NPS Interprets Aviation History At National Air Show

Pilots and aviation enthusiasts who gather annually for the Experimental Aircraft Association's annual show – this year called AirVenture 2009 – are often surprised to see flat-brimmed ranger Stetsons and the gray-and-green uniforms of the National Park Service on display alongside jets, helicopters, and corporate aircraft. But to tell America's story about flight one starts at either Kitty Hawk or the Wright Brothers' bicycle shop in Dayton. 

Darrell Collins, historian at Wright Brothers National Memorial, and Bob Petersen, historian at Dayton Aviation Heritage National Historical Park, were just two of 16 National Park Service employees who helped educate aviation enthusiasts on the role of the National Park Service in caring for these special places at last week’s gathering. For Collins, this was his 14th year telling the story of a windy wintry day in December 1903 that eventually led man from the sands of Kitty Hawk to the stars.

Collins' presentations at the EAA AirVenture Museum were “must-sees” for the 650,000 participants from many countries who attended this week-long gathering of airplanes, airmen and women, and all things aviation. When Collins spoke about the Wright Brothers, his interpretive skills were evident and every person who attended came away with a better knowledge of both the story of the “first flight” and the NPS role in its telling.

Petersen has helped grow the NPS presence at AirVenture since he first started in 1997.  While he took an active role during the seven days at the air show, when over 90,000 people walked through the NPS exhibit, he works all year insuring that the NPS message gets out.  Petersen seeks printed material from park areas to help educate the public, who may be unaware of the aviation issues at the Grand Canyon, the role of a Piper Super-Cub in wildlife management in Yellowstone, or how a Cessna Skywagon is the ranger's “pick-up truck” at Yukon-Charley Rivers in Alaska. 

Perhaps as important as the NPS message of caring for special places was the focus on young people at AirVenture. The NPS exhibit featured one of only two Wright Flyer full-scale simulators – one of the most popular activities for young kids, who laid on their stomachs and tried to take off and land via a large projection video.

But both Bob Petersen and Darrell Collins realize the importance of touching young minds with real stories of America's heritage.  Collins, standing among the historical aviation icons of the EAA AirVenture Museum, would invariably call forward a youngster and make him or her a star in his interpretive program. The young collaborators would then scamper back to their parents with Wright Brothers Junior Ranger patches and ear-to-ear grins. 

Peterson does the same, having children play with a hand-held, plastic “helicopter,” a  child's toy that spins skyward from their hands.  Then he tells how this simple toy inspired the Wright Brothers to try to figure out what made it work – and led them to the dunes at Kitty Hawk.

Collins and Petersen were joined by rangers from Yellowstone, scientists from CESU's, fire and aviation managers from Boise, NPS retirees who are pilots, and Volunteers in Parks to tell America's aviation heritage story at Oshkosh – the world's largest general aviation air show.