Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation
Thermopolis, Wyoming
Heroes of the Sky -- Teacher Resources
Resources – Part 2
Reference Materials Audio Resources and CD-ROMS
Billboard Pop Memories: The 1930s. Rhino Records, 1994. Compact disc. Showcases rise of the big bands of Artie Shaw, Glen Miller and Duke Ellington, Guy Lombardo and Benny Goodman and such hits as “Pennies from Heaven,” “Begin the Beguine,” and “Night and Day.”
The Greatest Ragtime of the Century. Sony, 2003. Compact disc. Happy, rhythmically infectious music known as ragtime flourished internationally between the late 1890s and 1920. During the genre's most popular period, 1910-1920, patrons could drop a coin in a player piano and hear the latest by Eubie Blake and Jelly Roll Morton. Selections are from player pianos 1916-1931.
Heroes of the Sky: Adventures in Early Flight, 1903-1939. The Henry Ford Museum, 2003. CD-ROM. Experience Henry Ford Museum's Heroes of the Sky exhibit on your computer. Take a virtual tour of the 40,000-square-foot exhibit using this interactive CD-ROM program. Games, historic movies and a timeline of aviation milestones.
Original Dance Music of the 1920s and 1930s. Swing Time Records, 2000. Compact disc. Pop songs feature “I Wanna Be Loved By You,” “Somebody Loves Me,” “Who’s Sorry Now,” “I Found a Million Dollar Baby (In a Five and Ten Cent Store,” and “You’re the One I Care For.”
Roaring Twenties. Pearl, 2000. Compact disc. Includes many essentials of 1920s pop hits: “The Charleston,” “Black Bottom,” “Varsity Drag,” “Button Up Your Overcoat,” “Pasadena,” and “Miss Annabelle Lee.”.
To Conquer the Air: The Wright Brothers and the Great Race for Flight. Simon &
Schuster, 2003. Compact disc. Five compact discs. Jistory of the race for first flight documents the efforts of the Wright Brothers and their competitors such as the Smithsonian’s Samuel Pierpont Langley, motorcyclist Glenn Curtiss and Alexander Graham Bell.
Reference Materials Videography
Alone on the Ice: The Story of Admiral Richard Byrd. 60 min. PBS Home Video, 1998. Videocassette. In an age of heroes, Richard Byrd was one of America's greatest. He was an aviation pioneer, the first credited to fly an airplane over the North Pole, then first over the South Pole. In 1934 he became the first to experience winter in the interior of Antarctica.
The Big Airshow. 50 min. Little Mammoth Media, 1999. Videocassette. Visit the world’s largest air show, the Oshkosh Air show, with 14,000 planes and more than a million people in attendance. See some of the world’s top aerobatic pilots perform incredible feats of flying.
Flights of Courage: The Daring Pilots of the U.S. Air Mail Service, 1918-1927. 53 min.
Questar Video, 1997. Videocassette. The United States Postal Service embarked on a bold experiment in the 1920s. From 1918-1927, daring pilots risked their lives to carry mail across the continent, using primitive instruments, no maps and no radios. These young daredevils became heroes and changed mail delivery forever.
The Great Waldo Pepper. 109 min. Goodtimes Home Video, 1998. DVD. 1975 movie starring Robert Redford tells the story of one World War I Veteran who goes on to become a barnstormer in the 1920s. Faithfully depicts barnstorming.
Kitty Hawk: The Wright Brothers’ Journey of Invention. 109 min. David Garrigus, 2003.
Videocassette. Legendary astronauts Neil Armstrong and John Glenn breathe life into the Wright brothers’ writings by portraying the voices of Orville and Wilbur. Features hundreds of rare and unpublished photographs, insights from leading Wright experts, and stunning sequences of replica Wright brothers’ aircraft in flight.
Lindbergh’s Great Race. 90 min. The American Experience, WGBH Boston, 1999. DVD. Award-winning program tells the heart-stopping story of one man’s race against time and staggering odds to win a revered place in the pantheon of American heroes. Rarely-seen footage and little-known sound recordings to document Lindbergh’s history-making solo flight across the Atlantic in 1927.
The New Heroes of the 20th Century. 25 min. International Video Network, 1995. Videocassette. Part of 13-part series Dreams of Flight, produced in association with the Air and Space Smithsonian Magazine, this video focuses on the barnstormers and record breakers of early aviation, including Jimmy Doolittle and Charles Lindbergh.
Richard E. Byrd: The Last Explorer. 45 min. A & E Home Video, 1996. Videocassette. From the program Biograph. Life of Richard E. Byrd from childhood to his courageous feats in the air and on land.
Ruth Law Thrills a Nation. 38 min. Great Plains National Instructional Television, 1994. Videocassette. From the Reading Rainbow television series. Describes record-breaking flight of a daring woman pilot, Ruth Law, from Chicago to New York in 1916.
Those Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines. 138 min. 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, 2004. DVD. Comedy. A newspaper publisher is convinced to sponsor an air race from London to Paris.
The Wright Brothers at Kitty Hawk. 24 min. United Feature Syndicate, Inc. 1988. Videocassette. Part of This is America, Charlie Brown series. The Peanuts gang go to Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, in 1903 to see the Wright Brothers make history.
The Wright Stuff. 60 min. The American Experience, WGBH Boston, 1996. Videocassette. All-American story of two Midwestern boys—Wilbur and Orville
Wright—who truly believed they could fly. Little-known facts, archival photos, historical film footage and home movies, the recollections of family members and expert commentary.
Reference Materials Websites
The Henry Ford Museum
www.thehenryford.org/museum/heroes/
As the organizer of this exhibition, Henry Ford Museum created the permanent exhibition Heroes of the Sky to commemorate the hundredth anniversary of flight. Telling the stories of people from the first forty years of aviation, this exhibition honors the men and women who shaped the skies with their minds, hearts and even their lives. View the original exhibition by themes: First Flight Gallery, Inventors, Barnstormers, Explorers, Record Breakers and Entrepreneurs. If your museum provides on-line access for visitors, an active link to this exhibition Website is ideal.
General Early Aviation
Aviation Pioneers: An Anthology
www.ctie.monash.edu.au/hargrave/pioneers.html
“Saluting the men and women of aviation history.” Biographies of pioneers of flight, airplane manufacturing and daring aviators.
Chasing the Sun
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/
Accompanies television series from PBS, focusing on the history of commercial aviation through the eyes of its innovators. Thorough site includes an aviation timeline; extensive information on planes, innovators and companies; excellent links to other aviation sites; information on the series.
Evolution of Flight
www.flight100.org
American Institute of Aeronautics Website. Information-packed “History of Flight” timeline. Fun interactive activities, including a Wright Flyer Simulator, in the “Click & Learn” section.
How Airplanes Work
www.howstuffworks.com/airplane/htm
Great science of flight explanations, diagrams and detailed information on modern airplane components.
To Fly is Everything…
Invention.psychology.misstate.edu
“Virtual Museum Covering the Invention of the Airplane” with 3-D images of early airplanes.
United States Air Force Museum Online Galleries
www.wpafb.af.mil/museum
Aircraft built and flown by the Wright brothers and other pioneers of early flight.
Inventors
American Experience: The Wright Stuff
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/wright
Interviews, film clips and transcripts from the American Experience documentary about the Wright Brothers.
First Flight
firstflight.open.ac.uk
Experience a multimedia wind tunnel and bicycle balance experiments, while learning how Wilbur and Orville invented the airplane.
Flights of Inspiration
sln.fi.edu/flights
Franklinn Institute Online. Fun hands-on activities. The Wright brothers, first nonstop transatlantic flight.
How We Made the First Flight
www.aero-web.org/history/wright/wright.htm
How the Wright brothers invented the airplane in Orville’s own words.
Milestones of Flight Gallery
www.nasm.si.edu/galleries/gal100/gal100.html
See the original 1903 Wright “Kitty Hawk” Flyer on this Smithsonian National Air and
Space Museum website.
Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company and Museum of Pioneer Aviation
http://www.first-to-fly.com
Amazing website with information and images of replicas of the 1899 kite to a virtual hangar. Start at the Museum Guide to get your bearings.
The Wright Brothers Home and Cycle Shop
http://www.hfmgv.org/exhibits/wright/default.asp
The Henry Ford Museum, the producers of Heroes of the Sky, has an extensive collection of Wright objects. Information about the Wrights’ childhood, their cycle shop, the world’s first airplane, a timeline and excellent resources.
The Wright Brothers and the Invention of the Aerial Age
www.nasm.si.edu/wrightbrothers
Extensive biographical information on the Wright brothers as well as a history of their work to invent a flying machine. Highlights include interactive experiments with roll, pitch and yaw, an artifact gallery and classroom activities.
Wright Brothers Negatives Search
Memory.loc.gov/pp/wriquery.html
Images taken by the Wright brothers. Search by subject heading or by Library of Congress title.
The Wright Brothers Web Resources for Students
http://www.cdli.ca/CITE/wright.htm
Best web links related to museums, biographical information, first flight, the evolution of the Wright flyer, photo history of the Wright brothers and teacher resources. Great place to start.
The Wright Experience
www.wrightexperience.com
These folks have set out “to rediscover the Wright brothers’ experimentation, discovery,
and methodology” by reconstructing—and flying—all the brothers’ gliders and airplanes.
Website highlights their progress and what they’re learning along the way.
Daredevil Fliers
Air Mail Pioneers
http://www.airmailpioneers.org/
Early air mail pilots who flew 1918-1927 includes valuable photographs and information such as milestones, fatalities, maps, a photo match game, more.
Bessie Coleman.com
http://www.bessiecoleman.com/
Detailed biography with valuable links to other Coleman sites.
Thompson/Gale Biographies: Bessie Coleman
http://www.gale.com/free_resources/bhm/bio/coleman_b.htm
An article from Contemporary Black Biography describing Coleman’s childhood and career in aviation.
The American Experience: Fly Girls
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/flygirls/peopleevents/pandeAMEX02.html
Bessie Coleman is featured in this site about women’s contributions to aviation. Detailed biography and legacy.
International Aerobatic Club (IAC)
http://acro.harvard.edu/IAC/acro_figures.html
Images and information on aerobatic flying.
Lincoln Beachey
http://www.lincolnbeachey.com/
Extensive information on the great stunt pilot, including a biography, film clips, links, pioneer aviation postcards, details and photos of all aerial machines Beachey flew.
Lincoln Beachey: The Man Who Owned the Sky
http://www.amacord.com/fillmore/museum/beachey.html
Information on Beachey, including a biography, an interview with Beachey and poems written about him (including one by Carl Sandburg).
Explorers
Alone on the Ice
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/ice/
From PBS’ The American Experience series on twentieth century American explorers.
Description of the film Alone on the Ice, a list of Byrd’s supplies, links to people important to the exploration of the Arctic, a teacher’s guide, a transcript of the film and a bibliography.
Byrd Polar Research Center
http://www-bprc.mps.ohio-state.edu/
Ohio State University where Byrd’s papers are collected. Extensive information on Byrd’s exploits and links to view his personal accounts of the expeditions.
The History Net
http://historynet.com/ahi/blrichardbyrd/index.html
Excellent article from Aviation History magazine detailing Byrd’s first flight across the North Pole.
Richard E. Byrd
http://www.south-pole.com/p0000107.htm
Richard E. Byrd’s explorations of the Arctic in detail, including photographs and bibliography.
Record Breakers
Lindbergh
www.pbs.org/wgbh/amex/lindbergh
Transcript of the film Lindbergh’s Great Race from PBS’s The American Experience, plentiful reference materials, a detailed timeline, excellent biographical information, interactive maps that trace Lindbergh’s flight across the Atlantic. Teacher’s guide.
The Lindbergh Foundation
http://www.lindberghfoundation.org
This excellent site offers extensive biographical information on Lindbergh, an interesting aviation timeline, a photo gallery and terrific links to sites related to Lindbergh and early aviation.
Charles Lindbergh: An American Aviator
http://www.charleslindbergh.com/plane/index.asp
Lindbergh’s historic flight, The Spirit of St. Louis, Lindbergh’s biography, maps of the flight, Lindbergh photographs and links, lesson plans, movie and music clips, more.
Glenn H. Curtiss
http://www.glennhcurtiss.com/
Information about aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss, including timeline, photographs, highlights of Curtiss’ life, documents, letters and exhibits relating to Curtiss and more.
Glenn Curtiss: Father of Naval Aviation
http://www.glenncurtiss.com/
Glenn Curtiss Historical Society site, with timeline, bibliography, links and FAQs.
Glenn Curtiss Museum of Early Aviation and Local History of Hammondsport, NY
http://www.linkny.com/~curtiss/
Museum website devoted to Glenn Curtiss’ contributions to early aviation. Biography, photographs, a list of Curtiss firsts, a gift shop and links.
James H. Doolittle
http://www.arlingtoncemetery.net/jdoolitt.htm
Biographical profile from Arlington National Cemetery offers good information about Doolittle.
U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission: James H. Doolittle
http://www.1903to2003.gov/essay/Explorers_Record_Setters_and_Dare
devils/doolittle/E
X18.htm
Photographs, extensive biographical information, a bibliography and good links related to Jimmy Doolittle.
The Pioneers: Celebrating the Bicentennial of Aviation
www.ctie/monash.edu/hargrave/thaden.html
Biographical information on Louise Thaden, one of America’s greatest female aviators. Good links to other sites.
Women of Achievement: Spotlight on Louise Thaden
www.undelete.org/woa-spotlight/01-thaden.html
Account of the 1936 Bendix Trophy Race, won by Louise Thaden, from Thaden’s point of view.
Louise M. Thaden and Herbert V. Thaden: Aviation Pioneers
www.thaden.org
Official site for materials about the Thadens; photographs, biographical information and links.
Entrepreneurs
Boeing:The DC-3
http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/dc-3.html
Description, photo and specifications for the famous DC-3.
Boeing: Donald Douglas
http://www.boeing.com/history/mdc/douglas.html
Biography of the man who presided over birth, growth and evolution of aerospace industry.
Chasing the Sun Innovators: Donald Douglas
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/innovators/ddouglas.html
Biography of the aircraft innovator; solid links to other Donald Douglas sites.
Chasing the Sun Planes :The DC-3
http://www.pbs.org/kcet/chasingthesun/planes/dc3.html
Photos, links, specifications and an analysis of the DC-3’s impact on aviation.
The DC-3 Aviation Museum
http://www.centercomp.com/dc3/
Everything you’d ever need to know about the DC-3, including photographs, a list of museums, books and movies featuring the plane, a sound page, much more.
SEE ALSO
RESOURCES part 1 – Books, annotated bibliography
RESOURCES part 3 – Suggested Readings & resources especially for children
This information is an edited version of The Educational Programming Guide for Heroes of the Sky, © July 2007, ExhibitsUSA, a Division of Mid-America Arts Alliance. Edit by Hot Springs Greater Learning Foundation for website and classroom use.