24 page layout030206.pub - Hagerstown Aviation Museum

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town, Dave Andrews and Vincent Groh to document, dismantle and preserve the o riginal 1920’s Kreider-Reisner Aircraft
It’s hard to believe that it’s been less than a year since the factory building, out of which grew Hag erstown’s aircraft
Hagerstown Aviation Museum was offici ally founded, and manu factu ring industry. I’m happy to say that the preliminary
what a year it has been! After nearly a decad e of wo rking to work is complete on the Kreider-Reisner “ Little Green Shed”
establish an aviation museum, this past year has been a defin- along Pennsylvania Ave. and we plan to have it taken down by
spring. Once dismantled, it will be put in storage pending fuing one in the preservation of our local aviation history!
ture display in the museum.
Last July, after four months of h ard work
In addition to constantly being on the lookpreparing the 2000 square foot facility and
out
for artifacts and displays to enhance the
designing and constructing the displays, the
museum
collection, we are actively seeking
museum opened its doors to the public in
aircraft
that
played a role in Hagerstown’s
the Discovery Station at 101 West Washingaviation
history.
Since these airplanes are beton Street in downtown Hagerstown.
coming
scarce,
it
is imperative that we locate
Much has happened since our opening
and
acquire
them
for the museum. We have
and much more is in store! Over the next
located
several
aircraft
that should be in the
several months we will be adding to the mumuseum
and
are
currently
exploring means to
seum displays and our much-anticipated Hagerstown Aviation Museum offiacquire
them.
And
there
are
treasures out there
interactive Cessna 150 will be arriving at cers: Left to right, John Seburn, Trea,
to
be
found!
In
this
newsletter
you’ll see phothe museum. Thanks to the generosity of Jack Seburn, Sec, Kurtis Meyers, Pres,
tographs
from
our
expedition
to
Georgia and
donors, we have received some fascinating Tracey Potter, VP. Board member Joe
read
a
moment-by-moment
account
o f the
Boyle
not
pictured.
donations. We have and will continue to
finding
o
f
a
real
Geo
rgia
peach!
weav e them into the displays or add them to
As Hagerstown Aviation Museum activities expand, and
our archives and research library, which already contain thouespecially
as we acquire aircraft, the need for more members,
sands of books, documents, photographs and memorabilia.
volunteers
and donors grows enormously. We invite you to
Although the opening of the museum itself consumed much
become
involved
in the museum’s effort to pres erve Hagersof our time throughout the year, we have also been involved in
town’s
rich
aviation
heritage.
many other activities. For the past year we hav e been working
Welcome to The New PEGASUS
with the Maryland Historic Trust, Preservation Maryland, the
National Park Service’s Historic American Building Survey,
the Washington County Historical Society, the City of Hagers-
Kurtis Meyers, President
Hagerstown Aviation Museum, Inc.
Richard A. Henson
The Old & New PEGASUS
1911-2002
The Hagerstown Aviation Museum has titled its
public information publication “The New Pegasus”.
While Bellanca, the Reisners, Kreider, Custer and
others all made significant
contributions to Hagerstown’s aviation heritage, it
was the city’s long association with Sherman Fairchild and his Fairchild Aircraft Corporation that put
Hagerstown on the aviation
map.
Since the Fairchild Corporation’s public information publication was the
July 1945
“Pegasus”, the museum felt it appropriate to continue this tradition in the “ new” Pegasus. The museum dedicates “The
New Pegasus” to the many members of our aviation community who played an active role in developing the aviation heritage we now honor. “The New Pegasus” is made possible
through the generous support of its advertising sponsors.
This, the Premier Issue
of the New Pegasus, is in
memory of Richard A.
(Dick) Henson. For many
years it was our privilege
to work side by side with
Dick in creating the
Hag erst own Avi at ion
Museum. Even though he
is no longer with us, his
dedication to the cause
continues to inspire us.
Dick Henson with the KR-31
Challanger he and Charlie
Shue donated to the museum.
Cover Photo:
Fairchild 24R9 in front of
the old brick hangar at
the Hagerstown Airport.
1939
See story on page 10
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TABLE OF CONTENTS
Welcome to The New PEGASUS……………………. Page 2
Hagerstown’s Aviation Past…………………………..Page 3
The Hagerstown Aviation M useum, Inc. is a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the preservation and promotion of the region’s more than 90
years of extraordinary aviation history.
Premi er Theater Showing of “Hagerstown:
Remembering Our Aviation Heritage”……………….Page 3
The Museum is Born!………………………………….Page 4
The Ribbon Is Cut! - Museum Opens………………...Page 5
Highlights of Hagerstown’s Aviation Past
Documentary Broadcast on MD Public TV………….Page 5
1916-1920 Giuseppi Bellanca builds the “ CD” and “ CE” biplanes for
the Maryland P ressed Steel Company in the Pope Building located in
south Hagerstown.
The Annual Fly-In & Fairchild Reunion...…………..Page 6
Four Generations Honor Their Aviation Ancestor….Page 8
Finding the Fairchild UC-61C…………………….....Page 10
1921-1925 Lew & Henry Reisner operate an aircraft repair business and
eventually partner with local shoe manufacturer Ammon Kreider to sell
Waco Biplanes.
Saving the “Little Green Shed”……………………...Page 14
The Museum Builds a Float…………………..……...Page 16
1926 The newly formed Kreider-Reisner Aircraft Company designs and
builds the KRA Midget to participate in the 1926 National Air Race in
P hiladelphia.
For Pilots to BeDeveloping Interactive Aviation Ex hibits……...……Page 17
The Last Flying Fairchild C-82………...……………Page 18
1927-1929 Kreider-Reisner develops and produces the C-2, C-4 & C-6
Challenger Biplanes that gain them much acclaim.
What’s in The Museum’s Future?…..………………Page 20
Museum Visitor Information...………………………Page 22
1929 Sherman Fairchild of Fairchild Aircraft Company, Long Island,
NY purchases a majority stock interest in Kreider-Reisner Aircraft
Company of Hagerstown.
Museum Membership/Donations……..……………..Page 23
1930s Fairchild Aircraft Company produces the F22, F24, F45, F46 and
F92 Amphibian.
1931 Richard (Dick) Henson purchases the Hagerstown Airport and
founds Henson Flying Service.
Premier Theater Showing of
“Hagerstown: Remembering
Our Aviation Heritage”
1933 Richard (Dick) Henson becomes Test Pilot for Fairchild Aircraft.
1939-1943 Fairchild develops and produces over 5000 P T19 P rimary
trainers for the US Army and Navy as well as the AT-21 Gunnery
Trainer and UC-61 Utility Cargo Aircraft.
The former Colonial Theater in downtown Hagerstown was
the setting for the premier theater showing on November 6,
2004 of the 80 minute documentary “ Hagerstown: Remembering Our Aviation Heritage”. The theater, which now serves as
home for the Faith Chapel, hosted large viewing audiences during most of the years that aviation was a major contributor to
life in and around Hagerstown. The theater retains much of its
earlier ambiance and was a most appropriate setting for viewing the documentary.
Approximately 600 people, many of them former Fairchild
employees, attended the showings. The theater lobby, which
was filled with local aviation memorabilia, saw many old acquaintanceships renewed and heard many stories o f th e old
days of Hagerstown aviation. A number of those attending expressed their appreciation that their effo rts and contributions
had not been forgotten and that future generations would be
able to look back at Hagerstown’s seventy years of aviation
history.
The producers of the do cumentary were pleased that the
program was so well received by both those who lived the story
and by those who wanted to learn about the story. It was clear
that the Hagerstown community still has considerable interest
in its aviation past.
1942-1948 Fairchild develops and produces over 200 of the first all
metal cargo aircraft specifically designed for the task, the C82 P acket.
1949-1955 Fairchild develops and produces the C-119 Flying Boxcar of
which over 1100 were produced.
1954-1958 Fairchild produces over 300 of the C123 P rovider cargo
aircraft.
1954-1966 Fairchild helps to develop the Fokker designed F-27 Friendship turbo-prop transport and produces over 200.
1962-1983 Richard (Dick) Henson begins the “ Hagerstown Commuter”
which eventually becomes the Allegheny Commuter and P iedmont Regional Airline.
1965 Fairchild purchases Republic Aviation of Farmingdale, L.I., NY.
1973-1983 Fairchild/Republic awarded A-10 Attack Aircraft contract
and produces 713 for the United States Air Force.
1984 Aircraft production ends in Hagerstown.
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Tracey Potter, John Seburn, and
Jack Seburn, along with some
helpers from Hagerstown Aircraft Services, worked many
long hours on repainting ceiling
and walls prior to new carpet
installation.
At the same time facility
renovation was in progress, museum members were selecting
John Seburn paints wall.
arti facts, organizing memorabilia
and
d ev elopi ng
exhibits. Our effo rts were greatly
aided by Cathy
Allen, Director of
the College Park
Aviation Museum,
who not only donated items fo r
exhibits but also
Cathy Allen assembles display panels.
provided excellent advice, gained from h er College Park experience, on museum organization and display. Prior to the museum’s grand opening, Cathy came to Hagerstown and spent a
long day with museum
m emb ers
arran g i n g
an d
completing exhibits.
Thanks also go
to Dave Friedrich
and staff at National Airviews for
p h oto
enl arg ements and mounting. Much of the
museum would not have been possible without Dave’s generous
donation of time , talent and material.
All of this effo rt came together by the evening of July 13,
2005, and not a moment too soon! On the morning of July 14,
the Hagerstown Aviation Museum officially opened its doors to
the public. The museum was born!
The Museum is Born!
The number of people attending the November, 2004 premier
showing of the documentary “ Hagerstown: Remembering Our
Aviation History”, their interest in local aviation topics and the
desire to preserve local aviation history encourag ed members of
the group working to establish a local aviation museum to work
even hard er to make such a museum a reality.
The search for a suitable facility for the museum was continuing when, in February, 2005, museum director John Seburn received
a phone call from Marie
Byers, Director of the
Discovery Station scheduled to open in a few
months in downtown
Hagerstown. Mrs. Byers
asked if the museum
group would be interested in utilizing a large area o f the second
floor to set up a museum display consistent with the Discovery
Station concept. Discovery Station states that one of its primary
goals “is to create a h ands-on center with interactive exhibits on
science, technology, and local history”.
Museum members visited the Discovery Station site, a large
Jack Seburn, Kurtis Meyers and Joe Boyle repair ceiling.
marble and glass fo rmer bank building in downtown Hagerstown, and studied the area o ffered by Mrs. Byers.
Since the 2,000 square foot museum area was available immediately, and since the goals of Discovery Station and the
goals of the Hagerstown Aviation Museum were very similar,
the decision was made to accept Mrs. Byers’ generous offer.
Work began immediately on the museum
area. Mrs. Byers hoped
that the museum would
be progressing su fficiently
by the April
grand opening o f Discovery Station to be included
in the opening activities.
Museum members Joe
Boyle, Kurtis Myers,
Joe Boyle spray paints ceiling.
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ing Our Aviation History” and also the big annual fly-in and Fairchild Reunion hosted by Hagerstown Aircraft Servi ces, Inc.
The Ribbon Is Cut!
Hagerstown Aviation Museum Opens
On July 14, 2005 a grand opening and ribbon cutting ceremony
offi cially launched the new Hagerstown Aviation Museum!
Wielding the grand opening scissors were Allen Clopper, former
Fairchild engineer; Kurtis Mey ers, President of Hagerstown Aviation Museum; Dori Nipps, County Commissioner; Donald Trump,
Mayor o f Hagerstown and Marie Byers o f Discovery Station. Also
in attendance were other local dignitaries, former Fairchild employees, museum members and interested citizens.
Hagerstown Aviation Museum President Kurtis Meyers said,
“The museum’s collection came from dedicated p eople throughout the community who have a strong desire to display memorabilia from Hagerstown’s aviation past. Our county was home to
significant manu facturers including Bellanca, Kreider-Reisner,
and Fairchild. Hagerstown was known fo r making world famous
airplanes, and the new museum is a collection that will help sustain interest in the part that Hag erstown play ed in this industry.
We welcome people to visit the Hagerstown Aviation Museum
and experience the pioneering achievements that for over seventy
years mad e Hag erstown one o f th e nation’s leading centers o f aircraft manu facturing ”.
Sharing the spotlight with the museum opening during this July
week was the broadcast on Maryland Public Television of the
Vintage Video produced documentary “ Hagerstown: Remember5
Documentary Broadcast on MPT
The July 14, 2005, grand opening of the Hagerstown Aviation
Museum coincided with Maryland Public Television’s broadcast
premier o f the documentary, “ Hagerstown: Remembering Our
Aviation Heritage”. The program was shown on Maryland Public
Television on July 12 at 10:00PM and again on July 15 at 11PM.
The documentary was produced by Vintage Video Productions
and the special broadcasts were sponsored by the Richard A.
Henson Foundation, Inc. and the Hagerstown -Washington County
Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Maryland Public Television said in
a news rel ease: “ The unique and untold story of Hagerstown’s aviation
past unfolds in this new documentary
film by Vintage Video Productions. With many never before released images and an extensive collection of rare local film footage, this documentary is sure to pique the interest of Fairchild and
Hagerstown aviation enthusiasts everywh ere!”
Tom Riford, President of the Hagerstown-Washington County
Convention and Visitors Bureau, stated, “We are very pleased to
partner with the Henson Foundation to help bring this positive
story to the television screen. To have this documentary shown on
prime-time TV is a wonderful testament to the hard work of the
movie’s production team who are also behind the new Hagerstown Aviation Museum.” Riford also said that thousands of people will learn about Hagerstown’s aviation history, right before the
week end o f the big annu al Fly-In and Fairchild Reunion set for
July 15-17. “ It’s an exciting event, the ribbon cutting, the movie’s
TV premier and the fly-in, all happening in the same week!”
See page 22 to purchase this documentary
der-Reisner KR-31 biplane, as well as Fairchild and other aircraft on display. The weather improved during the afternoon of
the last day of the fly-in, permitting EAA members to conduct
free flights for young people through their Young Eagles program.
Using a bus provided by Tom Riford, President of the
Hagerstown -Washington County Convention and Visitors Bureau, Kurtis Meyers conduct ed tours of aviation relat ed sites in
and around Hagerstown, including a stop at the new museum
facility in downtown Hagerstown. Aviation enthusiasts commented on how interesting the tours were and local citizens were
surprised that so much history had occurred in and around their
neighborhoods. One tour participant stated th at he had driven by
“that old building many times but had no idea that so much history had occurred there!’
Museum directors are discussing the possibility of placing
descriptive signs at stops along the tour route and developing a
map to make available for sel f-guided tours.
The 2006 Fly-In and Fairchild Reunion and will be scheduled
in late summer or early fall. Go to the museum website at
www.HagerstownAviationMuseum.org for more inform ation.
The Annual Fly-In and Fairchild
Reunion
The seventh annual Hagerstown Aircraft Services/EAA FlyIn and Fairchild Reunion took place in Hagerstown on July 16
and 17, 2005. Hagerstown Aircraft Services, Inc. was host for
the fly-in with the local Exp erimental Aircraft Asso ciation chapter 36 and the Hagerstown Aviation Museum supporting the
event.
Mother Nature did not smile on us that weekend and fog,
clouds and low ceiling prevented the participation o f a number
of aircraft. Some pilots did not want to miss the event so they
drove, rather than flew, to Hagerstown.
Matthew, Andrew and Nicholas Potter check out the KR-31
Volunteers Bill and Betty Rinn greet visitors.
In spite of the weather, participants were busy meeting old
friends, dining at the EAA food-stand , shopping at the vendors’
booths, viewing the documentary “ Hagerstown: Remembering
Our Aviation Heritage” and inspecting the museum’s 1928 Krei-
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Hagerstown Aviation Museum’s 1928 KR-31 Challenger
1940 Fairchild F-24W owned by Frank Gochenauer of Chambersburg, PA
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Four Generations Honor
Their Aviation Ancestor
On August 14, 2005, Stonebraker family members gathered
at the Hagerstown Aviation Museum for a family reunion to
honor their aviation ancestor, Hagerstown native William Paul
Stonebraker. Stonebrak er, an Army Air Corps test pilot during
the World War I era, became test pilot for pl anes designed by
W. Paul Stonebraker (left)with Giuseppi Bellanca. 1919
grand father was featured in the new Hagerstown Aviation Museum. Stonebraker cam e to Hagerstown fo r the museum opening
W. Paul Stonebraker in rear seat of Bellanca CD. 1919
Giuseppi Bellanca and built by Maryland Pressed Steel Co. of Hagerstown.
In 1921, shortly before Stonebraker
planned to end his test pilot career, he
was killed in a plane crash in Ohio.
Grandson W. Paul Stonebraker III,
o f Qu eens to wn, M aryl an d, wh ile
watching the Vintage Video Production
“ Hagerstown: Remembering Our Aviation Heritage” on Maryland Public
Television, learned that his test pilot
and his presence added a real life touch to the museum’s exhibit.
Stonebraker contacted family members and a reunion at the
museum was planned. On August 14 seventeen members o f four
generations of Stonebrakers g athered to honor their ancestor and
learn more about his involvement in early aviation. Members of
the family donated flying goggles, altimeter and other items
used by Stonebraker. These items were placed on display with
his uniform, donated by the College Park Aviation Museum, and
other memorabilia from his aviation career.
W. Paul Stonebraker, III
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Our Georgia Peach
Finding the Fairchild UC-61C
By
Kurtis Meyers
My yearly trip to the American Antique Car Asso ciation (AACA) swap meet held in Hershey, Pennsylvania every
October always gets my blood flowing! Upon the sight o f it I
feel both the joy of living in a country that originally built and
now allows such hordes of industrial junk to be accumulated, as
well as an overall inadequacy in my ability to traverse the acres
upon acres o f them. Although the meet lasts three days, I normally have only one to devote and thus I find mysel f running
through isle after isle scanning only the most obvious and, I’m
sure, missing much in the process. For us junk hounds, the
search for the nugget o f worth beneath the piles of oddly shaped,
rusted, otherwise dejected and for the most part unidentified car
pieces beckons us back year after year, but seldom to any avail.
But, much like this year has been different in many ways, so to
was it different fo r me this year at the swap meet at Hershey.
To call it destiny would perhaps be overdoing it, but whatever
it was that had me look harder at that one particular booth with
its rusted drive shafts, transmission casings and miscellaneous
automotive hoo-ha, I’ll perhaps never know. But what I saw that
day was not the normal and surely nothing that I had seen there
before.
In front o f me stood a rickety, four-legg ed card table that
dated from the early 1950s and look ed as i f it had survived both
the rigors of a well used poker-playing home li fe as well as at
least a decade of exposure to the rain and mud of this central
Pennsylvania swap meet. Standing there precariously in all its
bow-legged glory it held perh aps the greatest treasu res to be had
in this 10’x 15’ booth. Obviously weighted beyond its intended
capacity, it held gears and casings, chrome pieces, car trim,
speedometers and fuel gauges; all the great stuff for the individual who possessed the varied knowledge to know what it was
and where it went. Positioned not so strategically, and camoufl aging itself among the similarly colored rusted pieces of automotive history, stood a 10”x 14” piece o f roughly-torn lightbrown colored corrug ated cardbo ard that read “ child 1939,
$7000”. At first I found mysel f puzzled by this and for a few
seconds testing my skill at automotive trivia, but with no conclusion. Suddenly it clicked! It couldn’t be anything else…it just
had to be! I walked over, moved back the grimy housing-typething, standing upright, so perfectly hiding the left side of the
sign and to my jubilation I was right! The sign, now extracted
from the pile, read, “Fairchild 1939 $7000”.
In an instant my day was both made and ended becaus e for
me, the guy who has been collecting anything “Fairchild” for
fi ft een y ears and trying with others to start a museum for t en,
there was now no thinking o f anything else! Aft er talking for
about fi fteen minutes with Mr. Simmons, whose booth it was, I
found out that the airplane had been sitting in a shed in Georgia
since the middle to late 1950s and it was a model 24. He was not
the owner, but he was trying to sell it for an elderly lady whose
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husband had bought the airplan e. All this stuff and the stories
the lady had told him only added to my excitement and anticipation to find out more. I acquired the phone number o f the
owner’s daughter, who was overseeing the selling of the airplane, and arranged for Mr. Simmons to call in two days to introduce me and to noti fy her o f my interest. I called later that
same day and sh e quickly told me many o f the s ame stories and
history that Mr. Simmons had already relayed to me. With little
more in formation to give, she invited me down to take a look at
the airplane which I was immediately persuaded to do. To look
at an airplane that few people knew about and that had been in
hibernation for n early fi fty y ears in an old shed….well, that just
doesn’t happen anymore…..yeeha!!!
A few weeks later John Seburn, who, I must say, was as
equally excited about the prospect, and I started out on the
twelve hour trip to Oxford, Georgia, just east of Atlanta. As you
can well imagine, by putting two airplane loving dreamers in a
car together for twelve hours, the convers ation was filled with
all kinds of hypothetical possibilities for what the airplane was
going to be and its prospective meaning for the museum. A
lengthy discussion of various restoration possibilities consumed
at least four of the twelve hours and due to lack of inform ation
took us right back to where we had started….not knowing!! Oh
well, twelve hours is a long time for just idle chit-chat, so we
had to talk about something…why not that!
We arrived on Saturday evening and went scouting immediately fo r the place we were to meet Lynn the next day at
2:00pm. The anticipation was of course gnawing on us and our
biggest worry was how we were going to use up those idle hours
in the morning and early afternoon before our sch eduled meeting. We decided to do some sight seeing around the area and
found the n ear-by town o f Covington to be very beauti ful and
restored in the antebellum fashion. The last two hours were the
worst, but they eventually passed and we were finally on our
way to Lynn’s house. We pulled in the drive and found a nice,
large pre-Civil War white house to our left and a rather imposing
looking black and white horse-size Great Dane to our right. Our
hesitation quickly subsided when Lynn walked out of the house
and told us that “Dog” or whatever his name was, was harmless;
although both John and I would eventually find the land mines
he left in the yard quite destructive to footwear.
Lynn led us through a small yard, to a line of brush and low
trees. On the other side o f them was a shed that was about sixty
feet long and thirty feet deep. It was open on one side and had
steel panels on three sides and on the roof. It was packed with
nearly ev erything known to man including piles of old furniture,
engines, machine shop tools, old suitcases filled with papers,
shoe molds and much more….a pack-rats dream! Along the far
wall we caught a glimpse of wh at we had come for; there standing idle for fi fty-years was the 1939 F-24. The wings were off
and the engine had b een tak en out and put on a stand that sat up
close to the back wall. The fuselage was sitting on tires that
hadn’t held air for some time. The nose was pushed back in the
corner with one side of the fuselage pushed up against the wall.
The airplane had been protected from most of the direct elements of nature, but it still had sat through fifty humid Georgia
summers.
At first sight it was not much to behold. The fabric covering
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had rotted and was rolling up like scrolls exposing the wooden
slats that made up the airplane’s structural skeleton. The inside
still had its original seats and there were pieces of the headliner
still attached, but it quickly became obvious that many of the
area’s native varmints called it home. Amazingly, however,
upon closer inspection the wooden structure still looked good
and the metal tubing that made up the frame did not appear to be
overly corrod ed or damag ed. It had surely fallen far from its former glory, but it would be a great project for restoration of wh atever kind! There were signs of the airplane being painted several di fferent colors and on e color instantly got John’s attention.
A military enthusiast from way back, with his very first vehicle
of any kind being a WWII military jeep, John is an expert in
spotting olive drab.
After looking over the airplan e for a good two hours, I began
the process o f negotiation with Lynn. The initial offer was mad e
and Lynn informed me that she need ed to talk it over with her
family and that she would contact me within a week, so John
and I started the arduous twelve hour journey home. We had
come with great expectations and were not disappointed. We left
thinking that it was a rather unusual combination of a 1939 F-24
that had in some way been in the military for a while. Our trip
home was filled with the speculation of the dreamers that we are
and that little airplane in the shed gave us mile after mile o f fan tastic speculative fodder. Arriving home, we began scouring the
museum archives and library for tidbits of in fo rmation. In looking over the photographs o f our trip and upon close examination
of the instrument panel, a friend, Charlie Gallagher, noticed a
rusty metal tag showing the military call number 70862, a number that also doubled as the airplane’s serial number. Finding a
book called “ C Planes”, that covered all the ai rplanes given a
military cargo designation, we opened the book to the page describing the UC-61 and found our baby! Much to our surprise,
the very same serial/call numbers of the airplane we had just
looked at were listed, and it was described as being a 1939 Fairchild 24 with a Ranger engine. The airplane had been impressed
by the U.S. Army Air Force in 1942 and was given the designation UC-61C, the one and only airplane ever to be given that
designation.
Over the next few weeks the process o f negotiation continued
and a price was finally arrived at. A former Fairchild employee
and most generous donor committed to donate the funds for the
airplane’s purchas e. I’m very happy to say that after sixty-six
years the one and only Fairchild UC-61C is coming home to
Hagerstown !!
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Fairchild UC-86 in WWII U.S. Army olive drab color and markings similar to the UC-61C during the war.
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1928 Kreider-Reisner Aircraft advertisment
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Kreider-Reisner to produ ce over 100 Challenger bi-pl anes in the
late 1920’s.
In the “ Little Green Shed” workers cov ered and doped wings,
tails and fuselages o f Kreider-Reisner aircraft. The museum’s
KR-31 was built in this shed.
In the Nick of Time
Saving the “Little Green Shed”
Driving along the 800 block of Pennsylvania Ave. in Hagers town, Maryland and looking across the railroad tracks to the rear
of a vacant lot, one sees a weathered, neglected, decaying little
building. Its roof is rusty, its siding is warped and its doors are
sagging. Buildings in far better shape have come and gone, but, L to R: Richard Hughes, Josh Phillips, Mindy Marsden, Jack Seburn,
fo r some reason, this little shed won’t give up. Is there some rea- Doug Reed, Kurtis Meyers
son this little building has survived?
Richard Hughes o f the Maryland Historic Trust, Josh Phillips
Or is it simply a of Preservation Maryland and Mindy Marsden o f the Washingstroke o f luck that ton County Historical Society realize the importance of this
the shed, out of piece o f Maryland’s industrial heritage and have provided advice
whi ch
g r e w and support for the project. Christopher Marston, a National
Hagerstown’s air- Park Service architect, has done an extensive documentation of
craft manu facturing the building for the Historic American Building Survey. Doug
industry, has with- Reed o f Preserv ation Associates, Inc. is supervising and assiststood the ravages ing in the dismantling of the building.
of time, waiting to
Some of the structure has rotted away but Doug believ es
be rescued?
much can be saved. After examining the building and considerThe shed, which ing the dismantling options, Doug feels we should stabilize and
move sections rather
Views of the Green Shed in the late 1920’s
than taking the building apart a board at a
time. Our goal is to
preserv e as much of
the “ Little Green
Shed” as possible.
Vincent Groh, owner
of the Fairchild factory which replaced
the shed, has donated
space in the factory
building to saftely store the shed until it becomes an exhibit in
measures 16 by 30 feet, is actually two buildings moved to the the Hagerstown Aviation Museum.
The rescue began on a cold, snowy December day when three
site and joined. The 1940 photograph clearly shows the deteriorating con- members of the Hag erstown Aviation Museum and Doug Reed
dition of of Pres erv ation Associates, Inc. began the dismantling of the
the build- Kreider-Reisner “ Little Green Shed”. The first task was to reing sixty- move the large metal sheets cov ering one side o f the building.
fiv e years These sheets were used to close up the side when the add-on
ago. Be- sheds were remov ed many decad es ago. From inside the buildhind
the ing we could see that the sheets contained drawings which ap shed can peared to be patterns. As the sheets came off they beg an to rebe seen the veal another significant event in Hagerstown’s aviation history!
1929 Fair- The story of the “ Little Green Shed ”, its metal panels and the
Condition of the shed around 1940
child factory which replaced the collection of buildings used by treasures in its loft will be continued.
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and his 30 foot trailer on which to construct the float displays.
Since the float was to contain an aircraft and aircraft parts,
Tracey’s expertise and equipment were invaluable.
The experimental homebuilt aircraft designed and built by
Dean Truax, local Experimental Aircraft Association member,
was featured at the front of the float, piloted by Nicholas Potter
and serviced by Matthew Potter.
Depicting the role of women in the history o f local aircraft
manu factu ring were Laura Seburn and Gena Rodriguez, two
“Rosie the Riveters”, constructing an airplane wing. Background
fo r the riveters was a huge photograph of the Fairchild C-82 assembly line. The rear o f the float contained another large photograph showing the initial roll-out of the first Fairchild C-82.
Each side of the float displayed photographs of many of the aircraft built in Hagerstown between 1916 and 1984.
The float brought back memories for some form er “ Rosie the
Riveters” along the parade route as well as garn ering some offers
of volunteer help in the museum effo rt.
The Museum Builds a Float
7:00 PM, Oct. 29, Tracey Potter releas es the brake, steps on
the gas and the Hagerstown Aviation Museum float begins its
journey through the streets of Hagerstown
Several months befo re the local Alsatia Mummers Halloween
parad e, museum members decided to build and enter a float in
the parad e. Since tens of thousands o f people view the parad e,
members felt this would be another good way to get the museum
name and mission before the public.
Tracey Potter, museum board member and owner of Hagerstown Aircraft Services, Inc., offered his truck to pull the float
Matthew and Nicholas Potter
Laura Seburn and Gena Rodriguez
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For Pilots to Be
Developing Interactive Aviation Exhibits
The Hagerstown Aviation Museum shares an impressive
downtown Hagerstown building with Discovery Station at
Hagerstown, Inc. A primary goal of Discovery Station is to create a hands-on center with interactive exhibits on science, technology and local history. In keeping with this goal, the Hagerstown Aviation Museum is developing aviation related hands-on
activities aimed at the young people who visit the museum.
One such interactive activity is a flight simulator which takes
would-be pilots through the real procedu res o f flying an airplane. The simulator, donated through the College Park Aviation
Museum by Mr. Volker Zinser, is a big hit with young aspiring
pilots.
A much anticipated interactive exhibit is the museum’s
Cessna 150. Tracey Potter, museum member and President of
Hagerstown Aircraft servi ces, Inc., donated a Cessna 150 air-
been covered or removed. The young pilots will take their turns
at working the controls, checking the instruments and tuning the
radio while listening to information and instructions from airport
flight controllers.
The complete Cessna aircraft, minus its tail because of space
limitations, will be positioned in front o f a large aerial view o f
the Hagerstown Regional Airport.
Getting the completed Cessna into the museum will require
considerabl e effort since there are no doors large enough to accommodate the airpl ane. Our plan is to remove the wings and
landing gear and bring the fusel age through a larg e second floo r
window. If we measured everything correctly, and i f Lady Lu ck
smiles on us, we’ll get the Cessna into the museum without
scratching the paint or damaging the window.
To keep info rmed on this special project you are invited to
become a museum member. See page 23 for details.
Tracey Potter demonstrates knobs and buttons for children to use.
craft and is providing the labor and materials to convert it to a
museum ready, child friendly interactive exhibit. The plane was
partially disassembled and then reassembled making sure that all
aspects of the plane would be safe for young people to explore.
The cabin is carpeted and any sharp or protruding edges have
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Fairchild C-82 information sheet. 1945
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The Last Flying
Fairchild C-82 “Packet” Flying Boxcar
1945 Fairchild C-82A “Packet” N9701F
Serial Number: 10184
USAF Serial number 45-57814
Above: After military service, this C-82A was used by TWA to
fly aircraft engines to airports around the world to maintain its
fleet . The Fairchild J44 jet engine installed on this C-82 gave
TWA the distinction of being the first U.S. airline to operate a
jet powered aircraft. It was owned by TWA from 1956 to 1972.
Below: C-82A N9701F has been restored and preserved by Hawkins & Powers aviation of Grey Bull, WY. It is now available and
the Hagerstown Aviation Museum is seeking your financial assistance to acquire this aircraft and return it to Hagerstown, MD for
display. Contact the museum to make a donation.
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What’s in the Museum’s Future?
The Hagerstown Aviation Museum’s goal of pres erving local
aviation history is well under way. The downtown Hagerstown
facility contains not only exhibits that chronicle the development
of Hag erstown aviation but also serves as the collection site for
research materials and local aviation memorabilia. While museum members continue to develop exhibits, conduct research
and collect memorabilia, they are also planning to identify and
document aviation sites in and around Hagerstown. The museum
will seek funding to develop and install interpretive signs at
these sites and to design and print a self-guided tour map of the
sites.
The museum is actively involved in locating aircraft, with the
goal of acquiring at least one aircraft repres entative of each major development in local aviation history. This ongoing task will
require much time, effo rt, funding and volunteer assistance.
Fairchild UC-61C will look like this when restored.
is also asking for your donations of PT-19 parts that can be used
to assemble a static display PT-19. Some parts have already been
offered and several period vehicles are availabl e to enhance a
WWII era display. If you know that you can donate an aircraft,
parts or funds, contact the museum.
Original Bellanca CE of 1918
Fairchild PT-19
Members of the museum are in contact with the owner of a
Bellanca CE replica. The building of the plane was a l abor o f
love, and the story of its construction adds immensely to the significance of the plane.
And now to the BIG planes! The museum is currently in contact
with owners of Fairchild’s largest aircraft: the C-82, C-119,
The museum’s 1928 KR-31 and restorer Charlie Shue.
The museum owns a restored 1928 Kreider-Reisner Model
31. This aircraft was don ated by Dick Henson, Hagerstown
aviation pioneer, and Charles Shue, former own er and restorer o f
the aircraft.
A former Fairchild employee donated a 1939 Fairchild F-24.
This aircraft was impress ed by the US Army Air Corps in 1942,
militarized and given the military designation UC-61C. The museum plans to restore this aircraft to its military configuration
and will be looking for volunteers to assist.
The museum is seeking the donation of a Fairchild PT-19 and
The last flying Fairchild C-82 Packet is available.
C-123, and the F-27. While a few of thes e planes are still flying,
most are not airworthy. An A-10 Thunderbolt II is available
when the museum has a facility large enough to house it.
Donated aircraft are, of course, a major boost to the effort,
but considerable cost is still involved in transporting the planes
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The Vision for the Museum’s Outdoor
Static Display Aircraft Park
Flying Fairchild C-119 used in the new “The Flight of the Phoenix”
movie is available.
Fairchild C-119 “Flying Boxcar” outdoor static display.
Fairchild C-123 is available.
Fairchild C-123 “Provider” outdoor walk-through static display.
Fairchild Republic A10
to Hagerstown. The museum’s goal is to have one of each o f
these aircraft on display at the Hagerstown Regional Airport.
Fairchild C-82 “Packet” outdoor static display.
This is a huge undertaking, but the story of Hagerstown’s
aviation heritage is not complete without these aircraft. These
aircraft will be permanent monuments to the thousands of men
and women who designed, built, flew and maintained them.
With your assistance the museum can bring these aircraft home
to Hagerstown to be p reserved fo r gen erations to come! Contact
the museum for more information on how you can help make
this goal a reality.
Fairchild F27
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Contact Information:
Hours of Operation
Museum Display at Discovery Station:
Hagerstown Aviation Museum
101 West Washington St
Hagerstown MD 21740
Discovery Station phone: 301-790-0076
Tuesday - S aturday
10:00am - 4:00pm
Sunday
1:00pm - 4:00pm (except July and August)
Closed: Mondays, Sundays during July and August, Thanksgiving,
Christmas, New Year's Day, Easter, Mother's Day, Father's Day, and
Independ ence Day.
Mailing address:
Hagerstown Aviation Museum, Inc.
14235 Oak Springs Rd
Hagerstown MD 21742
Phone: 301-733-8717 please leave
message if no answer
Fax: 717-597-1958
Website:
www. Hage rstownAviationMuseum.org
Admission
Individuals
Children under 2 • Free
Ages 2-17 • $6.00
Adults • $7.00
Seniors (55 and over) and Military • $5.00
Visa, Mastercard, Discover Card accepted.
Group Tours (minimum 10)
School Children and Youth group members,
17 and under (each ) • $2.00
Teachers and youth group leaders, no charge.
Adult Group (each) • $4.00
Discovery Station
at Hagerstown, Inc.
101 West Washington Street
Hagerstown, MD 21740
For further information
Phone: 301-790-0076
Toll Free: 877-790-0076
Fax: 301-790-0045
Your admission to Discovery Station contributes to the operating
expens es of the facility which helps provide a space for the Hagerstown Aviation Museum display.
DVD 3 disk set. The documentary, a DVD collection of
original Fairchild films and a
Photo CD. $29.95
Companion book to the documentary. 164 pages. $21.95
To order: Call 717-597-9695 or order online at www.vintagevideo.com
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Collectors Cap,
Fairchild Aircraft logo.
$10.00
(A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the museum)
The Museum Needs Your Help!
DONATIONS
VOLUNTEERS
You are invited to become a supporter o f th e Hagerstown
Aviation Museum, an IRS 501(c)(3) tax ex empt, non-pro fit organization, by making a finan cial donation to the museum. Since
the museum is staffed entirely by volunteers, your donation directly supports the operation and continuing activities o f the museum. Your finan cial donation will contribute to the preservation
of Hag erstown’s aviation heritage and ensure that future generations will learn of the men and women who created that
heritage.
A small group of dedicated volunteers has achiev ed much in
the past year and will continue its efforts in the future. As the
museum grows and activities expand, the museum will need to
increas e its volunteer staff. Whether you can donate an hour a
week or can completely restore an antique aircraft, no contribution of time and effo rt is too small. It is the sum total of these
contributions that will permit the museum to achieve its goals.
Check the box on the membership form to receive volunteer info rmation.
Museum Membership!
Support the Hagerstown Aviation Museum by becoming a member!
Add your name to the membership list and gain the satisfaction of knowing that your
commitment and support is helping to preserve Hagerstown’s aviation heritage.
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - cut here or make a copy of this page, fill out form and mail - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
Hagerstown Aviation Museum Membership Form
Name:______________________ Company:_____________________
Street:______________________
City:_________________________ State:_____ Zip:________
Phone:___________________ Email:___________________________
Membership Levels
My interest in Hagerstown’s aviation history is:
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
_________________________________________
Please send me information on becoming a
museum volunteer.
___
Student
$15.00 (per year)
___
Individual
$30.00 (per year)
___
Contributing
$50.00 (per year)
___
Supporting
$100.00 (per year)
___
Patron
$200.00 (per year)
___
Corporate
$500.00 (per year)
___
Lifetime
$1000.00 (lifetime)
Request “The New Pegasus” for a friend:
Name___________________________________
Street___________________________________
City__________________ State___Zip________
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Make Check Payable to:
HAGERSTOWN AVIATION MUSEUM
14235 Oak Springs Rd
Hagerstown MD 21742
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