78 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1964 



Montgomery, Ala., and Augusta, Ga. ; and some of the many awards, 

 trophies, and honors bestowed on these famous brothers. 



The Golden Anniversary Exhibit remained on display during De- 

 cember and was admired by thousands of visitors, particularly those 

 who attended the Wright anniversary celebrations on the 17th. 



A number of other special events and displays were held during the 

 year. On July 17, 1953, a famous airplane, the Boeing 247-D, was 

 brought to Washington on its own wings. The 247-D was one of the 

 first passenger transports of modern design, and this particular one is 

 the most notable of its type. In 1934 it placed third in the race from 

 England to Australia sponsored by Sir MacPherson Robertson, being 

 outflown only by a British De Havilland racer and by a Dutch team 

 in another American transport — the Douglas DC-2. The 247-D was 

 then brought back to the United States and became the flagplane of 

 United Air Lines. After extended passenger service this 247-D was 

 purchased by the Union Electric Co. and used as an executive plane 

 mitil 1939. For the next 15 years it became a test plane for instru- 

 ments, navigating devices, checking radio beams, making airways in- 

 vestigations, and filling other requirements of the Civil Aeronautics 

 Administration. In that service this airplane earned the name of 

 Adaptable Annie. Finally, after 20 years of strenuous performance 

 and 10,000 hours in the air, the Civil Aeronautics Administration 

 turned the aircraft over to the National Air Museum with appropriate 

 ceremonies. 



On July 22, 1953, the twentieth anniversary of Wiley Post's second 

 world flight in which he made the circuit alone, guided in great 

 measure by the Sperry robot pilot, the Sperry Gyroscope Co. pre- 

 sented to the Museum a special display in which Wiley Post's robot 

 pilot is mounted in an exhibition case together with an operable ex- 

 ample of the mechanism, which can be studied by Museimi visitors 

 through manipulation of controls. 



August 12, 1953, was the seventh anniversary of the establishment of 

 the National Air Museum. As one of the celebrations marking the 

 fiftieth year of powered flight, Jennings Randolph, formerly Repre- 

 sentative in Congress from West Virginia, who had been one of those 

 responsible for establishing this Museum, chose that anniversary date 

 to present to the Museum the original pen with which the President 

 of the United States had signed the establishing act. At a Lions Club 

 luncheon, Mr. Randolph spoke of his discussions with General of the 

 Air Force, H. H. Arnold, at the close of World War II, regarding the 

 importance of preserving significant aircraft because of their edu- 

 cational and inspirational value, and how the General and he had 

 combined their ideas into the text which finally became law. 



For the thirty-fifth anniversary of the establishment of Post Office 

 Department-operated airmail, also celebrated on August 12, groups 



