Len Lanetti
Cleared for Takeoff
Dayton Business Journal
From the June 13, 2005 print edition
Hall of Fame kicks off educational program
John Wilfong
DBJ Staff Reporter
The National Aviation Hall of Fame has started a $1.5 million fundraising campaign for its national educational outreach program.
The program, called SkyReach, will teach children about science, math and character traits of the aviation pioneers the Hall of Fame honors in schools and at air shows across the country. The Hall of Fame landed a $200,000 U.S. Department of Education grant at the beginning of the year, which allowed it to begin to piece together the program's foundation.
The core of the program is Duggy the DC-3, a colorful airplane with a cartoon counterpart along with a supporting cast of other animated airplane friends. The plane was unveiled to national aviation enthusiasts in April. Ron Kaplan, executive director of the Hall of Fame, said the campaign eventually could involve several planes all touring as Duggy and a mass marketing and merchandising effort.
The Hall of Fame plans to raise the funds and roll out the full program during the next two years, he said. It has been using a smaller version of SkyReach since early 2004 for school group visits to its location, which is attached to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The Hall of Fame -- which has a $1 million annual budget -- is the country's Congressionally chartered nonprofit organization designed to honor America's air and space pioneers. The Hall of Fame includes 180 aviators, including Neil Armstrong and Chuck Yeager.
"The focus is on character development, using our enshrinees as role models," Kaplan said. "Teachers and parents can use the positive attributes of our enshrines to help inspire and motivate our youngsters."
The money raised will be used to create a 36-week teaching program that teachers of grades K-12 across the country can use in their classrooms. Each lesson will involve an enshrinee's character attribute, as well as math, science or history. For example, a lesson plan could center on the bravery and determination of Charles Lindbergh, as well as mathematical computations he used to determine fuel consumption for his transatlantic flight, Kaplan said.
He said Duggy could be a strong marketing tool for the organization, which survives on membership dues and private and corporate donations. Kaplan plans to target major aviation industry players, such as Savannah, Ga.,-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. and Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., as core corporate sponsors, but also will pursue aviation fuel, maintenance and supply companies, as well as training organizations.
"They look at something like our program and Duggy for the value in developing their future workforce," Kaplan said. "And he's about as high visibility as you can get."
Kaplan plans to take Duggy to several air shows this year. Starting next year, he plans to start an annual 36-week air show tour, to get in front of 50,000 to 100,000 people each weekend. The stops will include some of the country's major air shows, such as Miramar Marine Corp Air Base near San Diego, which usually sees about 1 million visitors annually.
John Cudahy, president of the Leesburg, Va.-based International Council of Air Shows, said educational programs are quickly becoming an integral part of shows nationwide. Many of the most popular shows, such as AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., which has more than 750,000 visitors annually, already boast established education programs mostly centered around physics and the basics of flight.
"Even for shows that don't develop a structured program there's typically an educational component," Cudahy said. "Air shows are at their best when they institute a formal program. Even if (SkyReach) simply educated people on those characters, it would be a worthwhile venture. Many of our air shows still need that kind of thing."
At the end of July, following an appearance at the Dayton Air Show July 15-16, Duggy and SkyReach will be in Oshkosh, where Duggy will have a prominent spot next to popular aircrafts such as SpaceShipOne, the first private craft to fly in space, and the Virgin Global Flyer that recently set the world record for a nonstop flight around the world.
"We're right in the midst of all this aviation history that is happening right now and we see SkyReach bringing the past, present and future of aviation to the youngsters," Kaplan said.
E-mail jwilfong@bizjournals.com. Call 222-6900, ext. 120.
From the June 13, 2005 print edition
Hall of Fame kicks off educational program
John Wilfong
DBJ Staff Reporter
The National Aviation Hall of Fame has started a $1.5 million fundraising campaign for its national educational outreach program.
The program, called SkyReach, will teach children about science, math and character traits of the aviation pioneers the Hall of Fame honors in schools and at air shows across the country. The Hall of Fame landed a $200,000 U.S. Department of Education grant at the beginning of the year, which allowed it to begin to piece together the program's foundation.
The core of the program is Duggy the DC-3, a colorful airplane with a cartoon counterpart along with a supporting cast of other animated airplane friends. The plane was unveiled to national aviation enthusiasts in April. Ron Kaplan, executive director of the Hall of Fame, said the campaign eventually could involve several planes all touring as Duggy and a mass marketing and merchandising effort.
The Hall of Fame plans to raise the funds and roll out the full program during the next two years, he said. It has been using a smaller version of SkyReach since early 2004 for school group visits to its location, which is attached to the National Museum of the United States Air Force. The Hall of Fame -- which has a $1 million annual budget -- is the country's Congressionally chartered nonprofit organization designed to honor America's air and space pioneers. The Hall of Fame includes 180 aviators, including Neil Armstrong and Chuck Yeager.
"The focus is on character development, using our enshrinees as role models," Kaplan said. "Teachers and parents can use the positive attributes of our enshrines to help inspire and motivate our youngsters."
The money raised will be used to create a 36-week teaching program that teachers of grades K-12 across the country can use in their classrooms. Each lesson will involve an enshrinee's character attribute, as well as math, science or history. For example, a lesson plan could center on the bravery and determination of Charles Lindbergh, as well as mathematical computations he used to determine fuel consumption for his transatlantic flight, Kaplan said.
He said Duggy could be a strong marketing tool for the organization, which survives on membership dues and private and corporate donations. Kaplan plans to target major aviation industry players, such as Savannah, Ga.,-based Gulfstream Aerospace Corp. and Montreal-based Bombardier Inc., as core corporate sponsors, but also will pursue aviation fuel, maintenance and supply companies, as well as training organizations.
"They look at something like our program and Duggy for the value in developing their future workforce," Kaplan said. "And he's about as high visibility as you can get."
Kaplan plans to take Duggy to several air shows this year. Starting next year, he plans to start an annual 36-week air show tour, to get in front of 50,000 to 100,000 people each weekend. The stops will include some of the country's major air shows, such as Miramar Marine Corp Air Base near San Diego, which usually sees about 1 million visitors annually.
John Cudahy, president of the Leesburg, Va.-based International Council of Air Shows, said educational programs are quickly becoming an integral part of shows nationwide. Many of the most popular shows, such as AirVenture in Oshkosh, Wis., which has more than 750,000 visitors annually, already boast established education programs mostly centered around physics and the basics of flight.
"Even for shows that don't develop a structured program there's typically an educational component," Cudahy said. "Air shows are at their best when they institute a formal program. Even if (SkyReach) simply educated people on those characters, it would be a worthwhile venture. Many of our air shows still need that kind of thing."
At the end of July, following an appearance at the Dayton Air Show July 15-16, Duggy and SkyReach will be in Oshkosh, where Duggy will have a prominent spot next to popular aircrafts such as SpaceShipOne, the first private craft to fly in space, and the Virgin Global Flyer that recently set the world record for a nonstop flight around the world.
"We're right in the midst of all this aviation history that is happening right now and we see SkyReach bringing the past, present and future of aviation to the youngsters," Kaplan said.
E-mail jwilfong@bizjournals.com. Call 222-6900, ext. 120.