San Diego Air & Space Museum guests are buzzing with excitement over the recently installed “Celebration of the End of World War II” exhibit. The curatorial team has put together a very nicely done presentation of many of the critical events of the war itself and of the key players involved. Artifacts from our own collection as well as those on loan from local museum supporters add to an impressive written description of the era. Youngsters and older children alike have a great photo-op where they can have their picture taken behind a very well equipped soldier image from the front lines. The exhibit will be in the museum until the end of the year only so you will want to visit before it goes away.

October marked the official opening of the new Da Vinci: The Ultimate Innovator traveling exhibition. This highly successful exhibit premiered in the museum six years ago and when the opportunity to bring it back came along, museum officials jumped at the chance. But it is not just back, it is back and better. Many more of the Renaissance genius’s ideas, paintings, and machines are on display now that were not the first time around. Da Vinci is an inspiring experience to witness what a truly exceptional engineer, inventor, and artist did more than five hundred years ago that remains relevant today. With the museum’s emphasis on STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics) the Da Vinci: The Ultimate Innovator special exhibition is a perfect fit.

Restoration Updates

Work continues in the basement at Balboa Park on our Museum reproduction of the Howard Hughes H-1 “Racer.” The cockpit and rear fuselage section no longer sprouts a collection of clecos, having been totally riveted together at this time. Our airplane rotisserie fixture has been lengthened enough to build forward of the cockpit all the way to the firewall and that work will commence shortly. The landing gear has been installed on both sides of the wing and manually swung to test the very complicated geometry of the system. Individual components such as the rudder and instrument panel are also in process of being built. This is a long term project and it will be more than a few years from now before it sees the gallery floor but, the restoration volunteers are diligent and driven to create another scratch built masterpiece.

On the subject of Museum built aircraft, in early December we will be shipping our Boeing P-26 “Peashooter” to the Museum of Flight to help them celebrate the 100^th anniversary of the Boeing Aircraft Company. This manufacturing powerhouse that delivers a large percentage of all the airliners flying in the world today, as well as a sizable portion of the country’s flying military hardware, enjoys a very honorable position in the greater Seattle area with its historic significance.