WHAT: Press preview of the “Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery”

WHEN:       Tuesday, Nov. 16
               9 a.m.: Breakfast
               10 a.m.: Remarks
               10:30 a.m.: Gallery tour

WHERE:   Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum, Sixth Street and Independence Ave. S.W.

WHO:         John R. Dailey, director, National Air and Space Museum
               Peter Jakab, associate director for collections and curatorial affairs
               Pioneers of Flight curatorial team: Dorothy Cochrane, Tom Crouch, Von Hardesty, Jeremy Kinney, 
               Cathy Lewis, Chris Moore, Michael Neufeld and Dom Pisano.
               Special guests to be confirmed.

The National Air and Space Museum will host a press preview breakfast for the “Barron Hilton Pioneers of Flight Gallery” Nov. 16; the exhibition opens to the public Nov. 19; and there will be a family day Nov. 20. Curators, as well as other special guests, will be available for one-on-one interviews after the guided tour of the exhibit.

"Pioneers of Flight" highlights the first half of the 20th century, a time when flight technology rapidly advanced and military and civilian aviation grew tremendously. Aircraft racing and record-setting captured headlines and African Americans began to break through social barriers. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight captivated public attention. Amelia Earhart set records and was a powerful example for women. Robert Goddard and others tested rockets and launched rocket engineering. The gallery profiles these individuals who pushed the existing technological or social limits of flight.

Noteworthy aircraft in the gallery include the Fokker T-2, Douglas World Cruiser "Chicago," the Lindbergh’s Lockheed Sirius "Tingmissartoq," Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega and the Explorer II high-altitude balloon gondola.

Interested media must RSVP to larai@si.edu or mullenb@si.edu.