Model Airplanes

DAYTON — Wright “B” Flyer Inc., an all-volunteer organization that flies a lookalike of the Wright brothers’ first production airplane, has launched a project to replace its venerable flying machine.

The not-for-profit organization has been flying Wright “B” Flyer No. 1, also known as the “Brown Bird” or “Iron Bird,” since 1982. The airplane resembles a 1911 Wright Model B airplane, but its design meets modern airworthiness standards, and it’s built from modern parts and materials.

The airplane has made flybys of the Rose Bowl and the Statue of Liberty and has been on display in Berlin. Numerous aviation pioneers and dignitaries have flown on the airplane, including the late Apollo astronaut Neil Armstrong. It’s a familiar sight in local skies at the Vectren Dayton Air Show and other community events.

The Brown Bird has been flying for a generation, thanks to regular maintenance and periodic upgrades. “We’re thinking ahead to the next generation,” said Jay Jabour, Wright “B” Flyer president and acting chair. “Eventually we will need to replace the Brown Bird with a new airplane. To ensure continuity of our mission in future years, we’re beginning the replacement process now.”

The new airplane project begins as Wright “B” Flyer’s heritage partners, the National Aviation Heritage Alliance, the National Park Service and others are working to restore the original Wright Company factory buildings in Dayton. The factory was the first in America built for the purpose of producing airplanes, and its first product was the Wright Model B.

Wright “B” Flyer is developing

Article source: http://www.fox45now.com/shared/news/top-stories/stories/wrgt_vid_22001.shtml

On a hilltop in the Simi Valley, drone maker AeroVironment Inc. builds model airplane look-alikes with names like Raven, Puma and Hummingbird.

They don’t resemble what most people think of as a drone. The Raven, for instance, can fit in a backpack and be operated by a single soldier. The intelligence it gathers isn’t fed back to some black ops command center in Virginia; it goes right back to the boots on the ground.

The Hummingbird is stealthy, quiet and small enough to fit in the palm of your hand. It has wings – more like a bird’s than a plane’s – that flap furiously, all the while transmitting images back to the “driver.”

Such innovations will be key to AeroVironment’s prospects in a shifting defense and national intelligence landscape, and may serve the company as unmanned craft seep into commercial uses like video production, weddings, even pizza delivery.

The Monrovia-based company had revenues of $251.7 million in the most recent fiscal year, through April. That’s up 5 percent from $240.2 million the previous year but off sharply from its recent peak of $325 million in 2012, reflecting the drawdown of troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Net income was up 32 percent to $13.7 million in fiscal 2014.

Inside the drone-making facility in Simi Valley, about 60 engineers pop together parts made from rugged but light composite materials such as Kevlar, fiberglass and carbon fiber. It’s kind of like assembling a Lego set, except that you’re snapping pieces together to form craft that

Article source: http://www.losangelesregister.com/articles/drone-604095-aerovironment-company.html

EVERETT, Wash. (AP) — Pete Graven got hooked on aviation as a young boy, listening to stories from his uncle, a WWI fighter pilot.

Jim Jackson was among the first mechanics to work on the B-29 bomber during WWII.

Norm Constan spent nearly four decades with the Boeing Co., delivering airplanes.

Now, in their golden years, these volunteers spend a day or two a week at Paine Field, fixing up vintage aircraft at the Museum of Flight Restoration Center. Many are well into their 80s. The oldest is 99.

“The people here have just as many interesting stories as the aircraft they’ve worked on,” said Tom Cathcart, the museum’s director of aircraft collections. “It’s just as much about the guys out here working as the aircraft the museum ends up putting on display. The aircraft is getting a second life, but some of these guys are, too.”

The restoration center opened at Paine Field about 30 years ago. In 1988, the center moved into the two hangars it now occupies near Airport Road. These days, it’s one of several historic aircraft attractions at the Snohomish County Airport, which also hosts the Future of Flight, the Flying Heritage Collection and the Historic Flight Foundation.

The restoration center is no dark, dingy workshop. It’s open to the public most days of the week. Adult admission costs $5.

Walk inside, and you’ll see about two-dozen aircraft. There are immaculate specimens — and others that look like they barely escaped the scrap heap.

The collection includes a restored F2G-1 Super Corsair, a

Article source: http://tdn.com/news/state-and-regional/washington/volunteers-spend-golden-years-restoring-planes/article_571e107c-1d06-554c-98db-fbc3c2197319.html

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Article source: http://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/29/arts/design/museum-gallery-listings-for-aug-29-sept-4.html