SFO Lecture Series Celebrates the Centennial of Flight

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
CONTACT: Jane Sullivan
Manager Marketing and Communications
(650) 821-5123
SF-03-49

SFO Lecture Series Celebrates the Centennial of Flight

SAN FRANCISCO -- In honor of the 100th anniversary of flight, San Francisco Airport Museums will host two lectures celebrating achievements in early aviation design during the era of the Wright Brothers, and the latter-day development of successful human-powered flight:

John J. Montgomery: California’s Pioneer of Flight
Saturday, September 27, 2003 - 10:00 a.m.
In this lecture, Dr. Mark D. Ardema will present the story of John J. Montgomery, an early developer of monoplane and tandem-wing gliders who lived and worked in California from 1858 to 1911. Montgomery’s achievements in aeronautics influenced the aircraft design work of others in the age of the Wright Brothers. Dr. Ardema is a professor at the Santa Clara University Mechanical Engineering Division.

Flight of Imagination: Adventures with the Gossamer Airplanes
Saturday, October 11, 2003 - 10:00 a.m.
Join Dr. Morton Grosser for his lecture “Flight of Imagination: Adventures with the Gossamer Airplanes.” The Gossamer Condor, Gossamer Albatross, and other human-powered aircraft designed and built in California set world records and won the largest prizes in aviation history including the crossing of the English Channel in 1979. Dr. Grosser was a member of the English Channel Flight Expedition Team and a pilot of the Gossamer Albatross II.

The lectures are open to the public and free of charge. Both lectures will be held at the San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum, located on the Departures/Ticketing Level of SFO’s International Terminal. Airport parking will be validated at the event. For more information on the lecture series, please call (650) 821-6799.

The lectures are presented in conjunction with the upcoming Crissy Field Centennial of Flight Festival on October 18, 2003. This 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. family celebration of aviation history is a joint project of the National Park Service and Golden Gate National Parks Conservancy, the Presidio Trust, and the San Francisco Airport Museums. For Crissy Field Centennial of Flight Festival Information, please call (415) 561-5500.

San Francisco Airport Museums

The San Francisco Airport Commission Aviation Library and Louis A. Turpen Aviation Museum is an 11,500-square foot facility modeled after the Airport’s own 1930s era air terminal. It provides research services and exhibition programs to increase public awareness of achievements in air transport. For more information about the Library and Museum, please visit www.sfoarts.org. For directions, please go directly to www.sfoarts.org/maps/directions.