Where can you see not
only the two pilots of SpaceShipOne give their own personal observations
of flying into suborbital space, but also the man who designed the
spacecraft that got them there? Or see and hear from World War II
heroes, modern day innovators, and esteemed aviation personalities on a
daily basis? EAA AirVenture Oshkosh 2006, of course, and the venue is
the EAA AirVenture Museum Speaker Showcase.
An outstanding roster of
aviation personalities is slated to appear every day, telling their
personal stories throughout several locations at the world-class EAA
AirVenture Museum.
"The Museum Speaker
Showcase makes the museum an exciting place to be," said Adam
Smith, EAA AirVenture Museum director. "It provides the museum
visitors with the opportunity to hear personal accounts and other
information from some of aviation’s most well-known people."
On opening day, July 24,
SpaceShipOne pilots Brian Binnie and Mike Melvill appear back-to-back to
give their accounts of being the first civilian astronauts in the 2005
XPrize flights. Historian Darrell Collins’ gives his riveting account
of the Wright brothers and events leading up to the first-ever powered
flight.
Also included on the
schedule of more than 70 presentations throughout the week are Academy
Award-winning actor Cliff Robertson, who will share his personal
aviation and movie experiences (Thursday, 1 p.m.); Joe English,
Lancaster bomber pilot from World War II who participated in
"Operation Manna" (Monday at noon); Gen. Chuck Yeager, USAF,
test pilot, describes what it was like to break the sound barrier
(Saturday, 1:30 p.m.); and ultralight pilot Joe Duff, who will talk
about Operation Migration, an intriguing effort to teach endangered
Whooping Cranes how to migrate (Wednesday at 2 p.m.).
