| Aviation had descended on Maryland, literally, as far | | | | accessible to the general public. |
| back as 1784 when America’s first balloon flight | | | | Twenty-five miles south of the airport, in Greenbelt, |
| had returned to earth in Baltimore, beginning a long line | | | | Maryland, is an opportunity to shift focus from aviation |
| of flight-related achievements. Civil war balloons, for | | | | to aerospace at the Goddard Space Flight Center. |
| example, had constituted the world’s first | | | | Located on a 1,270-acre area, which excludes the |
| “aircraft carriers” in 1861, and the world’s | | | | adjacent Magnetic Test Facility and the Propulsion |
| oldest, continuously-operating airport, College Park, had | | | | Research site, it had been established in 1959 as |
| been established in 1909 in order to train the first two | | | | NASA’s first space flight center whose purpose |
| Army pilots to fly their Wright Brothers-designed | | | | had been to develop and operate unmanned scientific |
| aircraft. Navy pioneer flights had been conducted in | | | | spacecraft in order to manage many of its earth |
| Annapolis. Home to three major aircraft | | | | observation, astronomy, and physics missions, and is |
| manufacturers and several smaller ones, Maryland had | | | | currently one of 13 such centers strategically located |
| spawned the first commuter airline, Henson, while | | | | throughout the country. |
| today it is the location of NASA’s Goddard Space | | | | Dr. Robert H. Goddard, for whom the Maryland facility |
| flight Center and the Aircraft Owners and Pilots | | | | had been named, is recognized as the father of |
| Association (AOPA). | | | | modern rocket propulsion and is to space what the |
| Maryland’s aviation history can be divided into six | | | | Wright Brothers had been to aviation. |
| periods: | | | | The Goddard Space Flight Center, the location of the |
| 1. The pioneer days, during which the initial airfields had | | | | US’s largest organization of combined scientists |
| sprung up with the grass which had provided their | | | | and engineers dedicated to learning about and sharing |
| runways. | | | | their knowledge of the earth, the sun, the solar system, |
| 2. The classic era, when the first airports and airlines | | | | and the universe, builds and operates most of |
| had been established and the first airmail service had | | | | NASA’s science research satellites, including the |
| been inaugurated. | | | | Hubble Space Telescope, and manages their tracking |
| 3. The military-necessitated expansion, particularly | | | | and orbiting. It will play a major role in the US’s |
| during the Second World War. | | | | return to the moon with the Lunar Reconnaissance |
| 4. The post-war and Cold War period. | | | | Orbiter Mission (LRO) whose purpose is to develop |
| 5. Present-day aviation. | | | | new technologies to support human space exploration |
| 6. Space. | | | | of Mars and beyond. |
| These periods, along with their advancements, can be | | | | Numerous, campus-wide facilities enable it to achieve |
| studied at several aerospace-related sights, all of | | | | these goals. The Gravity Evaluation Facility, for |
| which are within an hour’s radius by road. | | | | example, evaluates optical components and detection |
| The first of these, at Martin State Airport in Middle | | | | systems used in space instrumentation, while the Flight |
| River, is the Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum. | | | | Dynamics Facility offers a range of engineering |
| Born on January 17, 1886, Glenn Luther Martin himself, a | | | | services to mission designers, spacecraft builders, and |
| self-taught pilot, had owned Ford and Maxwell | | | | the spacecraft themselves, determining their orbits and |
| dealerships in Santa Ana, California, at age 22. His | | | | altitudes. It supports both Space Shuttle and |
| first aircraft, a Curtiss Pusher-resembling biplane | | | | expendable launch vehicles. |
| powered by a 12-hp Ford engine, had been designed | | | | The high-capacity centrifuge rotates and accelerates |
| and built in collaboration with mechanics in an auto | | | | 5,000-pound payloads up to 30 |
| shop set up in a rented, unused church. He had been | | | | revolutions-per-minute. The Hubble Space Telescope |
| the third American after the Wright Brothers and | | | | Center observes and controls the telescope 24 hours |
| Curtiss himself to have designed his own aircraft. | | | | per day. |
| Establishing the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company in | | | | Computational modeling and processing of |
| 1912, he had immediately adopted a strategy of hiring | | | | space-borne observations, the responsibility of the |
| talented managers and trained engineers, many of | | | | NASA Center for Computational Sciences, has greatly |
| whom had later become aircraft manufacturers in their | | | | increased understanding of earth, the solar system, |
| own right, such as William Boeing, Donald Douglas, | | | | and the universe, while the Communications Network |
| Lawrence Bell, and James S. McDonnell. His | | | | provides communications support for all NASA |
| resounding success can be directly attributed to his | | | | projects by means of its global positioning system. |
| dedicated, unwavering life philosophy, expressed in | | | | Generating commands and interfacing communication |
| 1918. “The way to build aircraft or do anything else | | | | between the ground and spacecraft is attained |
| worthwhile,” he had stated, “is to think out quietly | | | | through Goddard’s Payload Operations Control |
| every detail, analyze every situation that may possibly | | | | Center, and the three-story thermal-vacuum chamber, |
| occur, and, when you have it all worked out in practical | | | | located in the Space Environment Simulator, is able to |
| sequence in your mind, raise Heaven and hell, and | | | | create temperature and vacuum conditions of any |
| never stop until you have produced the thing you | | | | conceivable launch or orbit. |
| started to make.” | | | | Actual spacecraft, their components, and their tools |
| Martin State Airport, inextricably tied to the man who | | | | are manufactured by the Spacecraft Fabrication |
| had created it, had been founded in 1929 when Martin | | | | Facility. |
| had purchased 1,260 acres 12 miles east of Baltimore | | | | Finally, the Spacecraft Systems Development and |
| in order to establish an aircraft manufacturing factory, | | | | Integration Facility, at 86,000 square feet one of the |
| then considered one of the most modern. The | | | | world’s largest laminar-flow “clean rooms,” is |
| Eastern Baltimore County communities which had | | | | able to remove 99.99-percent of all particles in the |
| housed its workforce had developed concurrently with | | | | air. The Hubble Space Telescope’s First Servicing |
| it. | | | | Mission, for example, had utilized this facility for |
| The high-speed B-10 bomber, for which Martin had | | | | preparation of its instruments and devices before their |
| been awarded the Collier Trophy, had been built here | | | | transfer to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida for |
| during the early-1930s. | | | | launch on Space Shuttle mission STS-61. The |
| Between 1939 and 1940, construction of three | | | | successful telescope servicing, requiring five |
| runways, three hangars, and an Airport Administration | | | | extravehicular activities (EVAs), had entailed an 11-day |
| Building had taken place, while several more hangars, | | | | mission. |
| including those at Strawberry Point, had followed in | | | | An overview of Goddard Space Flight Center’s |
| 1941. | | | | engineering and technology activities, earth and space |
| Always relying on military orders, particularly for heavy | | | | science studies, and general mission and goals can be |
| bombers, the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company had | | | | gleaned from its Visitors Center. |
| designed the twin-engine PBM series flying boat; the | | | | The final, but perhaps most significant, Maryland |
| twin-engine, high-wing, high-speed M-26 Marauder; and | | | | aviation sight, located only a few miles from the |
| the Martin Mars, all bombers instrumental during World | | | | Goddard Space Flight Center, is the College Park |
| War II, its only significant commercial design having | | | | Aviation Museum. |
| been the three M-130 Clipper flying boats built for Pan | | | | Its College Park Airport location, chosen in 1909 so that |
| Am in 1935. A one-off M-156, a larger-span derivative | | | | the Wright Brothers could fulfill their requirement to train |
| for Russia, had been produced three years later. | | | | two officers to fly their US Army-selected Wright |
| The twin, piston-engined, unpressurized Martin 2-0-2 of | | | | Model A Military Flyer, and currently a general aviation |
| 1946-1947 and its pressurized counterpart, the Martin | | | | facility with 80 based aircraft and a single, 2,600-foot |
| 4-0-4 of 1950-1951, had constituted its only significant | | | | runway, qualifies it as the world’s oldest, |
| post-war airliners. Intended as elusive DC-3 | | | | continuously-operating airport and had been the scene |
| replacements, they had faced strong competition from | | | | of numerous aviation-relation innovations. |
| the similar Convair 240, 340, and 440 series. | | | | Mrs. Ralph H. Van Daman, for instance, had become |
| The B-57 Canberra, a twin-jet, straight-winged, medium | | | | the first woman in the US to fly as a passenger and |
| bomber designed for the US Air Force, had been | | | | Lieutenant George Sweet had become the first naval |
| produced between 1952 and 1954. | | | | officer to take to the skies. In 1911, the first Army |
| Conceding to changing economic conditions, the Glenn | | | | Aviation School had been established here. |
| L. Martin Aircraft Company had merged with the | | | | Aviation innovations continued the following year: a |
| American-Marietta Corporation, a major defense | | | | “Military Aviator” pilot rating, for example, had |
| contractor of missiles, space hardware, avionics, and | | | | been introduced; the first aircraft-installed machine gun |
| guidance systems, in 1961, resulting in the | | | | had been tested; Lieutenant Hap Arnold had made the |
| Martin-Marietta Corporation, its successor. | | | | first mile-high flight; and, sadly, the first death of a |
| Nevertheless, between 1909 and 1960, the Martin | | | | military enlisted man, Corporal Frank S. Scott of the US |
| company had autonomously churned out more than | | | | Army, had occurred. |
| 11,000 aircraft and 80 predominantly military designs, | | | | Instrumental in the development of aviation, College |
| most of which had fought in all theaters of war. | | | | Park Airport is today a living, multi-faceted history book |
| On September 20, 1975, the state of Maryland had | | | | with chapters concerning Wright Brothers pilot training, |
| acquired the 747-acre Martin State Airport in order to | | | | military training, inaugural airmail service, vertical flight |
| offer a Baltimore-proximity general aviation reliever | | | | testing, blind navigation aid development, the Golden |
| field. | | | | Age of Aviation, civilian pilot training, public acceptance |
| Once again merging with Lockheed in 1995, the | | | | of flight, World War II Women’s Air Services Pilots |
| Martin-Marietta Corporation, rebranded | | | | (WASP) training, North Pole open-cockpit biplane flight, |
| Lockheed-Martin, had been parlayed into one of the | | | | present-day general aviation, and ultimate inclusion on |
| world’s largest aerospace manufacturers. | | | | the National Register of Historic Places. |
| Martin State Airport, with a single, 6,996-foot runway | | | | Many original and reproduction aircraft, exhibited in the |
| and a private tower, is home to the 175th Wing of the | | | | adjacent College Park Aviation Museum, tell the |
| Maryland Air National Guard, comprised of the 135th | | | | airport’s story. The 27,000-square-foot museum |
| Airlift Group and the 175th Flight Group, basing a fleet | | | | itself, a glass-and-brick, curved roof building inspired by |
| of A-10C and C-130J Hercules aircraft there. | | | | early Wright Brothers aircraft and an affiliate of the |
| The Glenn L. Martin Maryland Aviation Museum, | | | | Smithsonian Institution, had opened in 1998 “to |
| located at the airport, had been founded in 1990 “to | | | | research, preserve, interpret, and promote the history |
| maintain an educational institution dedicated to the | | | | and collections of the College Park Airport.” |
| promotion, preservation, and documentation of aviation | | | | The historically significant aircraft, overlooking the |
| and space history in Maryland,” according to its | | | | airport’s runway through floor-to-ceiling windows, |
| mission statement, particularly “the contributions of | | | | cover the 45-year period from 1901 to 1946. The 1901 |
| Glenn L. Martin and his successful company." | | | | Wright Glider, for instance, had been wind tunnel-tested |
| The museum, chronicling the development of the | | | | at NASA Langley, while the 1910 Wright Model B, a |
| aircraft manufacturer, its designs, and its people from | | | | two-seat, fabric-covered biplane turned with the aid of |
| its origins to its present form as Lockheed-Martin, | | | | Wright-designed wing-warping, had formed part of the |
| features photographs and models, subdivided by | | | | US’s first Military Aviation School. The Bleriot XI, a |
| period, such as “The Dream,” “The Early | | | | monoplane which had been the first to have crossed |
| Years,” “The Depression,” “The Pre-War | | | | the English Channel from Calais to Dover on July 25, |
| Era,” “The War Years,” “The Postwar | | | | 1909, had been manufactured and sold by the College |
| Era,” “The Cold War Era,” and | | | | Park-located National Aeroplane Company. |
| “Present.” Eleven mostly-Lockheed aircraft, | | | | The Curtiss JN-4H Jenny, the workhorse of the airmail |
| showcased on the ramp at Strawberry Point and | | | | fleet, had inaugurated airmail service from College Park |
| requiring vehicle escort, include a Martin 4-0-4 airliner; | | | | to New York on August 12, 1918, although the |
| an F-101F Voodoo jet interceptor; an F-4 Phantom; a | | | | museum’s example is of the earlier JN-4D series. |
| TA-4J Skyhawk, which had been used during the | | | | The Berliner Helicopter, designed by father-and-son |
| filming of “Top Gun;” two Martin RB-57A | | | | team Emile and Henry Berliner, is a triplane-appearing |
| Canberra jet reconnaissance bombers; an F-105G | | | | aircraft which had mated a Nieuport 23 fuselage with |
| Thunderjet; an F-100F Super Sabre; an A-7D Corsair II; | | | | two counter-rotating rotors and had conducted vertical |
| an RF-84F Thunderflash jet photo-reconnaissance | | | | flight experiments in 1924. |
| aircraft; and a Lockheed T-33 Shooting Star jet trainer. | | | | The Monocoupe 110, Taylor J-2 Cub, Taylorcraft |
| South of Martin State Airport, in the BWI Observation | | | | BL-65, and Aeronica 65LA Chief, all represented by |
| Gallery of Baltimore-Washington International Airport, | | | | the museum, had played major roles in civilian pilot |
| present-day commercial aviation can be studied. The | | | | training and air shows during the 1930s and –40s |
| gallery, overlooking the ramp, features displays about | | | | here, while the Boeing PT-17 Stearman had |
| the evolution of the airliner, weather, and air traffic | | | | successfully made the first open-cockpit biplane flight |
| control, but its strength lies in the many actual airliner | | | | to the North Pole. |
| sections which permit detailed inspection, including a | | | | A scaled-down replica of the Wright Brothers’ 1909 |
| Boeing 707 main undercarriage bogie; a Boeing | | | | hangar, an airmail exhibit entailing the Curtiss Jenny and |
| 737-200 nose and cockpit, a fuselage mid-section, a | | | | a mannequin representing first airmail pilot Max Miller, |
| right wing with fully extended spoilers and trailing edge | | | | and an air derby platform typical of the George |
| flaps, and a vertical stabilizer and rudder; and a Boeing | | | | Brinckerhoff period all aid in illustrating the historical |
| 747-100 Pratt and Whitney JT9D-7A turbofan. | | | | chapters written at College Park Airport. |
| Located before the airport’s security area, it is | | | | |