The Hawley Bowlus designed and manufactured sailplane was nicknamed the "Baby Albatross." Conceived as an inexpensive glider more suitably priced for consumption during the Great Depression, the aircraft initially sold for $750 ready-to-fly, or $350 as a kit for amateur construction. Kits were produced between 1938 and 1944.
Arguably the most successful rocket engine ever built, the RL10 has been used for over 50 years and has launched numerous military, government and commercial satellites into space.
The San Diego Air & Space Museum recently took possession of a Vietnam War era Bell UH-1V “Huey” helicopter. The machine was declared surplus by the California Department of Forestry (CDF) after having been deployed for many years as a fire spotter.
On December 17, 1903 the Wright Brother’s 1903 Flyer made the first successful powered flight at Kitty Hawk, in North Carolina. Four times that day, the Flyer left the ground. The first flight was made by Orville Wright in the famous Flyer, who was airborne for twelve seconds.
Only eight years after the Wright Brother’s first powered flights, the “Vin Fiz” would mark a milestone in aviation history – the first flight across the United States. The driving force behind the effort was a $50,000 prize offered by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst for completing the first transcontinental flight within 30 days of the initial take-off.
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The San Diego Air & Space Museum is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Federal Tax ID Number 95-2253027.
