82 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1954 



level the new road and also fill the ruts and hollows on the entrance 

 roadway. This completes the loop as drawn in the original plans. 

 Andrews Air Force Base also lent a quantity of pierced steel plank- 

 ing for temporary road reinforcement. The Navy Department, Bu- 

 reau of Yards and Docks, assisted in preparing the specifications and 

 processing the contracts for the Museum's storage buildings at Suit- 

 land. Additional assistance from Boiling Air Force Base was often 

 given for unloading heavy shipments beyond the capacity of the 

 Museum's handling equipment; and mention of this equipment recalls 

 the efficient services of the Smithsonian property officers who, with the 

 cooperation of the Army and Navy and General Services Administra- 

 tion, obtained two large forklifts and a crane at a cost for transporta- 

 tion only. These machines were made serviceable through tlie help of 

 the Smithsonian service shop personnel and the Museum's exhibits 

 workers. Maintenance projects included painting of six building 

 roofs, clearing stumps and brush, and sawing the felled trees into 

 boards to be used for shoring and shelving. 



Thus, although the amount requested in the budget estimate of the 

 fiscal year 1954 for construction and utilization of the Suitland 

 storage facility was not granted, much progress has been made toward 

 completing this greatly needed auxiliary. 



COOPERATIVE AND EDUCATIONAL SERVICES 



Requests for aeronautical information and educational material 

 are constant and, as the resources and abilities of the Museum and staff 

 become better known, are increasing. The staff is pleased to give such 

 assistance to the best of its ability. The following are typical ex- 

 amples of the kinds of services rendered : 



A number of Government departments were assisted. The Libraiy 

 of Congress and the Musemn have been of mutual assistance in devel- 

 oping files relating to the Wright brothers. Air Force engineer offi- 

 cers preparing a technical study of aircraft structures were given a 

 chronological review illustrated by specific examples in the collection ; 

 Kelly Air Force Base was furnished biographical data on Lt. George 

 M. E. Kelly, for whom that base was named ; and the flight school at 

 Laredo was helped with the writing of articles and with photographs 

 for its students' yearbook. Many Air Force officers visited or phoned 

 for technical and historical facts; the subjects ranged from details 

 of the first World Flight of 1924, biographies of noted airmen, and 

 flight performances of famous airplanes, to clarification of technical 

 terms in foreign translations. The Air University was supplied with 

 a group of photographs illustrating aircraft of the Wright brothers. 

 Authors for Naval Air publications were assisted in identifying photo- 

 graphs of aircraft and in preparing articles. Material and informa- 

 tion were supplied for an exhibit on aircraft-carrier history and for a 



