130 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1951 



ACKNOWLEDGMENTS 



Each year the Air Museum receives, in addition to its accessions, 

 very helpful assistance from many sources. Particular acknowledg- 

 ment this year is accorded to the United States Air Force for trans- 

 porting the X-1 supersonic airplane from Boston to Washington; to 

 the Bell Aircraft Corp. for preparing this plane for exhibition ; and 

 to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics for furnishing 

 data on its flights. The United States Air Force also supplied a crew 

 to assist the Museum's exhibits workers in dismantling the DeHav- 

 illand-4 to make room for the X-1. The United States Air Force 

 and Republic Aviation cooperated in preparing for exhibition the 

 cockpit and nose portion of the F-84 thunder] et previously men- 

 tioned. The Navy furnished a crew to move the F9C-2 Akron fighter 

 airplane and to move, repair, and paint the hull of the transatlantic 

 NC-4. William B. Stout, Advisory Board member, constructed a 

 replica of his Sky Car fuselage and fitted it to the existing units of 

 (his famous plane previously in the Museum's custody, thus restoring 

 it to its original appearance. 



The reference files, which constitute a valuable source of informa- 

 tion used in preparation of labels for specimens, for research by the 

 staff, and in answering inquiries from visitors and correspondents, 

 were greatly improved during the year by important donations. The 

 Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corp. gave a collection of 44 framed 

 photographs of aircraft produced by this company and its associates ; 

 Mr. and Mrs. W. S. Clime, of Old Lyme, Conn., presented photo- 

 graphs, articles, and clippings relative to the flights at Fort Myer, Va., 

 in 1908-09 by the Wright Brothers ; Joseph M. Gwinn, Jr., of Buffalo, 

 N. Y., forwarded data on the Gwinn Aircar of 1937; Miss Elsa 

 Needham, of Washington, D. C, gave photographs of lighter-than-air 

 craft; R. M. Kinderman, of Hazlet, N. J., 1,744 items, mainly aero- 

 nautical journals dating from 1911 to 1940 including several complete 

 volumes; Benjamin Kohn, of Washington, D. C, photographs of 

 the first World Flight, 1924, and the Good Will Flight to Latin 

 America in 1926-27; Alois Schlachter, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., 

 photographs of prominent aeronautical personages, and material 

 associated with Zeppelin airship operations; Mrs. Clara Studer, of 

 Elmhurst, N. Y., author of "Sky Storming Yankee," the source 

 material used in writing this biography of Glenn Hammond Curtiss ; 

 and from other sources, photographs, scrapbooks, trade journals, 

 books, and reference items to expand this very useful fund of aero- 

 nautical knowledge. 



