The Frontiers of Flight Museum today announced it is adding over 70 high-resolution images to the Google Cultural Institute, allowing people around the world to explore the extensive collection of historical artifacts, aircraft, and other objects relating to the history of aviation and space flight online.

Highlighted in the Frontiers of Flight Museum Google Cultural Institute Gallery are significant items of the Museum’s vast collection of aviation artifacts. Among the items are the one-of-a-kind V-173 “Flying Pancake,” the Apollo 7 Command Module, and the first production Boeing 737-300 built and delivered to Southwest Airlines. The high-resolution images focus on some of the most exclusive aviation and space flight-related artifacts in the world. The resolution of these images, combined with a custom-built zoom viewer, allows aviation enthusiasts and historians the opportunity to explore the Museum online.

Using the Street View feature, people can move around the gallery virtually, selecting artifacts that interest them and clicking to discover more or diving into the high resolution images, where available.

A specially-designed Street View ‘trolley’ took 360-degree images of the interior of selected galleries enabling smooth navigation of the entire Museum. The gallery interiors are easily accessible from directly within the Street View in Google Maps.

According to Google officials, “The Frontiers of Flight Museum is the newest partner launching on the Google Cultural Institute along with 29 institutions from around the world including the Museo Diocesano Milano in Italy, the Milwaukee Art Museum in Wisconsin and the National Gallery Athens – Alexandros Soutzos Museum in Greece.”

Google+ and video hangouts integrated on the site allows viewers to invite friends to view and discuss their favorite pieces in a video chat. The ‘My Gallery’ feature allows users to save specific views, build their own personalized gallery with comments, and share with friends and family. This is an ideal tool for students or groups to work on collaborative projects or collections.

The Google Cultural Institute is dedicated to creating technology that helps the cultural community bring their art, archives, heritage sites, and other materials online. The Frontiers of Flight Museum is excited to be a part of this endeavor to increase the range and volume of material from the cultural world and, in doing so, preserve it for future generations.

About the Frontiers of Flight Museum

The Frontiers of Flight Museum is conveniently located just north of downtown on Lemmon Avenue at the southeast side of Dallas Love Field Airport, north of Mockingbird Lane. Housed in a modern 100,000- square-foot facility, the Museum provides a focal point to explore the history and progress of aviation, as mankind continues to pursue going higher, faster and farther. Hours of operation: Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Adults $10; Seniors (65+) $8; Youths/Students (3-17) $7 and children under 3 are free. For more information, visit www.flightmuseum.com.

DISD’s Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School and GPISD’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy to Join the Effort 

Today, the Frontiers of Flight Museum announced how grants from Boeing, Exxon Mobil Corporation, PPG Industries Foundation, Time Warner Cable, Gulfstream, and Fluor have enabled the Museum to launch a new education program titled the “Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative,” which is currently underway this school year.  Visit www.flightmuseum.com.

The initiative is a collaborative effort between Dallas ISD's Irma Rangel Young Women's Leadership School and Grand Prairie ISD’s Young Women’s Leadership Academy.  Both are public all-girl’s schools in the D/FW area which emphasize leadership, as well as STEM (science, technology, engineering and math) education.

The Museum’s program encourages underserved female students in their pursuit of STEM related disciplines. The initiative helps increase the students’ knowledge of STEM-related principles in aerospace; and awareness of and interest in aerospace and STEM careers. It also enhances analytical and problem solving skills and provides leadership skill building opportunities.

 “In partnering with these two schools, the Museum aims to increase the girls’ understanding of aerospace while instilling confidence in STEM education,” said Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Frontiers of Flight Museum. “This is particularly exciting because it may encourage many young women to consider careers in aviation and aerospace. The community as a whole and the aerospace industry in particular will benefit from more young women pursuing STEM careers and aerospace jobs.”

Thanks to the Museum’s Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative local students are being exposed to a variety of STEM related educational opportunities throughout the school year.  

More than 600 students are participating in guided museum tours as well as onsite and outreach educational programming. Additional education opportunities include special programs during Engineers Week and a one-week immersive camp during Spring Break, which offers an in-depth STEM based experience to increase analytical and problem solving skills through experimentation and hands-on learning.

Other benefits include paid internships for 10 upper-class young women students to assist teachers with spring break camp, and 16 internships and 10 scholarships for the Museum’s Flight School Summer Camp classes. 

The Frontiers of Flight Museum is using the Young Women’s STEM Leadership Initiative to enhance the effectiveness of its current education programs while extending its reach to serve more girls. “This initiative gave us a roadmap with a clear course to enhance our quality STEM programming with new resources and activities that will help us inspire and empower young women across North Texas,” said Sutterfield-Jones.  

By the year 2016, there will be a talent gap of 7 million skilled workers in the United States -- jobs requiring science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) skills that are not being developed according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

In the Dallas-Fort Worth area, 20.4% of the workforce is currently in STEM positions; over the next 5 years the region is expected to experience the 4th largest STEM growth in the country. Women make up less than 25% of participants in STEM programs nationally and are at particularly low levels in aviation.

 “Statistics suggest that there is tremendous growth opportunity for young women in STEM education and related careers,” said Sutterfield-Jones.  “Thanks to the support for our Young Women’s STEM Leadership Institute, the Frontiers of Flight Museum is better able to meet the accelerated demand for its outstanding STEM education programs.  These efforts help contribute to increased technical literacy in the short-term, resulting in better-skilled employees in the long-term with a lasting impact on our community.”

About the Frontiers of Flight Museum

The Frontiers of Flight Museum, a Smithsonian Institution Affiliate, is a gem in the North Texas community that attracts over 100,000 visitors annually including 30,000 students.  The Museum is conveniently located just north of downtown on Lemmon Avenue at the southeast side of Dallas Love Field Airport, north of Mockingbird Lane.

Housed in a modern 100,000-square-foot facility, the Frontiers of Flight Museum provides a focal point to explore the history and progress of aviation, as mankind continues to pursue going higher, faster and farther. Educational classes for all ages are offered throughout the year, designed to excite the imagination in science, technology, engineering, and math through spacecraft design, aerodynamics, model-building, space survival, and other disciplines.

 For information call: (214) 350-1651 or visit www.flightmuseum.com.

The Douglas C-47 Whiskey 7, a rare “warbird” with actual combat experience, will be on display at the Museum Oct. 25

The Frontiers of Flight Museum, 6911 Lemmon Ave., will host an exciting, once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to “fly into history” with the arrival of the D-Day C-47 on Saturday, Oct. 25.  The Douglas C-47 Whiskey 7, a rare “warbird” with actual combat experience, will be on display for public viewing at the Museum from 10:00 a.m. until 1:30 p.m.  The aircraft, owned by National Warplane Museum, recently returned from the 70th commemoration of the D-Day Invasion in Normandy, France. The National Warplane Museum is dedicated to the restoration, preservation, display, and flight of aircraft of the World War II and Korean War eras, as well as the recognition of all United States Military personnel for their service and sacrifice.

Though it’s vintage, the C-47 that dropped Allied paratroops behind enemy lines before dawn on June 6, 1944, isn’t done flying, yet.  The plane known as Whiskey 7, so named because of its W-7 squadron marking, will arrive at the Frontiers of Flight Museum for a special presentation and early tribute for Veterans Day.

Whiskey 7’s flight to Dallas is sponsored by the Happy State Bank. Participating bank representatives include Mikel Williamson, Chief Operating Officer and Robert Gottlich, Sr. Vice President, along with Vic Weir, Chairman, Fort Worth Airpower Council.

The aircraft is in the area to participate in the American Airlines Sky Ball, the nation’s largest event honoring military, veterans, wounded warriors and families of fallen service men and women.

Aviation enthusiasts of all ages are encouraged to come early as Whiskey 7 arrives at approximately 9:15 a.m. and meet its VIP passengers, including Medal of Honor recipients and World War II veterans.  Special guests include: WWII and Korean War Veteran Joseph Turecky, a C-47 pilot who dropped paratroopers over Normandy; Michael Fitzmaurice, Medal of Honor Recipient; and Dominique Portier, Belgium Army S/Sgt., who is active in adopting graves of American WWII veterans buried on foreign soil.

“We are delighted to have these honored passengers and guests join us to welcome the arrival of this magnificent aircraft as we pay homage to our veterans during the 70^th anniversary year of D-Day,” said Cheryl Sutterfield-Jones, Chief Executive Officer, Frontiers of Flight Museum. “It’s hard to imagine flying an unarmed plane like Whiskey 7 in the dark of early morning over Occupied France on D-Day,” she said. “The courage of those aircrews was truly amazing when you consider all the elements in play that morning—the foul weather, the antiaircraft fire, and the very real possibility of a midair collision due to all the aircraft in the air.  The people that flew and rode in these aircraft were true heroes.” Whiskey 7 is a national treasure and an important part of American history that we are so proud to share at the Museum for all North Texans to enjoy.”    

About the Frontiers of Flight Museum

The Frontiers of Flight Museum is conveniently located just north of downtown on Lemmon Avenue at the southeast side of DallasLoveFieldAirport, north of Mockingbird Lane. Housed in a modern 100,000- square-foot facility, the Museum provides a focal point to explore the history and progress of aviation, as mankind continues to pursue going higher, faster and farther. Hours of operation: Monday – Saturday: 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.; and Sunday: 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. Admission: Adults $8; Seniors (65+) $6; Youths/Students (3-17) $5 and children under 3 are free. For more information, visit www.flightmuseum.com.

The Frontiers of Flight Museum will commemorate 9/11 with a special lecture by Colonel Dan Cain titled: "Defending America: Protecting the Skies on September 11, 2011."  The lecture will be held on Thursday, Sept. 11 at 7 p.m. at the Museum located at 6911 Lemmon Ave.  Col Caine is an F-16 pilot with the District of Columbia Air National Guard, based at Andrews Air Force Base, close to D.C., and was on duty as the Supervisor of Flying on September 11, 2001.  As the tragic events unfolded, he took to the sky with orders to shoot down any hijacked airliners that posed a threat to the nation’s capital. 

Once airborne, Col. Caine (at that time a major) acted as mission commander and formulated a defense plan literally “on the fly” as he coordinated operations with other aircraft on varying radio frequencies with different controlling agencies.  He also intercepted several aircraft and directed them away from the D.C. area, sometimes pulling in front of them and launching flares to make the point.

Join us for this fascinating presentation about the heart-pounding action that took place in the airspace over our nation’s capital on that fateful day.  The lecture is free with paid admission to the Museum. Visit: http://www.flightmuseum.com/.