Curatorial News

While it may be said that change in a museum usually comes about at the speed of molasses flowing uphill, things are always happening at your Air & Space Museum, changes that we know will make your visits even more enjoyable in the future than they are today. Between now and mid-May the Museum will be creating an exhibit dedicated to John J. Montgomery, scientist, aviation pioneer, and the first man to fly a heavier than air machine in the United States. The exhibit will occupy prime space in the Museum Rotunda with Montgomery’s original “Evergreen” glider hanging overhead. It will feature history, photographs, glider plans and original manuscripts.

At the same time, the Museum will showcase a new upgraded Reuben H. Fleet exhibit in the vicinity of the west staircase on the gallery floor. Additional artifacts and models as well as a comprehensive historical timeline for both Fleet and the Consolidated Aircraft Company will adorn the revitalized space.

 Restoration News

The restoration team continues to make headway on our two major restoration/re-creation projects.The accompanying photos give you an idea of the enormous amount of fabrication that has been required on the 1927 Boeing FB-5 at Gillespie Field. Control cables have been strung, ammunition cans and machine guns have been installed, the articulating pilot’s seat is installed and the fuselage behind the firewall is generally complete. Work continues on the front end where compound metal shapes and a hundred or more safety pin clips must be engineered. We hope to have the airplane completed by the end of this year.

In the basement at Balboa Park, the Hughes H-1 reproduction work continues as the profile of the fuselage takes on its one of a kind appearance. The long fuselage cap, stretching from the aft end of the wing to the firewall has been formed and readied for riveting. The team has joined the two wing halves to test the fit, and they came together nicely as anticipated. They will now be completed as two separate items until they are joined again for final assembly. The photos give you an idea of where we are today with the project.