Glenn H. Cur t iss Museum

La te W inter 2015

MUSEUM STAFF

Trafford L-M. Doherty Executive Director

Rick Leisenring Curator

Paul Trepes Education Director

Lynne Mason

Gift Shop Manager

Karen Trepes

Bookkeeper

Arlene Day

Weekend Supervisor

Weekend Staff:

Connie Cook

Terry Dee

Jacquie Doherty

Beverly Frisk

Jean Doherty

Newsletter Editor

Collections Registrar

Membership Coordinator

Special Events Coordinator

A E R O G R A M

INSIDE THIS ISSUE

Charles Champlin 3

Restoration Shop 3

Marketing Report 4

From the Director 5

Curator’s Report 7

History in Our Backyard Several years ago, we received a builder’s plate from an Army airship, the TC-14. What really got our attention was the fact that it was a Mercury Aircraft product from Hammondsport, NY. Up until that point, we weren’t aware that Mercury was involved in that kind of thing (we also didn’t know that the Army had airships). It turns out that they (Mercury) have been involved in many things, some of which most of us are unaware of. It’s quite a list, including (but not limited to) aircraft, boats, school bus bodies – and even baby strollers. If you haven’t had a chance to look at our Mercury exhibit, we would urge you to do so. It will surprise you!

Trafford Doherty and sister, Jacquie,

with Mercury “Tot Cycle” c. 1950 →

But, let’s go back to the TC-14. Starting in 1922, Mercury was to supply airship components for several airships, typically supplying the structural items, including the control car, plus the various stabilizer and control surface sets. These (non-rigid) airships were what we would refer to today as “blimps”, so the rubberized fabric “envelopes” were supplied by other firms, the most predominant being Goodyear. All of the components were shipped by rail to Scott Field at Belleville, Illinois for final assembly

and flight testing. The 1935 photo of the control car on the trailer was taken at Hammondsport just before loading it on a flatcar. In this shot, the two strut-mounted radial engines have been removed for shipment. The TC-14 was the last airship purchased by the Army and it was also the last one built by Mercury. And as you can see from the interior shots (on the next page), it was a very elaborate piece of work. This airship had a relatively long career, serving from 1935 until 1943. The Army got out of the airship business in 1938 and transferred the TC-14 to the Navy, who operated it for the next 5 years. This airship was significant in the development of the U.S. Navy “Blimp” as an effective weapon in WWII anti-submarine operations. Interestingly, the TC-14 builder’s plate was sent to us by a William W. Walker, whose father, Hepburn “Hep” Walker Jr., was one of the last Navy pilots assigned to the TC-14 and he was able to “salvage” the builder’s plate as the TC-14 was being scrapped.

— continued on p.2 —

As we were delving into Mercury’s airship adventures, we discovered something else of aeronautical interest that we would like to share with our friends. In 1932, Mercury built something very unusual for the Army Air Corps. In that year, the Army decided to revisit something previously used in the WWI German Zeppelins, specifically the “Sub-Cloud Observation Car”. The purpose of course was to be able to con the ship (for navigation and bomb aiming) while allowing the Zeppelin to remain hidden in the clouds (they were very vulnerable to fighter interception). So you would be lowered in this thing as much as a thousand meters to accomplish this. Picture yourself hanging below the clouds, two thousand feet beneath the “mother ship” and saying over the phone: “We are directly over the target – go ahead and drop all of the bombs”. What could possibly go wrong?!!

As one can imagine, the Zeppelin crews had a lot of problems with their sub-cloud cars and consequently, they saw little use. Nevertheless, the U.S. Army still wanted to experiment with this form of observation, so two firms were contracted to build prototypes, Mercury Aircraft being one of them. The test unit built by Mercury is shown in the photo – note the extremely light form of construction. I’ll bet the Army had lots of volunteers for this very short-lived program!

One of the fun things about our Archives, is that we are constantly finding things that amaze us.

CURTISS MUSEUM

OFFICERS

Richard Honeyman

President

Richard Rahill

Vice-President

John Van Zanten

Secretary

Gregory Hintz

Treasurer

Trafford Doherty

Director

TRUSTEES

Kyle Bower

Dennis Carlson

Michael Doyle

Cameron Dunlap

Bruce Inglis

Jim Lally

Ellen Shaw Maceko

Joseph “Bud” Meade, III

Joseph Meade, IV

Terry Northrup

Rod Pedersen

Thomas G. Snow

Thomas Tranter

Arthur H. Wilder

HONORARY TRUSTEES

Jill Flynn

Trustee Emeritus

Lee Robbins

Trustee Emeritus

Carol G. Jenkins

Trustee Emeritus

Charles “Bud” Shaw

Trustee Emeritus

Peter Baker, Esq.

Trustee Emeritus

TC-14 Pilot’s Seat - note automobile steering wheel TC-14 Flight Engineer’s Station

Sub-Cloud Car Mercury Prototype

Water Ballast Control Station

IN MEMORIAM

Charles Davenport “Chuck” Champlin

March 23, 1926 – November 16, 2014

We were sad to hear of the death of Chuck Champlin, famous writer and Los Angeles film critic and cousin of our director, Trafford Doherty.

Champlin was born in Hammondsport, where his family had been active in the wine industry in the area since 1855. He wrote a book about growing up in Hammondsport, Back There Where the Past Was, and also edited a book of stories written by Tony Doherty, Tony’s World. Both of these books are available in the Museum gift shop. Chuck served in the infantry in Europe in WWII and was awarded the Purple Heart and battle stars. He graduated from Harvard in 1948 and became a writer for Time and Life magazines for seventeen years before going to work for the Los Angeles Times as an entertainment editor and columnist in 1965, specializing in the motion picture industry. A few years later he became the paper's chief film critic and served in that capacity until 1980. He wrote many articles and books on the film industry, and hosted several television programs where he interviewed actors, directors and others involved in the business. He was a member of the Overseas Press Club and a founder of the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. In 1992, he was a member of the jury at the 42nd Berlin International Film Festival. Chuck and his wife, Peggy, who were long time Curtiss Museum members, had often returned to Hammondsport to visit relatives here and to participate in the “Greatest Generation” gatherings of recent years.

From The Restoration Shop The lights have been burning bright back in the shop. The Fledgling is coming along well with much of the flying surfaces fabric covering having been applied. The fuselage reassembly has made significant progress, but because of the complexity of the various sub-assemblies and systems, it will be a while before it will be ready to cover with fabric. Of special note is the 18 foot, 350 lb. center float that came in the door a few weeks back. Building this was an off-site job performed by Bill Parker over in Springfield, Mass. It’s an excellent piece of work that will complement the airframe very well.

Art Wilder, Restoration Shop Director, is away (in a warmer place, hopefully), so the P-40 project has slowed down somewhat, but a couple of the guys are still whittling away at it.

The shop guys have also helped our Curator, Rick Leisenring, with his Civil War Exhibit by building a number of the display fixtures required for a very elaborate presentation.

And last, but not least, the “Maintenance Dept.” (a.k.a. “Restoration Shop”) has been very helpful by repairing light fixtures, doing wiring upgrades and, most important of all, keeping the snow blower running!

Fledgling center float

Fledgling fuselage

Fledgling wing

CALENDAR OF

EVENTS

March 6 - Sept. 7, 2015

Civil War Navy Exhibit

May 9, 2015

Old Engine Day

June 6, 2015

Indoor Yard Sale 9-4

August 1-2, 2015

Classic Motorcycle

Weekend

August 8, 2015

Curtiss Museum Gala

August 17, 2015

Curtiss Golf Classic

Sept.18 - Nov. 1, 2015

Quilt Exhibit

September 19, 2015

Seaplane Homecoming

Nov.13,2015 - Feb. 24,2016

25th Annual Dollhouse &

Miniatures Exhibit

Nov.28, 2015

20th Annual Miniatures

Vendors Show & Sale

Page 4

Marketing Committee - Denny Carlson We are actively moving forward with the development of a new website for the Museum. The intention is to have a fresh, new look, a site that is easy to navigate, easy to keep current and a site that is more accommodating to presenting current Museum activities and events.

Over the last few months, activity on our current website has increased significantly, which means that a website is still a very active tool when people are planning trips or following up on something heard about a particular attraction or event. When this happens, we want to make sure we pull that visitor into putting us on their list of things to do. We believe our new website will help us do that more effectively.

With Tourism in the Finger Lakes area increasing on an annual basis, the Museum is striving to make sure we capture our proportionate share of visitors. But, there is another opportunity as well. The fact that you are reading this Aerogram means that you are familiar with the Museum and, with this being the case, a word of mouth recommendation that someone come visit us never fails. We are open seven days a week, rain or shine and displays keep changing and additions are made. So, even if you have been here before, you will see something new when you return.

We wish everyone a joyful entry into spring and we hope to see you in the near future.

Keep your e-mail address up to date

with the Museum

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it in color and also share it with your friends - you will need to let us know

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Thanks!

LIKE US ON FACEBOOK!

CHECK OUT ALL OF THE NICE COMMENTS FROM MUSEUM VISITORS

FEATURED ON TRIPADVISOR

AEROGRAM Page 5

MEMBER DONATIONS

Al & Patricia Clark Janet Page & Bob Childs Loren & Florence Clark

Paul & Lauren Schweizer Terrence & Barbara Woodworth

The Rev. Lew Brown Ron & Linda Bors

Hugo Miller Jim Lally

Sharon Rooks Gil & Margaret Switzer

Vincent Bedient Dan Pattarini Tom Babcock

Roger & Elfriede Tompkins Margaret Markham

DONATIONS

Barbara Kester Meade Foundation

RESTORATION SHOP DONATIONS

James Herron Jack Barker

RESTRICTED DONATIONS

Mercury Corp. Meade Foundation

Tom Heitzman

From The Director - Trafford Doherty Just a few weeks back, I got up and checked the thermometer and found it to read 20 below zero. We had minus 10-15 on a number of occasions, but this (for me) was a first, so I had my son-in-law take a snap of it (a true “Kodak Moment”). We also had the most snow that I have seen since I moved back up here in 2002 (Thank you, Ray Kolo, for keeping our parking lots plowed).

But enough about winter – let’s talk about spring and the significant improvements that the arrival of warmer weather will bring.

For over two years now, the Town of Urbana has been working on getting the Village water main extended down to us and our neighbors. For those of you who may not be aware, we have been operating on well water and for reasons that include keeping the Health Department happy and having major issues with an aging fire suppression supply system, it will be hugely in our best interests to get on village water ASAP. The Town finished installing the extension last fall and we have been dealing with a myriad of regulatory and engineering issues before we could do our hookup. But that part is all done now and we are ready to have our line installed – we just need warmer weather. Our contractor has set his startup date for March 24th, so we’ll keep our fingers crossed! This is an elaborate project, by the way. Because of our sprinkler system, we are required to use larger diameter piping, plus a back flow preventer (to keep the static water in our sprinkler system piping from tainting the village water supply). We’re about a hundred yards off Route 54 and the village main is on the far side of the highway, so we will run our pipe under the road (and also under the creek). These additional factors are very costly, so, we’re looking at a price tag in the neighborhood of $55,000. We have a “Rainy Day Fund” for projects like this, but this will be a major hit, and if any of our members would like to help make this up, we would be delighted. That having been said, this change is absolutely essential to the future well being of the institution, and we will be greatly relieved when it is completed. - more From the Director on next page -

At the museum entrance —

February 2015 Restoration shop volunteer, Duncan Springstead, sanding center float of the Fledgling

AEROGRAM Page 6

From the Director - continued - On a lighter note, I was reminded by our editor that, in a moment of weakness, I promised to tell you about Smokey and the cocktail party. Back in those days (the mid 1950’s) my parents did a fair amount of entertaining (Dad was VP at Pleasant Valley Wine Company). And, as I mentioned in earlier installments, he had recently purchased a pony (Smokey) for my sister (I wanted no part of it)! On the night in question, the party was progressing very well with lots of liquids being consumed in a cloud of cigarette smoke (remember, this was the 50’s). Whether or not anyone was running around with a lampshade on his head, I can’t say. At a certain point, my father (who was really getting into the spirit of things) offered to show someone our new pony, and out to the barn they went. Well, somehow the plan to show Smokey off out in the barn morphed into bringing him in to meet all of the guests. Our house was on the side of a hill, and the rear entrance door opened directly into the second floor living room, so it was an easy route for Smokey to negotiate. No one who was there would ever forget the vision of a pony wandering through a crowded living room full of tipsy people. My mother certainly never forgot it, and therefore, neither did my father! It was like the classic yarn: two drunks sitting on a sofa and one says to the other – tell me you just saw a pony!

Speaking of “living room disasters”, a future installment will talk about my father fiber-glassing his canoe – for the first (and last) time.

NEW MEMBERS

Curtiss Society

Bill Sick

Patron

James & Joan Warters

Contributor

Jessica & William Coy Brad & Jennifer Gleason Alan & Laura Lindmark

Gary & Shirley Cox Eliabeth A. Wilder Tracy & Gary Eklof Chris & Dave Martin

Dean Faklis Sue & Jerry Lange

Basic

Robert Cagle Paul E. Francis Caelan Miller

MEMBERSHIP UPGRADES

Curtiss Society

Freeman Smith

Sustaining

Greg Hintz

Patron

Lucy & Stuart Schweizer

Donor

Myron & Eileen Maslowsky

Sponsor

John & Linda Bailey

Supporting

David Remchuk

Contributing John Ward

Trafford with Smokey - c. 1955 – right before “Pony Bite #1”

The whole Doherty gang sat upon Smokey for this scary family photo - the kids don’t look too sure about the whole affair - and a few moments after the photo was snapped, Smokey bucked everyone off ! ↓

AEROGRAM Page 7

CURATOR ’S CORNER - R I C K L E I S E N R I N G

Come on Spring!! I know we are all very tired of winter now and February is said to have been the coldest on record for this area. But, while “the weather has been frightful”, the Doll House and Miniatures Exhibit “has been delightful”, with a great showing, as usual. There were some wonderful pieces displayed, with visitors constantly amazed at the wide variety on hand. Thank you all for another fantastic show.

With the 150th Anniversary of the Civil War coming to a conclusion this year, one of our summer exhibits is titled New York State and the United States Navy 1861 – 1865. It opened on March 6th, and features New York’s contribution to the Navy during the conflict and includes arms and artifacts used by sailors during those turbulent years. Also incorporated into the exhibit will be two “photo ops” where the visitor can pose with either our cannon or a ship’s wheel. The cannon features a woodland backdrop as well as uniform hats and coats for the visitor to wear in the photograph. The ship’s wheel features a pilot house backdrop and sailor hats to wear as though you were steaming down the coast looking for Confederate ships. This is a great way to interact with the exhibition and take home a lasting memory. So don’t forget your camera! As mentioned before, it is our summer exhibit and will run until September 7thth.

Another summer exhibit to run concurrently with the Civil War display is a Wildlife Photography Art exhibition by Dr. Ed and Gail Cordes of Corning, NY. The Cordes have been photographing nature for several years now and will be showing their selected works here from May 22nd to September 7th. I had a sneak preview of these photographs and these are absolutely beautiful!

As a reminder, the fall exhibit for 2015 will be our bi-ennial Quilt Show and is scheduled to run from September 18th through November 1st. Under the guidance of Candice Houser, this is a strong and colorful exhibit featuring the talents of many of our local quilt crafters. To enhance the exhibit, we are procuring more porch posts to build additional quilt racks. The posts make a very charming way to display these works of art.

Exhibits and displays: A good portion of this winter has actually been spent preparing display cases, backdrops and other exhibit material for the 2015 Civil War exhibit. This exhibit will be more involved as the bar was set really high with last year’s very successful Warehouse 53 exhibit. I admit I love the challenge and opportunity to be creative. I think you will find it quite informative as well as pleasing to the eye. I’d like to thank Brett Steves for his artistic input and all of the guys in the Restoration Shop for their hand in constructing and painting the various parts needed to make the exhibit happen.

Well, that was quite long-winded! Sadly, for this edition I must bow out of writing my “By the Way” spot, as I don’t have all of the facts sorted out for the subject I plan to write on. Now, I bet you can’t wait for the next edition, can you!

MEMORIALS

In Memory of

Charles McClelland

Arlene Day Lou & Jeanette Fell

Janet & Jim Hallahan Guy & Anita Bennett

In Memory of

Marlet Benedick

Janet & Jim Hallahan

In Memory of

Lloyd E. Adkins

Janet & Jim Hallahan

In Memory of

Tom Packard

Terry & Diane Peacock

In Memory of

Robert Costigan

Janet & Jim Hallahan Eberhard & Audrey Thieme

Kyla Hart

In Honor of

Dr. & Mrs. John B. Wahlig

Kathleen & Hugh Hiney

MUSEUM HOURS

WINTER Nov.1-

Apr. 30 Mon.-Sun. 10

-4

SUMMER

May 1-Oct.31 Mon.-

Sat. 9-5 Sunday 10-5

Museum closed on the

following holidays:

New Year’s Day

Easter Sunday

Thanksgiving Day

Christmas Eve

Christmas Day

MUSEUM HOURS

WINTER

Nov.1-Apr. 30

Mon.-Sun. 10-4

SUMMER

May 1-Oct.31

Mon.-Sat. 9-5

Sunday 10-5

8419 State Route 54 Hammondsport, NY 14840

GLENN H. CURTISS MUSEUM 8419 State Route 54 Hammondsport, NY 14840 Phone: 607-569-2160 Fax: 607-569-2040 Email: info@glennhcurtissmuseum.org Web: www.glennhcurtissmuseum.org

LATE WINTER

2015

Please check the membership category of your choice and return to:

The Glenn H. Curtiss Museum, 8419 State Route 54, Hammondsport, NY 14840

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