Go Behind the Scenes at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Center Open House

Visitors in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar during the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum's first Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Open House, January 25, 2014.  NASM 2014-00186

Although the artifacts on display at the Smithsonian Institution are the main attractions in its many museums, speculating about what goes on behind the scenes is another fun pastime.  We learned from Night at the Museum: Battle of the Smithsonian that the displays come to life and frolic in "hidden storage rooms" underneath the National Mall.  Dan Brown’s Lost Symbol told us all about the top secret research projects taking place at the Museum Support Center (MSC).  And, of course, the National Air and Space Museum’s SR-71 Blackbird is more than meets the eye—a Transformer in disguise.

On January 24, 2015, from 10am to 3pm, the National Air and Space Museum’s Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is holding its second Open House so that the public can see more of what really goes on behind the scenes.  Last year’s Open House was just the beginning!

Last year, the focus of many of the displays was the Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.  In the National Air and Space Museum Archives, we had a table explaining how the Archives provided materials for the restoration processes.  Among the features in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar were restoration specialist Anne McCombs demonstrating the art of rib stitching and curator Jeremy Kinney discussing the work on the Helldiver.

Restoration specialist Anne McCombs demonstrates the art of rib stitching.  NASM 2014-00179

In the Archives, we opened up our back hallway so that visitors could see inside our storage areas. Inside our reading room, we featured several of our new collections and even set up our conference room like a movie theater!

The Archives Reading Room included displays on Tools of the Trade and Pioneering Pilots.  NASM 2014-00191

So what is going to be new this year?  The latest aircraft to be added to the Restoration Hangar is the Martin B-26B Marauder Flak-Bait.  Initially, the nose was on display in the Museum on the National Mall, but with the help of drawings from the Archives, it was reunited with the rest of the airplane (which had been stored at the Paul E. Garber Facility) in Chantilly.  The studio model of the Starship Enterprise has been transferred from the Museum downtown and will be featured in the Emil Buehler Conservation Laboratory.  Also featured will be the Evelyn Way Kendall Ballooning and Early Aviation Collection.

The original model of the Starship Enterprise from the television series Star Trek is removed from its display in the National Air and Space Museum's gift shop by members of the Museum's staff for restoration. After restoration, Enterprise will be returned to display in the Museum's Boeing Milestones of Flight.  NASM 2014-04850

There will also be lectures, hands-on activities throughout the building, timed limited-access aircraft hanging tours, and other exciting Open House activities.  And keep an eye on the SR-71—you never know when it just may transform!

Elizabeth C. Borja, Archivist
National Air and Space Museum Archives Department.

Taking Flak-Bait for a Walk

This October, the Smithsonian Collections Blog is celebrating American Archives Month with a month-long blogathon! We will be posting new content almost every weekday with the theme Discover and Connect. See additional posts from our other participating blogs, as well as related events and resources, on the Smithsonian’s Archives Month website.

With much of the work of the National Air and Space Museum taking place behind the scenes, the glass-enclosed Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar allows visitors to discover and connect to our work in real time.  Time and again we hear a very popular question: “How did that get there???”  In the case of the newest hangar occupant, the Martin B-26B Marauder Flak-Bait, the answer is: “With the help of the Archives.”

View of the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar floor from the visitor overlook.  Taken during the 2014 Hazy Open House (hence, the visitors on the shop floor).  NASM 2014-00195

The Archives?  As told in last week’s Flashback Friday, in the past, we have provided drawings and information in order for restoration specialist to build new parts, such as clips.  But moving an entire airplane?

Flak-Bait was the first Allied bomber in the European Theater of WWII to complete 200 missions.  It was transferred to the National Air and Space Museum in 1949 but it did not come to DC until 1960.  When the Museum building opened in 1976, the forward fuselage section was a highlight in the World War II gallery.  The entire airplane has never been exhibited intact.  In fact, the forward fuselage section had never left the World War II Gallery and was already in place when the overhead walkway was built.  Questions abounded.  Could Flak-Bait go back under the walkway?  Would Flak-Bait even fit into the freight elevator all the way at the other end of the Museum?!

Flak-Bait leads other Martin-B-236 Marauders of the 332nd Bombardment Group over Belgium to Magdeburg, Germany, on 17 April 1945.  This was Flak-Bait's 200th mission.  NASM A-42346

The Archives again scoured our collections for manufacturer’s drawings of the B-26B.  Fortunately, unlike with the Helldiver, the set of reels contained an index!!   Based on these drawings, Archives and Restoration made a life-sized cutout of the nose section of the B-26.  First, the freight elevator was mocked up on the floor of the Restoration Hangar.  So far, so good.

A life-size cutout of the B-26B Marauder Flak-Bait on the floor of the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar.  Green tape marks represent the dimensions of the freight elevator on the Mall.  NASM 2014-02801

The next step was to take the cutout, affectionately dubbed “Flat-Bait,” to the Mall and walk it through the complicated route.

Starting out in the WWII Gallery.  Flak-Bait on the left.  Flat-Bait on the right.  NASM 2014-03656

With careful direction and measuring, Flat-Bait made it out of the gallery and into the museum corridor.

Taking Flat-Bait for a walk.  NASM 2014-03657

Then came the next test—the freight elevator.  Success!

Flat-Bait fits!  NASM 2014-03665

June 18 was the big day!  Flak-Bait moved down the hall to the freight elevator and…fit!

The real Flak-Bait enters the freight elevator.  NASM 2014-03304

Flak-Bait was then loaded into a truck and carried to the Udvar-Hazy Center, where it has since been reunited with the other two sections of the fuselage.

Hangar Sweet Hangar!!  NASM 2014-03788

Although currently you can only view Flak-Bait with your face pressed up against the glass of the hangar, the National Air and Space Museum has found ways for you to still connect with the work that we’re doing.  The Museum is constantly updating our Twitter, Facebook, and Flickr accounts with Flak-Bait photos.  Another great source for information is our AirSpace blog.

We in the Archives can’t wait to see what else we will discover in our collections to help!!

Elizabeth C. Borja, Archivist
National Air and Space Museum Archives

Friday Flashback: Hello, Helldiver!

This October, the Smithsonian Collections Blog is celebrating American Archives Month with a month-long blogathon! We will be posting new content almost every weekday with the theme Discover and Connect. See additional posts from our other participating blogs, as well as related events and resources, on the Smithsonian’s Archives Month website.

During Archives Month 2013, the National Air and Space Museum Archives told one of the many true stories behind the restoration of the Museum’s Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.  In this story, restoration specialist Will Lee created a new clip for the outboard trailing edge using Curtiss manufacturer’s drawings from the Archives’ collections.

NASM Restoration specialist Will Lee with drawings from the Archives Department and newly fabricated parts for the Museum's Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver.  NASM 2013-03245

On April 1, 2014, the Helldiver finally went on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia!  Although you can’t see the clip Will constructed under the fabric, dope, and paint, we all know it’s there! 

The Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver on display at the Steven F. Udvar Hazy Center.  NASM 2014-01742

And that isn’t quite the end of the story. Will gave the Archives duplicate copies of his work. We now pair these pieces with reproductions of the drawings as show and tell in Museum events, such as Become a Pilot Day and the Hazy Open House.

Will's duplicate pieces were part of the NASM Archives showcase in front of the Helldiver at Become a Pilot Day 2014.  (I'm very excited about something!)  NASM 2014-03501

What is the National Air and Space Museum up to next?  Stay tuned for Monday’s post!

Elizabeth C. Borja, Archivist
National Air and Space Museum Archives

Restoration of the Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver: From Airplane to Archives Back to Airplane

True story: when you are restoring an airplane, you may need to make a trip to the archives. The National Air and Space Museum is working to restore our Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver, currently located in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center. This process involves many of the Collections units, including Preservation and Restoration, and Conservation. These units have had to work closely with the Archives Department. Why? We hold many of the documents—drawings, technical manuals, photographs—that guide the process! A good example of the relationship between the archives and aircraft restoration is the recent creation of a new clip for the Helldiver.

Curtiss SB2C-5 Helldiver in the Mary Baker Engen Restoration Hangar.  NASM 2013-03237

Earlier this year, NASM Restoration Specialist Will Lee removed the outboard trailing edge of the Helldiver’s elevator. Some of the component parts, including clips connecting the ribs to the trailing edge and the trailing edge itself, were damaged beyond repair. Given their current state, he determined that he would need to reconstruct this section of the aircraft completely. He decided to return to the original source—Curtiss manufacturer’s drawings for the U.S. Navy.

NASM Restoration Specialist Will Lee works on the Helldiver's elevator.  NASM 2013-03238

The National Air and Space Museum Archives holds over 16,000 rolls of 35mm microfilm covering over 600 different types of aviation equipment. This collection includes a set of eighteen reels of drawings for the Curtiss SB2C-3, SB2C-4, and SB2C-5. Each roll could contain up to 1000 individual drawings, though the average is about 400 to 500 drawings per roll. To complicate matters, the set was donated without an index!

The quality of the Navy microfilming process was mixed. Some drawings are completely legible; others are quite impossible to read. An intrepid group of seven museum volunteers worked six hours a day, four days a week, for four months to provide an index to the Helldiver microfilm. 

Using the index and a parts catalog from the Archives, Will determined which assembly drawing he needed for the individual clip. He then requested a paper reproduction from the Archives. Although many of the original drawings may initially be difficult to read, the Archives can work with the microfilm print to enhance its legibility.

The original assembly drawings, however, only give the actual size of the components, not the direct dimensions actually needed to manufacture the parts. Using the assembly drawing and several math formulas, Will calculated the proper dimensions to make his own construction drawing for the parts.

Clockwise from top: original assembly drawing, Will Lee's construction drawing, drawing attached to metal, and folded metal piece.  NASM 2013-03244

Will then photocopied his new drawing and attached it to a sheet of metal, folding the piece to fabricate the clip. After compressing a standard cylindrical tube to make an airfoil-shaped tube, he formed the rest of the elevator section. Then, using tubular rivets, he attached the newly fabricated clip to the newly fabricated tube to form part of the new elevator section.

New clip for the Curtiss Helldiver SB2C-5 (left) compared to the parts originally found on the aircraft.  NASM 2013-03240

This same scenario has played out for numerous members of the restoration staff as they request drawings for other parts and sections of the Helldiver. The Archives has been excited to assist with the restoration of the Helldiver and we look forward to its display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center in Chantilly, Virginia.

Elizabeth C. Borja, Archivist
National Air and Space Museum Archives