The Solar Impulse is a long-range solar-powered aircraft with which Dr. Piccard and his team hope to achieve the first circumnavigation of the Earth by a piloted fixed-wing aircraft using only solar power. The project is led by Piccard and André Borschberg, engineer and former Swiss air force pilot.  Their mission is to make people aware of renewable energies and new technologies that can create new jobs and markets while protecting the environment.

To underscore their mission and educate the public about new technologies and renewable energy, the Solar Impulse team is making a transcontinental “Across America” flight with only five stops—one of which will be at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.  The Museum is participating in the mission of Solar Impulse’s “Across America” flight with educational displays at the D/FW Airport location where the aircraft will stay for several days while in the Metroplex.

During its stay, this unique flying laboratory will be available for public viewing on a limited basis at a yet-to-be-determined date and time (the aircraft’s schedule is dependent on weather considerations).  To visit the aircraft, individuals may register on the Solar Impulse web site at www.solarimpulse.com, which also has photographs and video footage of the aircraft from the project’s inception.

The Solar Impulse is a single-seat monoplane bearing the Swiss aircraft registration HB-SIA.  It has a wingspan of 208 feet (63.4 meters), and is capable of taking off under its own power and remaining airborne up to 36 hours.  It takes off at 22 mph (35 km/h), cruises at 43 mph (70 km/h), and its four ten-horsepower (7.5 kW) electric motors are capable of taking the aircraft to an astounding 27,900 feet (8500 meters).

 See www.solarimpulse.com for the progress of the “Across America” flight and to register for public viewing while the aircraft is at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport.

Astronauts Alan Bean, Gene Cernan, Eileen Collins, Frank Culbertson, Fred Haise, Tom Henricks, Mike Lopez-Alegria, Jim Lovell, Tom Stafford, and Mary Ellen Weber joined former U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison, Texas Lt. Governor David Dewhurst, and U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson along with avid aviators, and rocket and spacecraft representatives to honor Congressman Ralph Hall and the U.S. Space Program.

Learn more! Check out the Photo Gallery

The Rotary National Award for Space Achievement (RNASA) Foundation was founded by the Space Center Rotary Club of Houston, Texas in 1985 to organize and coordinate an annual event to recognize outstanding achievements in space and create greater public awareness of the benefits of space exploration. Each year since 1987, the Foundation has presented the National Space Trophy to an outstanding American who has made major contributions to our nation’s space program.

The gala event will be held on April 26, 2012 in Houston, Texas.

Another art medium is reflected in a series of decorative tiles that commemorates the company’s sponsorship of the JASON Project, started in 1989 by Dr. Robert Ballard (the discoverer of the Titanic) to motivate and inspire students in the fields of science, technology, engineering and mathematics.

Autograph collectors viewing the exhibit will be interested in a group of framed flight plans signed by some of EDS Aviation’s more well-known passengers.  The selection of printouts includes such diverse names as entertainers Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, golfer Nancy Lopez, former president George Bush, and General Norman Schwarzkopf.

The exhibit will be on display in the Browning Gallery through March 31, 2013.

The George E. Haddaway Award is presented by the Frontiers of Flight Museum each year to individuals, or groups of individuals, who have distinguished themselves by their accomplishments in the realm of flight.  The award is not restricted to pilots and aircrew members, but also recognizes excellence in other disciplines in an aerospace context such as corporate leadership, engineering, education, and literature.  Previous awardees include The Honorable John Glenn, General Chuck Yeager, Herb Kelleher, Colleen Barrett, the Women Air Force Service Pilots of WWII, General James H. Doolittle, The Civil Air Patrol, The Honorable Barry Goldwater and U.S. Congressman Sam Johnson (TX-03).

Hall has been a longtime proponent and dedicated advocate of science, space and aviation.  In 2011, Congressman Hall was named Chairman of the Science, Space, and Technology Committee in the U.S. House of Representatives. He has led this Committee in efforts to promote science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education.

Hall has also been credited for helping to advance research and development for new technologies to keep America competitive.  Hall has worked to utilize abundant domestic energy resources and helped explore alternative energy sources that would lower costs and increase national security.  He has also played an integral role in ensuring America’s preeminence in human space exploration.

“We are delighted to honor Congressman Hall at our signature event this spring,” said Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Frontiers of Flight Museum. “Congressman Hall will deservingly join a distinguished group of honorees who have previously received the Haddaway Award and helped champion space exploration and advanced aviation achievements to benefit all generations,” she said.

Hall was born in Fate, Texas in Rockwall County and attended public schools in Rockwall. In 1942, he joined the U.S. Navy, serving as a lieutenant (senior grade) aircraft carrier pilot from 1942 to 1945. After receiving his LL.B. from Southern Methodist University in 1951, he was admitted to the Texas Bar in 1951 and maintained a private law practice in Rockwall for many years.

Congressman Hall’s public service began at the urging of his wife, Mary Ellen Murphy, who he married in 1944. Between 1950 and 1962, Ralph served as County Judge of Rockwall County, Texas. In 1958-1959, he served as President of the State Judges and Commissioners Association. He served in the Texas Senate from 1962 to 1972, and was President Pro Tempore in 1968-1969.

In addition Congressman Hall had an active business career in Rockwall County: he served as President/CEO of Texas Aluminum Corp., General Counsel of Texas Extrusion Co., was a founding member of Lakeside National Bank in Rockwall, and Chairman of Lakeside News, Inc.

ABOUT GEORGE E. HADDAWAY

George E. Haddaway was a prominent fixture in the north Texas aviation scene for decades as a pilot and aviation journalist.   For forty years, beginning in 1934, he was publisher of the area’s most successful aviation magazine, Southwest Aviation, which underwent several name changes to reflect his observations as the area’s aviation industry matured.  His years of publishing brought Mr. Haddaway into contact with aeronautical legends such as “Jimmy” Doolittle, Charles Lindbergh, Wiley Post and others, and he accumulated a wealth of aviation-related memorabilia and archives.  With this vast treasure trove of books, photographs, and papers, he was the driving force behind the formation of the History of Aviation Collection, now housed at the McDermott Library of the University of Texas at Dallas.  The many significant three-dimensional artifacts he acquired formed the basis for the founding of the Frontiers of Flight Museum to house and display these priceless aeronautical heirlooms.

The Advocate Magazine

Joy Tipping, Staff Writer
Dallas Morning News

Published: 05 July 2012 08:38 PM

I’ve adored airplanes since I was a little girl taking frequent trips in my dad’s tiny red-and-white Piper Tri-Pacer, flying between Dallas’ Redbird Airport and various points in Oklahoma, where most of our relatives lived. Dad sold the plane when I was about 10 (I sobbed uncontrollably), but I’ve retained an inordinate fondness for anything with wings or a rocket. A few years ago, I had a chance to fly with the Blue Angels and turned it down (I was afraid I’d barf into my oxygen mask, forever ruining my daredevil reputation). I’ve never forgiven myself for that (Blue Angels, if you’re reading this, I’m here and ready to go).

Given my love of all things aeronautical, it was with great pleasure and anticipation that I took my first outing to the Frontiers of Flight Museum at Love Field. Well, I’d actually visited the museum long ago, when it was tucked into a corner of the Love Field terminal building, but since that visit, oh my, it’s gone way upscale.

The 24-year-old museum has, since 2004, been housed in a converted aircraft hangar on Love Field grounds, at the intersection of Lemmon Avenue and University Boulevard. Drive into the parking area and the first thing you’ll see is a Southwest Airlines Boeing 737 jauntily half-in, half-out of the building.

Vice president of development Jess L. Hall tells me that when the museum got the plane, the wall was taken down and then rebuilt around the aircraft. In addition to large exhibits devoted to Southwest and Braniff airlines, the museum boasts such star attractions as the Apollo 7 command module (grubby from its space travels, awe-inspiring to behold); the one-of-a-kind Vought V-173 “Flying Pancake” (it looks like an awkward, bright-yellow flying saucer); a life-size reproduction of the Wright brothers’ plane flown at Kitty Hawk, N.C., in 1903; prominent mentions of Dallas-related aviation history; and the only moon rock on display in North Texas.

The museum’s “Walk Through Time” area of the main gallery includes sections devoted to Early Dreamers & Flyers, Balloons & Airships, the Golden Age of Flying (1919-1934), World Wars I and II, commercial and general aviation, modern warfare and space travel. You can listen to volunteers in character costumes describe the exploits of Amelia Earhart, “Dr. Moonwalker” and others. Some lectures are given by area residents who actually flew the planes and lived the history, with visitors perched reverently on seating made of airplane seats and Air Force footlockers. Mini-theaters throughout the building offer video enhancement for the various exhibits.

The fun gift shop has everything from flight-gear-decked-out rubber duckies to children’s flight suits, miniature airplanes and toys to aviation patches and pins. You can also pick up an official “Area 51” Restricted Area Pass.

Hall says the museum gets more than 130,000 visitors each year. When I was there, the guest book entries from the past few days showed visitors from Mississippi, Virginia, Louisiana, Indiana and Alaska, as well as Mexico, France and Canada. Frontiers of Flight also hosts lots of weddings, birthday and other parties, and corporate events, and offers a banquet of educational opportunities. This summer’s hands-on Flight School camps for kids from pre-K through 10th grade started in June and continue through early August. (For info on the remaining sessions, see Family Fun briefs on Page 46. )

Melanie Romero, 12, of Dallas has been attending Flight School for three years. She’s in this year’s Aero Lab class for seventh- and eighth-graders, learning about flying weather, aerial charts, navigation and more. She says she loves “the way everything fits together, and how you have to know different ways to fly — it’s not just one way for every plane.” Her favorite experience so far has been building and launching a rocket in a previous class.

Joshua Hutchins, 12, also from Dallas, is in his first Flight School class. He says he “wanted to experience what it would be like to fly in a helicopter, and to design my own helicopter.” Joshua was surprised to learn all the mechanics behind “how the wings get you lifted off the ground.”

In the education area, a hallway is painted like a runway, with an actual runway designation. A large play area, funded by real estate doyenne Ebby Halliday and her family, features a 24-foot flight tower that kids can climb. Teensy planes revolve around the upper area, giving kids a glimpse at being an air-traffic controller.

Aside from the museum’s large collection of gorgeous planes (be sure to go to the second level for an eye-level view of the aircraft suspended in the main gallery), I especially loved the historic artifacts, such as the actual radio operator’s seat from the doomed Hindenburg airship disaster in 1937, chilling audio from a reporter as he witnessed the explosion and the unexpectedly whimsical Hindenburg-shaped coin bank and chocolate molds (you can buy the chocolates in the gift store).

I also learned where the expression “flying by the seat of your pants” comes from: Most airmail pilots navigated, in part, by feeling the “G” pressure on their bodies through the airplanes’ seats.

The Southwest exhibit was also a personal favorite. You’ll see the famous “Texas Triangle” (Dallas-Houston-San Antonio) napkin drawing that inspired the creation of the airline (in both napkin and giant bronze renditions), and a display called “From Hot Pants to Cool Shorts” about the evolving fashion of employee uniforms (Hot pants! Irony alert: This is the same airline that last month bumped someone for “too much cleavage,” although Southwest later apologized to the passenger).

My advice for your visit to Frontiers of Flight: Give yourself at least two or three hours, and make sure you take in all the nooks and crannies of the main gallery area. With your eyes all starry from looking at the planes above you, you might easily walk right past some of the most interesting displays.

The museum is at 6911 Lemmon Ave., Dallas. Admission is $8 for adults, $6 for seniors 65 and older, $5 for ages 3-17, free for children under 3. Open Mondays through Saturdays from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sundays 1 to 5 p.m. 214-350-3600. flightmuseum.com.

The museum awarded Kelly, Southwest board chairman, president and CEO, the George E. Haddaway Award at a Thursday night banquet that celebrated all things aviation.

“Any time we get an honor by such a tremendous organization like this, it’s very humbling,” said Kelly, a 24-year veteran of the company. “On the other hand, Southwest is a great company and I feel like our people do wonderful things all the time. We all know that’s why I’m being honored — it’s on behalf of Southwest Airlines. I’m always pleased to accept awards for our people. They do a great job and I’m very proud of them.”

The museum recognized Kelly for guiding Southwest through a tumultuous era in commercial aviation, as well as the acquisition of AirTran Airways.

The award is named for George Haddaway, a North Texas pilot and aviation journalist. Haddaway’s aviation memorabilia and archives were the seed of both the History of Aviation Collection at UT Dallas and the Frontiers of Flight Museum.