Spring 2007 - Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum
Transcription
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: + + + + + + + + + + + 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: info@marylandaviabonmuseum.org 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: info@marylandaviationmuseum.org ·--- 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