Museum of Flight Membership Sale
From Saturday, June 6 - Sunday, June 14, the Museum is offering 20% off Museum memberships to visitors presenting a bicycle helmet or bicycle club membership card.
Gossamer Albatross 30th Anniversary
Museum of Flight Celebrates the 30th Anniversary
of the Flight of the Gossamer Albatross
Human-powered flight and bicycling featured in special programs June 6 - 14
For centuries, beginning with the Greek legends, Daedalus and Icarus, and then the designs of Leonardo da Vinci and his "ornithopter," humans have dreamed of flying on their own power. But it wasn't until June 12, 1979, that cyclist Bryan Allen made the first flight of a human-powered aircraft across the English Channel, pedaling the Gossamer Albatross, built by American aeronautical engineer Dr. Paul B. MacCready. That year, they won the Kremer prize. The 22-mile flight lasted nearly three hours.
The Museum of Flight will celebrate the aeronautical design genius of Dr. MacCready and Bryan Allen's pedal power with special events and documentary films about these incredible feats of flight June 6 - 14.
Featured will be the Museum's own Gossamer Albatross II, the Gossamer Albatross' sister ship. The Gossamer Albatross II was built as a backup to the record-breaking Albatross aircraft. Except for some minor design changes, this craft is identical to the Albatross that flew across the English Channel. The Albatross II later took part in NASA-funded low speed stability tests and was the first human-powered aircraft to make a controlled flight inside an enclosed structure-the Houston Astrodome. Gossamer Albatross I, hangs in the Smithsonian Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Featured Programs:
Tip-to-Tail Tour: The MacCready Gossamer Albatross II
Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Thursday, June 11 - Sunday, June 14, 11 a.m. and 1 p.m.
Learn about the fascinating Gossamer Albatross, its designer, and human-powered flight during a series of "tip-to-tail" tours by the Museum's nationally acclaimed docent corps.
Film: "The Flight of the Gossamer Condor" (27 minutes)
Saturday, June 6 - Sunday, June 14, 2 p.m.
Additional 11 a.m. screenings
June 6, 7, 13, and 14
The Gossamer Condor is a Mylar-winged aircraft that won the $95,000 Kremer prize for the first successful human-powered flight in 1978. The aircraft was designed by Paul B. MacCready Jr, an American aeronautical engineer who founded AeroVironment. It currently hangs in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum. Hear the inspiring story of this aircraft during this 27-minute film.
Film: "Search for Adventure-Gossamer Albatross" (53 minutes)
Saturday, June 6 - Sunday, June 14 2:30 p.m.
Additional 11:30 a.m.
screenings June 6, 7, 13 and 14
"Search for Adventure-Gossamer Albatross" is a 1991 Emmy award winning film, narrated by Hal Holbrook. Follow the story of the Gossamer Albatross, from Dr. Paul MacCready's design team to pilot Bryan Allen's historic flight on June 12, 1979 in this 53 minute film.
Helmet Fitting by the Cascade Bicycle Club
Saturday, June 6 and Sunday, June 7, 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.
The Cascade Bicycle Club will be in the Museum lobby for complimentary helmet fitting.
"A Twist of the Wrist:" A Dramatic Presentation
Saturday, June 6, 11 a.m.
Sunday, June 7 - Wednesday, June 10 and Friday, June 12 at 1 p.m. in the Red Barn®
Did you know before the Wright brothers built airplanes they built bicycles? Learn this fascinating story during the Museum's "Amazing Skies Theater" 20 minute live theater program called "A Twist of the Wrist." Meet Charlie Taylor, the Wright brothers mechanic, as he tells the story of the invention of the airplane and how Wilbur Wright discovered the concept of wing warping.
Museum of Flight Membership Sale
From Saturday, June 6 - Sunday, June 14, the Museum is offering 20% off Museum memberships to visitors presenting a bicycle helmet or bicycle club membership card.