Current Exhibitions

On display January 4 - march 29, 2013

College Park Airport Today: Pilots, Planes & Perspectives

Who’s flying in and out of the world’s oldest, continuously operating airport?  Hear and see the stories of pilots, operations crew and aircraft that use the airport today.  We look at the recent history of flying in the area, including the impact of the events of September 11, 2001 on operations at College Park Airport.

On display march 18 - april 28, 2013

A Woman's Work is Never Done: Working in Wartime at the ERCO Factory, Riverdale

In celebration of Women’s History Month, look into the wartime newsletters published by workers at the ERCO factory in Riverdale.  Containing stories, letters, cartoons and photographs created by the factory’s female employees, these newsletters provide a window into the lives and experiences of women balancing work and home life in the 1940’s.

on display february 1 - June 30, 2013

The Plane of Tomorrow, Today!

Within months of the end of WWII, the Engineering and Research Corporation (ERCO) began marketing its spin-proof, stall-resistant, anyone-can-fly Ercoupe.  The airplane was the work of the brilliant designer Fred Weick, and was marketed as the epitome of a new era of modern living.  The exhibit features the 1946 Ercoupe on loan from the Gravatt family, and a cutaway center section on the floor, including the cockpit.  The design, marketing, and worldwide success of the Ercoupe comes to life as it did in the optimistic days just after WWII.

exhibit extended

A Helicopter Named Gamera, An Engine Named Judy
Creating a Human-Powered Helicopter

In May and July, 2011, a human-powered helicopter named Gamera, piloted by cyclist Judy Wexler, set the first certified world records for human-powered helicopter flight duration and flight duration by a female pilot. Visitors to the College Park Aviation Museum can now see components of this record-breaking aircraft, video of its flights, and an in-depth exploration of the innovations used to create a successful human-powered helicopter.

Gamera (named after a flying turtle in Japanese monster movies) is a project by the University of Maryland's Clark School of Engineering. The Gamera team’s goal is to win the Sikorsky Prize, established in 1980 by the American Helicopter Society International, named for the inventor of the modern helicopter, Igor Sikorsky. The exhibit is a collaboration between the Clark School and the museum to highlight the ongoing history if helicopter innovation at College Park. On February 24, 1924, Berliner Helicopter No. 5 achieved an altitude of 15 feet with a maneuvering radius of 150 feet while maintaining a speed of about 40 mph—one of the first controlled helicopter flights in history. Team Gamera is carrying this tradition forward.