Air Museum set to 'take off'
Salina, Kan., (June 29, 2010) - It took nearly 7,000 construction
workers close to four months to build it in 1942. More than 5,000
men and their families said good bye to it in 1965. And in 2005,
more than 15,000 people were there when one man took 67 hours to circle
the globe and come back to it.
History has been made over and over again on the
flightline of the Salina Municipal Airport and now there is a way to
ensure it will be there for generations to come thanks to the Wings
Over Salina Air Museum.
The Salina Airport Authority, with the help of the Greater
Salina Community Foundation, has established two funds to raise the
money needed to build and maintain the museum. The Authority
started a provisional fund with $500 to raise money for planning and
construction. Money donated to that fund will go to building the
museum structure and monuments to commemorate items of significance in
local aviation. An endowment fund to support operations has been
seeded with $10,000.
People wishing to donate funds to the museum can do so, on
the Greater Salina Community Foundation website by selecting
"Donate Online Now" then selecting the "Donate Now
through Network for Good" button. In the
"Designation" section type in Wings Over Salina Air Museum
and if you'd like to donate to the provisional or endowment
fund.
"The Foundation is a public charity," explained
Betsy Wearing, president and executive director of the Greater Salina
Community Foundation. "All gifts that come to the Foundation
are tax deductible to the highest extent possible. Donors also
have the confidence that their gifts to a fund within the Foundation
for the museum will be restricted only for the museum."
Right now, the biggest push is for Smoky Hill Army
Airfield and Schilling Air Force Base related materials. The
military had a huge presence in Salina in the 1940s through the 1960s,
and a near devastating effect on the town when the base closed.
The men and women who called Salina home during the building blocks of
its history have since scattered to all edges of the country.
Those historic items are proving to be the most difficult to find.
Plans are in works to gather oral histories and
memorabilia from the men and women who spent time on any of the bases
in the Salina area.
Along with a significant military aviation history, Salina
is the boyhood home of former NASA astronaut Steven Hawley. The
town made aviation history twice in the mid 2000s. In 2005, Steve
Fossett flew the first solo nonstop airplane flight around the world,
starting and ending in Salina. Then in 2006, he set the absolute
distance over a closed circuit record, landing in Salina. Major
aviation manufacturers have employed thousands of local residents since
the late 60s. Unmanned aerial systems being developed at K-State
at Salina are quickly changing the course of history and the future of
aviation.
Items related to these nonmilitary related pieces of
history are also being highly sought after by the Airport
Authority. Photos, uniforms, signs, paperwork and newspapers are
just a few of the items that are planned to be housed in the museum.
Currently, the south lobby of the M.J. Kennedy Air
Terminal Building will play host to many of the items that will find a
permanent home in the Wings Over Salina Air Museum.
For donation questions call the Greater Salina Community
Foundation at 785.823.1800. Those who wish to donate historical
items or have their names added to the list to be contacted for oral
histories should email wings@salair.org or call the Airport at
785.827.3914.
