Clint Speegle Dr. Ed Stevenson Preservation, and Dedication, should be our compass by which all Richard Grimes Lee Hurley Thomas Talbot actions are measured. Additionally, our staff’s contributions and Bob Jaques Conner Warren unwavering commitment is essential to our success. Our Core Values Ken Key Dave Wood guide us in our approach. While committed to these values, I am Austin Landry Dr. William Wood equally committed to lead by example, and provide a positive work Connie Logan environment to meet our mission demands. Everyone is important and valued as a member of our team, and museum success requires unity of effort. Education - Ambassadors of Education. The museum is dependent upon the educational services that we deliver. There are no bystanders within the realm of education. Executive Director Dr. Brian Barsanti Everyone takes ownership of this responsibility, and embrace Chief of Staff & Human Resources Daphne Dunn education as the heart and soul of our organization. Director of Operations & Curator Wayne Novy Preservation - Preserving the Legacy. We honor the legacy of Restoration Manager Zachary Edison the men and women who contributed to our history, and we Education Coordinator Melissa Morgan respect the aircraft and artifacts that help us tell the rich stories Educator & Special Projects Charles Phillips of aviation. Everyone has a role with regard to this, as we Exhibit Designer Alan Fendley maintain the integrity of the exhibitions and programs. Admin. Assistant & Gift Shop Mgr. Tosha Hervey Dedication - Commitment to Excellence. The museum is Building Maintenance Manager Charlie Howe dependent upon our excellent staff to fulfill their duties and responsibilities. They are entrusted with this great responsibility, and their decisions have significant implications. The general public can and will formulate an opinion of the entire Flight Lines organization based on the perceptions gained from their visit and is published quarterly by the Southern Museum of Flight as an information source for its members, patrons, volun- interactions. We strive to make the Southern Museum of Flight a better teers and friends. Articles that appear in this publication may be reprinted indicating the Southern Museum Of organization and will always have fun in doing the great things we do! Flight as the source. Best regards, Comments are welcome and should be addressed to: Flight Lines 4343 73rd Street, North Brian J. Barsanti, Ph.D. Birmingham, AL 35206 Page 2 CURRENT HAPPENINGS Welcome To The Future Home of the Southern Museum of Flight ! ocated off Interstate 20 in the Grand River area near the Barber’s Motorsport’s Park is the 24-acre site of the L proposed expanded Southern Museum of Flight. It was important for the museum to stay in Birmingham and this site presented that opportunity. It is hoped that the move would help spur future development in northeast Birmingham as well as enhancing the opportunity for our museum to further chronical the history of aviation and expand the educational programming opportunities that the museum is firmly committed to. A marketing plan for the total technology and industrial site is still being developed. But the goal is to attract high-tech companies in the medical and engineering fields, automotive suppliers and some corporate headquarters for companies of varying sizes. The scope of the Grand River Technology Park could create more than 1,200 jobs and generate an economic impact of more than $85 million in the Greater Birmingham area, according to information from the Alabama Dept. of Labor. The technology park represents a multi-phase opportunity to reclaim and transform approximately 105 acres of undeveloped land surrounding and including many pre-1977 abandoned coal mine lands in east Jefferson County into a regional nexus for research and development, tourism, and manufacturing. Stay tuned for all the upcoming and exciting developments as your museum begins an amazing transformation. 75th Anniversary of D-Day ! Keeping The Restoration Team Busy ! n commemoration of the 75th Anniversary of D-Day, he “Tuskegee” B-25 is commanding much I the C-47, That's All Brother (see related story on T attention from the Restoration Team. Having Page 7), will be in Birmingham April 9th-14th, 2019. As received a grant from Alabama Power-Birmingham part of this experience, the Southern Museum of Flight is Division to renovate this historic B-25 and include it with offering an outreach and tour program that instructs the existing Tuskegee Airman diorama will help add students about WWII, D-Day and its aircraft that launched another impressive chapter to the story being presented the largest invasion in history! with the museum’s Tuskegee exhibit. Outreach Program: Students will get excited about history through our educators as they visit their school and Currently on display is the forward fuselage section of the learn about a battle that changed the course of mankind. bomber, while restoration is completed on the remainder Tour Program: Students will visit the Southern Museum of the aircraft. The museum is fortunate to have of Flight’s WWII exhibits and visit That’s All, Brother! Join dedicated staff and volunteer talent to completing this us for this fun, interactive, hands-on program prior to and demanding effort given that restoring a World War II during That’s All, Brother’s visit! aircraft to its former glory takes time and great attention to detail. Outreach Program Length: 1 hour, Cost: Free This expertise is clearly visible on a Tour Program Length: 2.5 hrs, Cost: $3 per student section of the elevator control For more information or to schedule our educators, surface shown here. Installing contact Melissa Morgan, 209-833-8226 or fabric coating over an airframe is a email: [email protected] skill that is rarely experienced in constructing today’s airframes. Within a year, the museum will proudly display a restored B-25 that will take its place along with the other three training aircraft currently on display as part of the Tuskegee Airman diorama. Page 3 MUSEUM HIGHLIGHTS The Artwork Of Bob Bales and The Air Force Art Program eorge Carson “Bob” George C. “Bob” Bales G Bales was a C-46 and (1920-2016) B-24 pilot during World War 2, nephew to Ernie Pyle, an Air Force advisor to Hollywood, but most important to him; he was an artist ! n May 1960, Air Force Chief of After World War 2, Bales was an illustrator for Walt Disney Studios from 1945 I Staff, General Curtis LeMay to 1947 and worked on film classics such as Song of the South and Wind in described the Air Force Art Program the Willows. But the Air Force needed Bales more than Disney, and Bales was in a National Geographic article. He recalled to active duty in 1947. He served three years in a classified mapping stated “To posterity, these paintings project in the Pacific and got pulled into the Korean War. "There was not a will furnish a priceless pictorial history newsman there," and he thought, “Somebody needs to record this”. Having of our Air Force in a brilliant era. brought his paints and brushes with him, Bales began painting the scenes in Future Americans, accustomed to the time he could spare from his duties. split-second travel through measureless space, may find these During his time in Korea, Bales completed 31 paintings. These paintings not scenes as antiquated as covered only captured the lives of the Koreans going about their daily lives, but wagons seem today. Yet they record provided an important historical record as well. Bales’ painting, The Gates of a chapter in the life of our Air Force Suwon (shown above), depict the massive eighteenth century city gate sur- as vital as Kitty Hawk”. rounded by the varied buildings of the town, which were, with the exception only of the gate itself, razed by the communist offensive in the winter of 1951. Since 1954, the number of paintings While the photographer captures what he can see, the artist captures what he in the Air Force Art Program has can feel. His acute observation and his background in drafting, as well as his grown from about 800 to more than bold use of color, resulted in beautiful and true paintings that capture the 10,000 ! Korean War as photographs could not.