Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum Library Receives Facelift
The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum’s library is being renovated by hard-working volunteers, thanks to a generous donation of shelving by Barnes and Noble. Museum members are installing the newly-acquired shelving units and arranging thousands of volumes of aerospace books and technical materials. Future plans include the installation of additional shelves in the periodical and multimedia rooms of the library, and the introduction of a digital archive research center within the library suite. Recent donations of archives from Parks College of St. Louis University, as well as from prominent individuals in the aerospace field, have greatly expanded the printed and digital archive collection soon to be available for education and research purposes. “The museum is well on its way to becoming a premier archive and research center for St. Louis area aviation history,” said Carmelo Turdo, museum Board Member and 2nd Vice President. “We will work tirelessly to make the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum a hub of aeronautical knowledge and activity to educate and inspire current and future generations. St. Louis has a rich aerospace history, and we believe a bright future as well.”
Museum Receives Spirit of St. Louis Cockpit Exhibit
The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum, located in historic Curtiss-Wright Hangar 2 at St. Louis Downtown Airport, received a Spirit of St. Louis cockpit exhibit on loan from the Missouri Historical Society this week. The cockpit was part of the Lindbergh collection at the Missouri History Museum in St. Louis, and the loan will keep it in the public eye while the Missouri Historical Society renovates its Lindbergh exhibit. It was constructed by Parks College of Engineering and Aviation of St. Louis University, whose fleet of training aircraft is located near the new display site.
Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum Makes Major Improvements to Historic Curtiss-Wright Hangar 2
The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum has the privilege of residing in historic 1929 Curtiss-Wright Hangar 2 at St. Louis Downtown Airport. The building needs constant care to remain a viable museum space, and recent improvements are going a long way to make the facility more functional and comfortable for all visitors. Recent and on-going projects include arranging exhibits according to progressive historic time periods, renovating the lobby and gift shop, installing new book shelves, ceiling tiles and furniture in the library, and repositioning lighting fixtures in the main-level meeting room. The influx of many new artifacts has also given new urgency to streamlining the hangar arrangement, with greater use of available space for our visitors. The museum would like to thank Barnes and Noble for their recent donation of a large amount of bookshelves and furniture, and the members of the museum, EAA 64 and Gateway Area Ultralight Association for their assistance in making these improvements possible. Please consider making a generous donation to the museum’s building fund by clicking on the Support Us tab.
Bookshelves donated by Barnes and Noble are being installed in the library
The goft shop has received new displays, and will be renovated in the near future
Museum Board Member Mike Burke works on a display kiosk
Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum Supprorts First Flights for Youth
Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum member Jerry Kaemmer flew a group of youth and adults recently, giving them a first-hand view of St. Louis aviation from a Cessna 172R Skyhawk. In between flights, the young visitors toured the museum and ”flew” the flight simulator recently donated by the nearby Washington School District and specially designed for children. The museum will build upon this early 2012 flight event by hosting a larger group March 24 and on future dates. Check the Events Calendar for more museum events throughout 2012.
Museum Visitor Raves About Experience, Writes Open Letter of Appreciation
The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum After the Snowfall, Jan. 14, 2012
The following includes excerpts from a letter written to the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum from visitor, Rick Bates:
Support the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum In the Monsanto Grow St. Louis Contest
Support the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum in the Monsanto Grow St. Louis contest. Please vote daily and get your friends to also vote to help the museum gain some much-needed funding for its continued operation as the only air and space museum in the area. Here is the description from the Monsanto Grow St. Louis site:
The second round of the Grow St. Louis contest has begun! Tell us what your favorite non-profit organization could do with some prize money — and then in January, we’ll start voting for the winners.
What is Grow St. Louis?
Monsanto has pledged to help St. Louis grow by awarding $15,000, $10,000, and $5,000 awards to local projects.
The second round of the contest has kicked off. The nominations are in, and we’ll start the voting on January 9, 2012. From January 9 – 29 to vote for your favorite eligible submission. Voting will be open to the public, so don’t forget to tell your friends about it. (Note: For this round of the contest, daily votes will be limited to one vote per person.)
Be sure you don’t miss a date by liking STLGROWN on Facebook and following #STLGROWN on Twitter. We’ll be announcing all phases of the contest – as well as featuring eligible submissions throughout the contest.
Prizes
Based on the top vote-getters, awards in the amount of $15,000, $10,000 and $5,000 will go to the top three project winners, respectively.
To learn more about submissions and timing, view our official contest rules and regulations.
Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum Resides in One of TWO Viable 1929 Curtiss-Wright Hangars
1929 Curtiss-Wright hangars were once scattered about the U.S. at most major airports where Curtiss-Wright did business. With time and aviation industry consolidation taking their toll on nearly all of these facilities, only a few remain in any condition. We in the St. Louis area are very fortunate to have TWO of these magnificent historic landmarks not only still standing, but functional and occupied by viable entities at St. Louis Downtown Airport: Ozark Air Services in Hangar 1 and The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum, EAA Chapter 64 and the Gateway Area Ultralight Association in Hangar 2. Two other Curtiss-Wright hangars exist, one in South Carolina in very poor condition and another in “storage” in Oklahoma, planned for rebuilding at Wiley Post Airport at later date. Restorations of the South Carolina and Oklahoma hangars will cost millions of dollars. Curtiss-Wright Hangars 1 and 2 are pictured below:
A C-47 low pass in front of Curtiss-Wright hangars 1, 2, and 3 in 1946 (Parks College archives)
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| Hangar 1 Curtiss-Wright Logo |
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| Hangar 2 Curtiss-Wright Logo |
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| Hangars 1 and 2 at St. Louis Downtown Airport, Cahokia, IL |
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| Hangar 1 Now Used by Ozark Air Services |
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| Hangar 2 Houses the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum |
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| Hangar 2 During EAA 64 Ford Trimotor Event (Mark Nankivil photo) |
The two hangars in the St. Louis area are showing their age, and also need funds for repairs and modernization. You can help preserve these registered historic buildings and a living aviation history by giving generously to the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum building fund at: http://airandspacemuseum.org/ - Support Us tab.
Red Tails Movie a Hit With Museum Vice President
Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum 1st Vice President, Rick Rehg, screened the yet to be released movie Red Tails and gave his review this week.
“Red Tails is a wonderful film and I give it a superior rating. It is a very action packed film about the Tuskegee Airmen. I researched the history of the 332nd Fighter Group and found that the film is historically accurate. These airmen gave it there all and truly proved themselves in combat as the best possible reply to racism. They faced the best of the German Luftwaffe, including the German Me 262 jets. George Lucas, the executive producer, celebrates the heroics of the Tuskegee Airmen by putting his own money and team behind the making of this film because he believed in their story.
“It is an important film about American History. This movie puts you in the cockpit and will have your heart pounding as you face Germany’s best fighter Aces. It even has some romance, with a sad ending as one of the pilots does not make it back from a mission. I think this movie will inspire and illustrate how talented and brave the Tuskegee Airmen were in the face of a fierce enemy. The movie never drags and will keep you wide awake with 1/2 of the film time in virtual combat flying. This is a story that should have been presented to the American public 65 years ago. Thanks to George Lucas for creating a film now that will engage and excite people of all ages.”
Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum Builds Relationship With St. Louis Science Center
The Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum is building a mutually positive relationship with the nearby St. Louis Science Center. The two organizations have worked together in the past, with the Science Center previously exhibiting space memorabilia from the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum’s premier Mercury and Gemini space program artifact collection, and currently displays models provided by the Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum (previously named St. Louis Aviation Museum) in its Flight! gallery. Both museums exchange marketing materials to increase awareness of each other’s programs and events, and each will continue to work together to promote Midwest aerospace history and future development. Please regularly visit this site, The St. Louis Science Center at http://www.slsc.org/Home.aspx and The Aero Experience aerospace media site http://aeroexperience.blogspot.com/ for future features.
Greater St. Louis Air & Space Museum Displays Newest Attraction
The Greater St. Louis Air and Space Museum is sprucing up its hangar to accommodate its newest display – an F-4 Phantom II cockpit restored by Joe Steimann. The aircraft cockpit, originally from a McDonnell Douglas F-4F stricken from the German Air Force after an accident, is now in the colors of the MO ANG 131st TFW formerly based in St. Louis. Other aircraft on display include a BD-5, 1941 Meyers OTW previously owned by Nikki Caplan, Pietenpole Air Camper as well as several sailplanes and missiles.
Make it your New Year’s Resolution to visit the museum at historic Curtiss-Wright Hangar 2, St. Louis Downtown Airport in Cahokia, IL.
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