Rotating exhibit at Dare County Regional Airport Museum to feature Francis Rogallo

Published 6:39 am Wednesday, November 20, 2024

By Staff Reports

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The Dare County Regional Airport terminal building, located at 410 Airport Road in Manteo. Courtesy Dare County

Artifacts from the USS Kitty Hawk. Courtesy Dare County

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The Dare County Regional Airport Museum has announced a new rotating exhibit that will highlight the groundbreaking contributions of Francis Rogallo, an American aeronautical engineer who is best known for inventing the Rogallo wing, a flexible airfoil that became the precursor to modern hang gliders and paragliders. The new Rogallo exhibit will open to the public in mid-November, when it replaces the rotating exhibit that spotlighted artifacts, photos and articles honoring the United States Navy supercarrier, the USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63).

“After the USS Kitty Hawk was decommissioned in 2009, the Navy sent the Town of Kitty Hawk a number of items salvaged from the historic ship. These interesting artifacts tell the story of the almost 50-year history of the great carrier,” said the Dare County Regional Airport’s museum curator Tony Bruno. “From visits by President Kennedy and Bob Hope to service in Vietnam, her story is told through photographs, placards, artifacts and aircraft models. We thank the Town of Kitty Hawk and Mayor Craig Garriss for the loan of these items.”

The USS Kitty Hawk (CVA-63) completed six tours in Vietnam between 1963 and 1976 and was the first aircraft carrier to receive a Presidential Unit Citation. The vessel was named after Kitty Hawk, the historic site of the Wright brothers’ first powered flight.

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Each month, Dare County residents and visitors can explore a curated, rotating exhibit alongside the museum’s permanent collection of photos, documents and artifacts related to the World War II squadrons that conducted special training at Naval Auxiliary Air Station (NAAS) Manteo.

“This new display will feature Francis Rogallo, a former NASA engineer who is considered the father of the sport of hang gliding,” said Bruno. “Rogallo and his wife Gertrude settled on the Outer Banks, and the sand dune Jockey’s Ridge, to develop their hang gliding school. The school still exists today as part of Kitty Hawk Kites. The display will feature a variety of photos and artifacts on loan from the Rogallo family and Kitty Hawk Kites. The display is timed as a lead-up to the upcoming PBS documentary ‘Wingman: The Francis Rogallo Story’ by writer and producer Clay Johnson.”

The Dare County Regional Airport museum, which is located at the west end of the airport terminal building at 410 Airport Road in Manteo, offers free admission to the public seven days a week from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The museum is entirely operated by volunteers. For more information about the museum or to sign up to serve as a volunteer, go to DareNC.gov/Museum.

For further information, contact Bruno at Museum@DareNC.gov or call 252-475-5575.

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