CHARLOTTE, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Carolinas Aviation Museum announced that Reynolda House Museum of American Art in Winston-Salem, North Carolina has agreed to place its historic Savoia-Marchetti S.56 amphibious biplane on long-term loan to the Museum. The aircraft is the same model that Zachary Smith Reynolds flew on a solo adventure from London to Hong Kong in 1931-1932.
Smith Reynolds, the younger son of Katharine and R.J. Reynolds, founder of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, took his first flying lesson at age fourteen. At sixteen, he was the youngest licensed pilot in America. His daring flight over Europe, North Africa, and Asia—17,000 miles in an open cockpit--marked Smith as a competent aviator and avid sports pilot.
“Smith Reynolds’s solo flight, just 30 years after the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, was an amazing achievement which helped pave the way for our global aviation system,” said Shawn Dorsch, President of the Carolinas Aviation Museum. “The flight is another example of how people from the Carolinas have helped drive the development of global aviation.”
The aircraft, one of only two remaining planes of its kind, was featured in the 2007 Reynolda House exhibition, “Wings of Adventure: Smith Reynolds and the Flight of the 898 Whiskey.” The long-term loan will allow the Carolinas Aviation Museum to build exhibits and programs around the aircraft and its connection to the Reynolds family.
“Reynolda House is pleased that our Savoia-Marchetti will be on view alongside other important objects telling the story of aviation in the Carolinas,” said Allison Perkins, Executive Director of Reynolda House.
About the Carolinas Aviation Museum:
Founded in 1992 and located at Charlotte Douglas International Airport, the Carolinas Aviation Museum’ is the largest aviation museum between Washington DC and Robbins Georgia. Home to the US Airways “Miracle on the Hudson” Airbus A-320, the Museum’s mission is to educate the public on the importance of aviation and inspire the next generation to excel academically in the areas of math, science, and history through the preservation of our aviation heritage.
The Carolinas Aviation Museum is 501 (c) 3 nonprofit, charitable organizations, relying on the generosity of corporate donors and for more information on the Carolinas Aviation Museum, please visit our Website at www.carolinasaviation.org. Follow us on Twitter @CarolinAirMusem or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/ft1549.
About Reynolda House Museum of American Art:
Reynolda House Museum of American Art is one of the nation's premier American art museums, with masterpieces by Mary Cassatt, Frederic Church, Jacob Lawrence, Georgia O'Keeffe and Gilbert Stuart among its collection. Affiliated with Wake Forest University, Reynolda House features changing exhibitions, concerts, lectures, classes, film screenings, and other events. The museum is located in Winston-Salem, North Carolina in the historic 1917 estate of Katharine Smith Reynolds and her husband, Richard Joshua Reynolds, founder of the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. Reynolda House and adjacent Reynolda Gardens and Reynolda Village feature a spectacular public garden, dining, shopping and walking trails. For more information, please visit reynoldahouse.org or call 336.758.5150.
Carolinas Aviation Museum http://www.carolinasaviation.org
© 2012 Carolinas Aviation Museum all rights reserved. Information subject to change at any time without notice. 4672 First Flight Drive, Charlotte, North Carolina 28208 704-997-3770