March 26 – Aviation Exhibits at the Ithaca Mall

Three local aviation groups will put on a joint exhibit of models, full scale aircraft and hands-on model simulators on Saturday, March 26, at the Ithaca Mall (formerly Pyramid Mall), from 10 am till 5 pm.

The Ithaca Aviation Heritage Foundation will display the fuselage of their original Thomas Morse Scout.  The Scout was built in 1918 in the old Morse Chain factory on Aurora Street and served as a trainer during WWI.  The group is restoring it to flyable condition.  The East Hill Flying Club will display their new Light Sport Aircraft, designed make flying more accessible to more people.  East Hill has been teaching people to fly at the Ithaca Airport for 58 years.

The Ithaca Radio Control Society (IRCS) will display radio controlled model airplanes and helicopters, show model airframes under construction, and invite visitors to try their hand at radio control flight simulators.  The IRCS teaches RC flying and flies models from a field on Mecklenburg Road.  Exhibits will be at the south end of the Mall, near Best Buy and Borders.  The Light Sport plane will be outdoors.  Full scale displays contingent on weather.

At the exhibit there will be replicas of aircraft, photographs, maps, models, diagrams, clothing and equipment used by aviators can also be displayed in this museum. There should also be sets of periodicals, technical manuals, photographs and personal archives, which are often made available to aviation researchers for use in writing articles or books or to aircraft restoration specialists working on restoring an aircraft.

The aircraft exhibit is taking place with the ultimate goal of find a plot in which the museum can expand, allowing for more exhibits, while retaining all the classic ones kids have come to know and love. The museum is working to raise $1 million in order to complete their relocation goals.

“We’ve got some great ideas for some new exhibits, some offerings for even our teenagers in our community. Right now we focus on 0-12, but in a new space we’d be able to offer a lot more to an even larger demographic,” said assistant director Tim Luoma.