Spring 2007 - Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum

MARYLAND'S
l
--·-
.....••
...... .
MARTIN MARS
Bring her home.
The Free State in
Price $2.00
Aviation and Space
The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum Newsletter
Spring 2007
Effort to Bring Home the Martin Mars Continues
By John Tipton
0
ne of the Mu74 7 airliners, and a twoseum's dreams
story hull 120 feet long,
has been to
the Mars is an imposing
someday
acwgiant" of a plane. As a
quire one of the prized
seaplane the Mars was
second in size only to its
Martin Mars seaplanes,
contemporary seaplane,
see the aircraft fly back
Howard Hughes' "Spruce
home and land on the
Goose," which never enChesapeake Bay once
tered production. The
more. and then taxi into
Martin Mars is also an
Middle River, up to the old
One or the two Martin Mars on Sproat lake in Port Albemi, British Columbia
example of an innovative
Martin seaplane ramp
conversion to a "water bomber"
where the planes were launched in
Historical Significance
the 1940s. Now, that dream is becoming a possible reality with the
Community Significance
Obtaining a Mars will be a
Museum's continuing effort to obtain
major acquisition for the Museum.
one of the historic Martin flying
The aircraft remains a local
Only two Martin Mars remain in the
boats.
icon; its name, Mars, was the inspiworld and the aircraft is among hisration behind the naming of the Mars
tory's most intriguing aircraft. As the
In December of 2006, the
supermarket chain, Mars Estates,
successor to Martin's famous China
Museum announced it would pursue
Mars Estates elementary school, and
Clipper, the Mars was another step
the acquisition of one of the two Marother local entities in Baltimore
in the evolution of worldwide air
tin Mars seaplanes from TimberWest
travel.
Forest Corporation in British Colum(Ccmi/JIII('tl tm pag<' JJ
bia, Canada, where the aircraft have
The Mars is the largest seabeen serving as fire-fighting water
plane in history to enter production
bombers.
In This Issue
and is the largest seaplane to serve
the military. It is the biggest plane
There are several factors
Martin Mars Effort
ever built in Maryland, and to this
that make the acquisition of a Mars a
2
Mars Status
day, the Mars remains one of the
very attractive opportunity for the
Mars Publicity
3
biggest aircraft ever built. The Mars
community, Baltimore County, and
4
Time Capsule
also the largest surviving World
is
the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Avia6
Hangar Talk
War II cargo plane. With a 200 foot
tion Museum:
7
Speaker Program Schedule
wingspan , longer than most Boeing
The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum , Inc. P.O. Box 5024, Middle River MD 21220 (410) 682-6122
www.marylandaviationmuseum.org
2
Martin Mars Acquisition Status
By Gil Pascal, Chairman
imberWest made the surprise announcement on November 10 that they were
selling their Flying Tankers
operation , including the two Martin
Mars flying boats they had been using for almost fifty years as water
bombers to suppress forest fires. We
learned of the sale within 24 hours of
their press release and began evaluating our position and developing a
bid strategy. With the sale process
still underway as this newsletter
goes to print, we are constrained in
what we can say due to TimberWest's requested limits on bid publicity and our own concerns about
providing information to competitor
bidders. While honoring these constraints, here is an overview of the
effort to date: Once the outcome is
known, win or lose, we will be able to
provide details and recognize all
those who have contributed in so
many ways. TimberWest has indicated they have talked to about 20
interested purchasers and the outcome remains unknown.
T
The Hawaii Mars sits on land awaiting
maintenance and repairs
By mid-December. about a
month after TimberWest's press release and immediately upon their
initial designation of qualified bidders
and availability of the information
package that provided the sale arrangements, the Museum launched
a publicity campaign and a grassroots fundraising effort that began
with Museum members and expanded into the larger community.
During the month-long wait, the Museum had begun putting together a
team with the required expertise,
including the engineering, legal, air-
craft,
publicity,
financial ,
business, and other
skills
needed.
Simultaneous ly,
the Museum was
building endorsements and offers
of in-kind support
Baltimore
from
County, the Lockheed Martin Corporation, the State
of Maryland, and
statewide and local business and
community organizations.
Museum team members prepare to 1nspect the Philippme Mars on a
recent trip to Bntlsh Columbia
Once we could go public in
mid-December, we received an outpouring of support from the media,
both local and national, that reinforced firm community backing for an
effort to acquire one of the two Mars
aircraft as a heritage monument,
iconic landmark, and educational
resource. We received positive coverage in all the local newspapers,
the Baltimore Sun, the Washington
Post, and the New York Times as
well as national and local Canadian
papers. We have been on TV/cable,
WBAL radio public service announcements, CBC (the nationwide
Canadian Broadcasting Company)
and also received coverage on major
Internet news outlets and websites.
The grassroots fundraising
was also immediately successful and
so far has resulted in individual donations ranging from $5.00 to
$10,000, including the recent pledge
of $10,000 and other support from
the Marine Trades Association of
Baltimore County. Through Museum
efforts and the continuing publicity,
the community response continues
to grow. The Museum web site now
has an online payment provision so
donors can contribute electronically.
We have also received many donations and offers of historical material
and personal stories on the Martin
Mars and other subjects. The very
strong level of support demonstrated
by the community allowed us to then
go to major donors to raise additional
funds.
As part of our bid strategy,
we have teamed with the British Columbia Aviation Council, headquartered in Vancouver, Canada. One of
the oldest and largest Canadian
aviation organizations, our affiliation
with this non-profit should strengthen
the bids of both organizations. The
goals of both organizations closely
align - we both want to see the aircraft immediately retired and exhibited at their heritage communities.
The Canadian's ingenuity and resources are chiefly responsible for
the Mars aircraft remaining airworthy
and in such remarkable condition
over the years.
We have made the shortlist
of bidders and expect the sale process to continue for another month or
two. Both the grassroots and major
donor fundraising efforts continue as
we close in on our financial goals for
the acquisition of a Martin Mars, its
flight home to Middle River, and long
term care. We are carefully tracking
all donations to ensure funds are
properly disbursed regardless of the
outcome. For those who have not yet
contributed, please consider doing
so. We still need funds, in-kind support, volunteers, and historical items
including oral histories.
3
Mars Fundraising Puts Museum in the
Public Eye
he
Martin
Mars
fundraising campaign
has
brought much attention to the Museum
and has generated
the most publicity the
Museum has had to
date. Shortly after the
announcement went
out in mid December
Museum member Johnny Hutchison on Fox 45's morning show
that the Museum
would be working to
including, WJZ TV news. the ~ox 45
acquire a Martin Mars. the phones
morning show, and Balt1more
started ringing, the e-mails came
County's Comcast cable TV show.
pouring in, and the media and press
Alan Walden of WBAL radio rebegan to cover the story from every
corded PSA announcements about
the Mars, which have been running
angle.
on the station.
The campaign has turned
In Canada, where the Martin
into a real grassroots effort in the
local community and beyond. The
Mars airplanes are based, the Canafinancial support and goodwill from
dian press has been reporting on the
the membership, friends, locals, and
story constantly. The Museum has
other Mars fans has been fantastic.
fielded calls and inquiries from many
Canadian newspaper and television
outlets. Stories have run in papers
and on TV stations all over the
Northwest of the U.S. and up into
Bntish Columbia where the aircraft
are located. Some of these include:
The Seattle Post lntelligencer, The
Tri City Herald and Newschanne~ 8
in Washington State, the Oregoman
in Oregon, the Chronicle Herald, the
Province the Westcoaster. and the
CBC net~ork, in Canada. Many aviation publications and web site~ have
Stan Piet in a WJZ Channel13 interview
also picked up the Mars story mc~ud­
ing: Wings and Airpower Magaztne,
Aero News Network, AOPA, AV web,
Donations and well-wishes have
come from all over the country and
and AVsig. In addition, the campaign
has been all over the internet news
even from around the world.
services.
All of the local papers have
To read and view some of
covered the story including the Baltithe Mars press samples, go to the
more Sun, Baltimore Examiner. The
Museum web site's Mars Press links
Jeffersonian. and The Daily Record,
and Washington Post. The New York
page at:
Times ran a story on the effort in
www.marylandaviationmuseum.org/
January, which really helped get the
mars/presslinks.html.
word out nationally.
T
Museum members Johnny
Hutchison. Andy Serrell, and Stan
Piet have been interviewed on several local television news programs.
Mars Effort (cont.)
(CtJIIIIIIIII!tl/rr>m pagl! I)
County. Having a Martin Mars on
display in Middle River would be a
tribute to the workers of the Glenn L.
Martin Company and the community
where the planes were built, and it
would be a monument to the area's
aviation heritage.
Economic Significance
With the acquisition of the
Martin Mars, the Museum would instantly see its collection become a
major east coast attractio~ for aviation and history enthus1asts, and
tourists from around the country. The
aircraft would insert more excitement
into an already energized renaissance effort in Middle River and
eastern Baltimore County. The acquisition of a Mars would be a major
asset in the Museum's plans for future expansion. and its ongoing education center programs .
Stan Piet, the Museum's
Archive Director, speaking at the
February Museum speaker mee!i~g .
gave his thoughts on what acqu1nng
a Mars could mean to the community: wultimately, bringing home a
Mars will be an economic development coup for this area. Middle Riv~r
will be known world-wide as a destination for this historic aircraft - and
look at the numerous ways people
can get here: by air. rail, car, and
water. We hope it will become a
situation that will put our Museum.
and our area on the world map. The
possibilities are immense and we're
just beginning to realize the potentials." The Museum hopes to display
the Mars as the centerpiece of its
aircraft collection and anticipates the
seaplane being a major Museum.
Middle River, and Baltimore County
attraction. The ultimate goal is to
have the Mars on display indoors
with other Museum aircraft in a
brand new Museum building on or
adjacent to Martin State Airport in
Middle River, Maryland.
(Jack Breihan contributed to article)
4
TIME CAPSULE -
Martin Mars
By AI LaPorte
the XPB2M-1 will be the first airplane
at the Glenn L. Marlin Company factories, came about on her beaching
to carry a motorboat in its life saving
gear and headed down the concrete
equipment. This tender is a col/apsiramp toward Middle River.
But halfway to the water the air
queen stopped reluctantly and sidled
into a vast interior- the new Marlin
Navy assembly building-where for
the next few weeks attendants will
prepare her for her debut.
At the same time, the Navy relaxed a bit its strict guardianship of
facts and figures. It is learned, for
The JRM-1 "Hawaii Mars· soars above
example, that the flying battleship
San Francisco Bay
will carry a normal crew of eleven
men housed in her great hull, which
ble craft fitted with an outboard mois larger than many seagoing yachts,
tor and, in addition to serving as a
not counting the 200-foot, 20,000lifeboat, would be useful where the
pound wings. Her hull, it was
ship is basing in distant waters. In
learned, will draw 5 feet of water and
addition to this boat, there are sevit will take around a tank car-load of
eral rubber lifeboats which can be
gasoline to send the ship over her
inflated and rowed by the crew.
full range, which is easily transatlanThe largest propellers ever to be
tic and return without stop.
fitted to an airplane will draw the air
What the bomb load will be is, of
vessel through the skies. The four
course, a strict Navy secret, but it is
three-bladed airscrews, hitched to
admitted that the ship will have an
the 8,000 mechanical horses of the
extremely high percentage of useful
four Wright Duplex Cyclone engines,
load. Facts about defensive fire
have a diameter of 17 feet 6 inches
power are concealed with equal
each. It would take three tall men,
care, but it is admitted that the
standing on each other's heads to
XPB2M-1 will have extraordinarily
span one of the great circles.
heavy defenses. It was long ago reAlthough the wing-tip floats,
garded by the Navy and by Marlin
which will keep the 2-00-foot pinions
as
engineers
level when taxiing,
essential that
even on rough wasuch a trementer, were not affixed
dous stake in
today when the
lives and strikcolossus made her
ing power and
first
appearance,
'~I
patrol abilities
they are on hand
be guarded to
and ready for inthe limit against
stallation. Each of
The "Hawaii Mars" at rest on Sproat Lake.
who
pursuers
these floats is as
Vancouver Island, B.C between
might attack it.
large as a motorfire-fighting missions.
While the flying
boat, although they
ship is a tactical weapon, it is estiwill appear as tiny appendages when
mated that, were it to be used as a
the ship is finished.
troop transporl, it could carry 150
Marlin engineers, scratching on
armed men, fully equipped, without
pads, evolved some interesting comtoo great crowding.
parisons which accentuate the size
Also it was revealed that the inteof the ship. For example, if the wings
rior of the hull alone contains 16,665
were stood verlically on one tip, the
square feet-the equivalent of a 16other tip would reach as high as a
room mansion. In other terms the,
twenty story building. Standing level
hull contains as much space as eight
on its keel the tail stands between
railroad box cars.
three and four stories in height.
An interesting revelation is that
(Cn/1/mued t)ll page 5)
0
n August 22, 1940 Glenn
L. Martin's vision for a flying battleship began to
take form with the laying
of the keel for what would become
the Martin model 170 (XPB2M-1 )
Mars. Glenn L. himself drove the first
ceremonial rivet. Almost one and a
half years later the first of the Mars
aircraft was launched in a ceremony
much like that accorded a real battleship, including the traditional champagne bottle. The event was the first
Navy sponsorship of the launching of
a flying vessel.
The XPB2M-1 Martin Mars afloat in her home
waters of the Chesapeake Bay
As flight testing progressed it
soon became apparent that the flying
battleship role might not be appropriate for this large and relatively slow
aircraft. Recognizing its vulnerability
to faster and more maneuverable
fighter aircraft, Martin saw the Mars'
true potential to lie in its payload capacity and long range and adapted it
to serve as a troop and cargo carrier.
One of the earliest press
releases issued by the Glenn L. Martin Company relative to the Mars and
taken from the Museum's archive
collection is presented below. It reflects the company's pride in its accomplishment and is presented in
the writing style of the times.
"Baltimore, Md., September 27,
1941-The world's largest flying boat
got her first taste of one of her elements today-the outer air. With a
new coat of silver paint, her mighty
wings gleaming yellow at the edges,
the Navy's XPB2M-1 slid sideways
through the largest door in the world
---
5
NASA Astronaut and Baltimore County Native
Robert Curbeam Visits the Museum
By John Tipton
he Museum hosted a special reception for NASA Astronaut and Baltimore
County native, Robert Curbeam , on February 13. Baltimore
County arranged the visit as part of a
welcome home celebration for Captain C~rbe~m who recently returned
from h1s th1rd Space Shuttle mission.
Robert Curbeam grew up in Turner
Station in Eastern Baltimore County
and also graduated from Woodlawn
High School in Baltimore County.
T
Captain Robert Curbeam addresses crowd
(
Baltimore County Executive
Jim S~ith was on hand to present
<?aptam Curbeam with a special certificate acknowledging his many accomplishments, and County Councilman, Joe Bartenfelder, announced
the day was officially recognized as
Robert L. Curbeam, Jr. day in Baltimore County.
Museum Archive director
Stan ~iet, kick~d off the ceremony
by noting the historical tie-in to the
day's event. Beginning after World
War II, The Glenn L. Martin Compa~y built the U.S. Navy's first highaltitude sounding rocket - The Viking, and later in the 1950s developed the country's first three-stage
orbital rocket. the Vanguard, which
became the starting point for the Sat-
Robert Curbeam. County Executive
Jim Sm1th. and Stan P1et
urn Moon rocket program. Martin
also developed a man-rated version
of their Titan II - heavy lift ballistic
missile - that would prove so highly
successful to the success of the
Gemini program in the mid 1960s.
Martin engineers were also responsible !or pioneering and perfecting the
earl~est hypersonic and lifting body
des1gns that served as the forerunner of the Space Shuttle launch syst~m of today. Furthering those traditions, the now Lockheed Martin Corporation, ~ntinues this strong involvement 1n aerospace, and is now
slated to develop Orion, the next
generation of manned spacecraft
programs.
The _museur:n had on display
a couple of mterestmg artifacts from
the earlier days of Martin's aerospace projects - a company manufactured model of the ntan-Gemini
launch stack, and a photo of the
Company's Lunar Module simulator
test cell, which was signed by many
of the original Mercury and Gemini
Astronauts. including: John Glenn
Alan Shepherd, and Frank Borman. '
Captain Curbeam is a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, and
attended the Navy Fighter Weapons
School (Topgun). He is a veteran of
three space flights, STS-85 Discovery in 1997, STS-98 Atlantis in 2001
and STS-116 Discovery in 2006. H~
currently holds the record number of
four EVA spacewalks; the most ever
performed by an astronaut on a single space shuttle mission. The record came during the recent STS116 mission.
(Stan Piet contributed to article)
TIME CAPSULE
Although no views are permitted
?f the interior--all doors and openmgs except portholes being covered-Martin officials say the tre'!'endous job of installation and wirmg and plumbing and equipment is
far advanced. From now on the final
assembly operations will go forward.
Then there will be a considerable
operatio~ , of_ calibrating the flying
battle~htp s 1~struments-easily the
most tmpresstve array ever installed
in an airplane. The radios, hydraulic
systems, auxiliary power plants all
must be brought to final perfection.
Although the XPB2M-1 is expected to fly in a few weeks Martin
officials would make no foredast of a
definite date."
Not even Glenn L. Martin
could have imagined the incredible
service life span the Mars aircraft
would have following its initial flight.
The original XPB2M-1 was a one
only configuration and led to the
JRM series of which a total of 6 were
built. During the latter stages of
World War II the Mars served in its
~ole as a personnel and cargo carrier
1n th? Pacific theatre. In the early
19~0 s the Mars once again served
dunng the Korean conflict. In 1956
t~e Navy retired its 4 remaining Mars
a1rcraft and placed them in storage.
Purchased by a scrap dealer
in 1959. they were saved from destruction by British Columbia based
Forest Industries Flying Tankers and
over the next few years the aircraft
~ere ~nverted to perform fire fightIng duties. Two of the four aircraft
were lost during their service as fire
fighting water bombers and today
only two of the W
Mighty Mars· aircraft
remain. These two surviving planes
have been meticulously maintained
by their Canadian owners since their
acquisition in 1959 and remain in
flight worthy condition to this day
Since the launch of the first Mars 6S
years ago, this great aircraft has
served in wartime as well as peacetime, and reflects on the proud heritage of the Glenn L. Martin Company.
6
HANGAR TALK
A Word From Johnny Hutchison
- Grumman Albatross
Seaplane Pilot
"I'm a Grumman Albatross
pilot, as a matter of fact my brother
and I own an Albatross. I always
thought our plane was big, but, as of
a few days ago, my perspective has
been changed.
he Museum extends a big
thank you to Martin Boulevard Elementary and Victory
Villa Elementary, and their
principals, for promoting a letter writing campaign in their schools
for support of the Mars acquisition.
T
We truly appreciate their support to
Grumman Albatross at last year's Festival
bring the Mars home!
Baltimore County Waterfront
Festival -Saturday, May 12, 2007
I am fortunate enough to be
a member of the Glenn L. Martin
Maryland Aviation Museum, and a
core member of the team that is in
the process of bringing back to Middle River one of the two remaining
Mars aircraft. A few days ago I had
my first look at these enormous aircraft. If you've attended the Waterfront Festival the past two years you
would have seen our Albatross riding
at anchor in Dark Head Cove.
Flying High Summer Wednesdays
With these freezing temperatures
this winter, it's never too early to
think about the summer heat and
events. On the second Wednesdays
of the summer months, July 11 and
August 8, activities will again be offered for children. Stay tuned for further details. If you enjoy working with
children and would like to volunteer on these Wednesdays, please
contact Debi Wynn at the Museum.
Astronaut Robert Curbeam Visit
The Museum would like to
thank Baltimore County and Martin
State Airport for their respective
roles in arranging and hosting NASA
Astronaut Robert Curbeam's recent
visit.
The Baltimore County Waterfront Festival will be held again
this year. The date is Saturday, May
12, 2007. Many of the same attractions will be included. The Museum
will have aviation exhibits, activities,
and seaplane fly-ins. The location
will be the same, on the Lockheed
Martin property along Dark Head
Cove across from Martin State Airport, and at Strawberry Point on the
airport grounds. Baltimore County is
adding a site to this year's festival.
The County's new park in Wilson
Point, off of Beech drive and along
Dark Head Cove, will be a part of
this year's event.
Some of the Highlights will Include:
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Astronaut Robert Curbeam with AI Pollard, the
Director of Martin State Airport
Seaplanes
Aviation Exhibits
Plane Rides
Marine Trades Boat Show
Boat Docking Contest
Live Entertainment
Kid's Activities
Variety of Food Vendors
Picnic Areas
Water Taxi Rides
Free Parking and Shuttles
Johnny Hutchison and Bill Jones of Baltimore
County Economic Development. sit at the
controls of the Martin Mars on a recent trip to
Port Albern! in British Columbia
Picture this if you will: The
Mars has twice the wingspan of the
Albatross (longer than a Boeing 747
jumbo jet), the tail is 48 feet in the air
and the weight is five times greater
than the Albatross. It sports four engines and each engine is twice the
size of the Albatross's two engines.
The Mars is the largest flying boat to
have gone into production and you
may take my word for it, it is impressive!"
Museum members on the huge wings of the
Hawaii Mars during a previous visit.
7
Upcoming
Speaker Program Schedule
Spring 2007
March 5: Stan Piet, author and historian, will give a lavishly illustrated talk featuring earty color photography from U.S. Army Air Force
photographers who took personal photos while based o utside the US during WWII. Mr. Piet is one of the founders, and currently the
archivist, of the Museum and always provides superb photography along with interesting historical insight.
April 2: Carol Nickisher, will talk about her book, Riding the Reef, a Pan American Adventure, based on her father's adventures
building South Pacific seaplane bases for Pan American Airways in the 1930s. T he story includes his involvement with Martin's M-130
Chma Clipper, a nice complement to the Museum's recently acqutred Clipper exhibit built by Disney.
May 7: Roger D. Launius, chair of the Division of Space H1story at the Smithsonian Institution's National Nr and Space Museum in
Washington, D.C. - will present "Perspectives on the Past, Present , and Future of Human Spaceflight". His presentation expbres the
hiStory of spaceflight during the past fifty years and offers oomments on the compelling reasons for traveling into space and the core challenges
for future explorcition. Between 1990 and 2002, he served as chief historian of NASA He has written or edited more than twenty books on aerospace history and is frequently consulted for his views on space issues by the national media.
The Museum Speaker Programs are held on the first Monday of every month (except holidays). In case of Inclement weather the program
will be cancelled If Lockheed Martin or the Baltimore County schools are closed. For further Information contact the Museum at 410-6826122 or go to the Museum's web site: www.marylandavlatlonmuseum.org.
Speaker programs begin at 7 pm. In the Lockheed Martin auditorium at 2323 Eastern Boulevard (Route 150), Middle River, MD adjacent to
the Martin State Airport. The public Is welcome to this free event. A photo 10 Is required of all att.endees. Children must be escorted by an
adult with a photo 10.
Help Support the Museum with
your DONATIONS:
In support of our expanding operation the Museum seeks donations of
materials and equipment. Special
needs exist in the following areas:
" Material handling equipment (Fork
lifts. pallet jacks, dollies, carts}
" Metal working equipment (Lathes,
milling machines, shears, brakes,
etc}
* Wood working equipment (Saws,
planers, jointers, drill presses, sanders, etc}
* Electric/air powered and manual
hand tools
* Cleaning equipment (floor sweepers, shop vacuum cleaners)
Museum Supporters
With the start of 2007, the Museum is
currently In the middle of the bidding
process on the Martin Mars.
We have received major organizational
and individual donations for the Mars
project. The Museum won't publicly disclose any Information at this time due to
the bidding status, but will acknowledge
all contributors as soon as the process is
complete.
Thank you for your
strong
support!
Send Ideas and E-Mail
addresses to the
Museum:
By E-Mail:
[email protected]
By Mail; Glenn L. Martin
Maryland Aviation Museum
P.O.Box 5024
Baltimore, MD.
21220
By Phone: 410 682-6122
Fax: 410 682-8699
8
Former Mars Navy Pilot Helps the
Museum's Mars Acquisition Team
Editor/Layout: John Tipton
Editorial contributors: AI LaPorte,
Gil Pascal
Photography Contributors:
Museum Archives, Stan Piet,
John Tipton, Gil Pascal,
Johnny Hutchison. WJZ TV,
WBFF TV
ndy Serrell, an 83 year old
former U.S. Navy seaplane
pilot, has been a great help
to the Museum's Martin
Mars project. Andy has been doing
TV and newspaper interviews for the
Museum, and is also lending his
technical expertise to the effort.
A
the end of the Korean War.
Mars logo: Brian Dunn
Glenn L. Martin
Maryland Aviation Museum
P.O Box 5024
Middle River, MD 21220
Phone: {41 0) 682-61 22
Fax: (410) 682-8699
Send Address changes
and comments to:
[email protected]
·---
Andy Serrell In a Mars TV Interview
As a U.S. Navy pilot, Andy
flew the Mars on over 120 Pacific
runs from 1953 to 1956. In the fall of
1956, Andy flew the last scheduled
flight of a Martin Mars seaplane. He
piloted the California-to-Hawaii trip at
ozz~z
Andy says that his relationship with the Mars was, M
Love at first
sight...lt was such a magnificent bird
in all respects ...a delight to fly." Andy
would love nothing better than to see
the Mars come home. Mit's about returning her home to where she belongs and putting that bird back
down in Middle River," he says. He
last flew the Mars in 1989 on a visit
to Sproat Lake. He dreams of one
more chance to pilot her. "I'd love to
come home in it," he says.
ow 'JaA!~ a1PP!W ·~zos xoa ·o·d
wnasnw uone!A'f pue1,t,ew
u,..,ew ., uua1~ a41 L...N•-ciiill