"Heroes of the Sky"

If your frequent, or infrequent, flying takes you to Dearborn, Michigan you can find out how heavier-than-air flying machines got off the ground at Henry Ford Museum’s new exhibit celebrating the centennial of powered flight. "Heroes of the Sky" opened to the public on Sept. 18, 2003.

Fifteen planes soar, dive and taxi across theatrical vignettes that, along with colorful labels, graphics and hands-on activities, bring these formerly inanimate objects to life. As curator Bob Casey puts it, the exhibit answers the question: "How do you take something really neat--the airplane--and turn it into something sustainable, practical and popular?"

"Heroes of the Sky" focuses on the first 40 years of flight, telling the story of the Wright Brothers’ first flight, followed by sections focusing on aviation’s early inventors, entrepreneurs, barnstormers, explorers and record breakers.

All this with only 15 planes? Yes, but not just any 15. How about the first practical helicopter in the United States? It was the 1939 Vought-Sikorsky flown to the museum in 1943 and presented to Henry Ford by Igor Sikorsky himself. Or Lt. Cmdr. (later Adm.) Richard Byrd’s 1926 Fokker, flown on his North Pole expedition? And don’t miss Byrd’s 1928 Ford Trimotor, flown on his first Antarctica expedition in 1929.

More interested in fun than adventure? Try the barnstorming 1917 Curtiss JN 4-D (this one's the Canadian-built version of the Jenny, known as the Canuck) painted in the lively green "flying fish" livery used by James Heddon’s Sons--a major fishing tackle maker that sponsored two stunt planes. The Canuck is hung from the museum’s tall ceiling upside down.

Want big? Wander under the 1939 Douglas DC-3, newly restored by museum conservators and gleaming in the spotlights over the exhibit entrance. When donated to the Henry Ford in 1974, it had more flying hours than any other commercial plane in history.

There’s hardly a plain plane among them.

What's hard to believe is that this is basically the same collection of aircraft the museum has had on exhibit for decades. They were once crowded wing-to-wing, some hanging, some on the floor and one outdoors. This was a technique Casey calls "the old 4-P technique of aviation museums everywhere: ‘Park Plane, Place Plaque.’" The "Heroes of the Sky" planners made only one major addition, a 1903 Wright Flyer replica, for this new show.

In some ways, the new exhibit isn’t much different from before. But now the planes aren’t just parked, they're fantastically restored and hung with real attitude, and the plaques aren’t covered with dense prose. They’re colorful, easy-to-read panels that often incorporate hands-on elements so visitors can experiment with key aspects of aviation.

The exhibit covers about 43,000 sq. ft. and was created by spedning a wopping $8 million. Audio adds a touch of realism to the vignettes, from the peaceful sounds of gulls and surf at Kitty Hawk to the sputter of a radial engine in the rather realistic, immersive video from a wing walker’s point of view. And historic film footage brings it all to life.

For those who aren’t so interested in the aircraft, the exhibit is also full of stories about the people who flew them--from Charles Lindberg and Amelia Earhart to lesser-known aviators such as Bessie Coleman, who in 1921 became the first licensed African-American pilot (no "female" qualifier needed).

Lockheed Vega	Boeing 40A
Dayton-Wright RB-1	Pitcairn Autogiro
Douglas DC-3	Ford Flivver
Fokker F.VIIb/3m Trimotor	Ford 4-AT-15 Trimotor
Stinson Detroiter	Ryan NYP
Sikorsky VS-300A	Curtiss Jenny