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MAINE ATTRACTION

Air Classics, Aug 2004 by Auliard, Gilles

THE OWLS HEAD TRANSPORTATION MUSEUM IS HOME TO A NUMBER OF FLYING RARITIES

A treasure, waiting to be discovered, lies on the Owls Head peninsula in mid-coastal Maine. This under-populated region relies on the fishing and tourism industries and is isolated from the rest of the world for over six months a year - buried under heavy snow and beaten by high winds off the raging ocean. In this part of the American. Northeast, where distances are measured in time and ground transportation a must, it is fitting there is a museum which glorifies all methods of transportation that helps break its isolation, be it horse carriage, automobile, bicycle, or aircraft.

More Articles of Interest: IN MEMORIAM: DAREN BANFIELD; PASSING THE TORCH; WAY WE FLEW, THE; CALIFORNIA BOOMERANG; Flying the Fokker C.IV

This marvel is the Owls Head Transportation Museum. Opened in 1976, it has a colorful history and A was the brainchild of two important US business- men. In 1971, James Rockefeller Jr., who needs no introduction, decided to build his own private airstrip in the Bold Mountain region of Camden, Maine, to spend his summer vacation flying his collection of antique and reproduction airplanes. Not far from there, on New Heaven Island, was another pri- vate strip which was the domain of Tom Watson. The name might not be as familiar as Rockefeller, but Tom was President of IBM, and had led it from a start-up company in 1952 to a world leader in computers. One day, Rockefeller decided to pay Watson a visit and, from that 1972 encounter, the idea of creating a haven for both their "toys" was born.

Tom was ready to put seed money into the project, while John and Steven Lang were drafting the letter of purpose, which, it was hoped, would meet government requirements for a non-profit organization: "The Owls Head Foundation Trust is organized and operated to collect, maintain and display engines and ground and air vehicles that have played a role in the evolution of transportation. As part of its program it shall do research and documentation, collect material and information, operate the engines and vehicles, and conduct educational programs."

Thus, the purpose, objectives and goals of the museum were established. As a result, the Owls Head Foundation Trust was formed on 1 July 1973, and its statutes approved as a non-profit, private foundation on 2 April 1973. The original directors were James Rockefeller, Steven Lang, Joseph Pellicani and Clarence de Rochemont. The trust acquired a 63.2-acre plot of land at the end of Runway 17 at Knox County Airport, in Rockland, Maine. Construction of the museum buildings was initiated in 1975 and on 21 May 1976, the first 100- by 150-ft display building was dedicated and the museum officially opened.

Its collections are described by Daren Banfield, volunteer pilot, and former conservator: "The Farman F.III is an exact replica, exact in its forms and proportion, but the wing profile has been modified for safety reasons. The engine is an O-320 Lycoming, supplying a lot more power than the original 50-hp engine. It was built here, by our volunteers, and took flight for the first time in 1998. It is a big aircraft, which acts more like a hot air balloon than airplane, because of its slow speed and reactions. Of course, it is a fair weather airplane.

"The Bellanca 1911 is also a replica, built by Jack Gardiner in California, who also built our Royal Aircraft Factory F.E.8 replica. He donated both aircraft and delivered the F.E.8 - flying it from California to Maine. He wanted to do the same with the Bellanca, but we managed to convince him otherwise. The original was powered by a three-cylinder Anzani, and even with its Franklin 90-hp is very underpowered, so it is a very poor cross-country airplane. It flew very few times after its arrival here, but has not flown for the last eight years.

"The Burgess-Wright is a local copy of the Wright Model B, built by the Burgess Corporation of Boston. The Wrights were supplying the engine, while Burgess was building the fuselage and wings. The replica was built in our shop by one of our volunteers, Dennis Smith. But we do not consider it airworthy. We have a real Wright engine on loan that we would love to install on it...

"The Curtiss Pusher is another replica, pretty close to the original. The airplane flies occasionally, but we would like to install a Curtiss OX-5 engine to make it more authentic but, this would also make it less reliable."

Built in 1967, the Pusher was bought by Tom Watson in 1974, and flown to Maine by Jack Gardiner. The first flight at Knox County took place on 25 January 1975. Even with its 90-hp Franklin, it was awfully underpowered. It is now fitted with a 145-hp Continental, after Jim Rockefeller had a close shave while flying it.

This is not the end of the "pioneer-era" types of the collection. Daren continues: "Jim Rockefeller owns a boat-building business. During a slow winter, he put his team on an Etrich Taube project. This endeavor took longer than expected, but the result is here. Everything is as close to the original as possible - the materials are somewhat different, carbon fiber replacing bamboo, but it looks like the original. The engine is modified 200-hp Ranger."

MAINE ATTRACTION

Air Classics, Aug 2004 by Auliard, Gilles

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