San Martin Airport Museum
Goal: Propelling interest in aircraft history
Well known on the boutique aircraft circuit, South County Airport in San Martin offers more then just a landing strip. Visitors who fly and drive into the increasingly busy airport can stop by the adjacent Wings of History Museum and see a sizable aircraft, engine and model exhibit.
Wings of History is an all-volunteer organization that works to promote the lore and history of flight, concentrating mostly on civilian air operations, as opposed to military. Their collection includes everything from a 1930 Peel Glider Boat to a full-size replica of a 1903 Wright Flyer, to a "SimCopter," a one-of-a-kind, homebuilt helicopter-car.
"One our specialties is trying to impart a sense of history of flight, the length and breadth of the individuals and the world involved. It's not just the main focus you'd get in school," said Museum volunteer Mick Burton.
Preservation and restoration of antique aircrafts is also a big part of the museum facility, which houses one of the few remaining operating and licensed wooden-propeller-manufacturing shops in the country, the Ole Fahlin Memorial Propeller Shop.
There they make what's called a "full sandwich": custom-built, experimental and antique propellers made out of multiple layers of wood, which were the standard of flight in the earlier years of aviation, from 1903 to 1935.
Compared to other handmade wooden-prop manufactures, Ole Fahlin offers high quality propellers at hefty discount, but, being a volunteer run operation, they don't make them in a hurry.
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