The Buffalo/Niagara area is in my opinion, the home of aviation in the United States. It is the birthplace of aviation giants such as Consolidated, Curtiss, Fleet and Bell. I've been visiting the area for a number of years and each time, capturing a little of the local aviation history and some of the historic landmarks which I've seen gradually fade from the public conscience. Its too bad really, but understandable. The Bell factory in Wheatfield is especially impressive, but its likely that it will not be around in another decade's passing. Some of my exploration of the Bell plant below and it's amazing history. Jan 28, 2024 Comments about my website? [email protected]
Bell Aerospace and Larry Dale Bell's Legacy (2016 visit)
Most people visit Niagara Falls to see the Falls or visit the casinos, but my recent sidetrip to Niagara Falls had none of those things on the agenda. My goal was to explore a little of the area's aerospace history, and high on the list was Bell Aircraft, or more precisely, what remains of Bell Aircraft's (later Bell Aerospace's) legacy in the region. Of course, the logical place to start is at the Niagara Falls International Airport, where you can tour a modest museum in one of the airport concourses. The museum focuses on the area's aerospace contribution through displays of a number of the aircraft manufacturers, including Bell, that once called the city and nearby Buffalo home. The museum has unfortunately been bumped around from location to location for a number of years and the impression one has when viewing the collection is that the curators remain uncertain if this will be just another temporary home. Buffalo has not been exactly a prosperous city for many years, and the local politicians have no interest in providing any support for the museum, presumably because they have more important financial issues, but I can't help but think that investing some money and moving the collection to the nearby Niagara Falls would make for an excellent tourist attraction or perhaps salvaging a section of the massive Bell plant at the Niagara airport. Nonetheless, the volunteers who staff it are very friendly, and the handful of aircraft and artifacts on display make for an interesting stop. The main attractions on display include the remains of a P-39 recovered from a swamp in Russia, Mr Bell's personal helicopter, a Jenny replica and a control panel from the Apollo space missions also built by Bell. What is truly impressive though about Larry Bell is the scope of his contributions to aerospace- he was a true visionary and after viewing the museum, I was keen to see what remained of his factory just down the road.
The old Bell Aircraft Wheatfield plant, is just a stone's throw down the road at the corner of the airport. Much of the (600,000 square foot) original factory still remains although sadly, signs of it's slow decay are evident in numerous abandoned portions of the main building and some fairly large ancillary buildings which appear to have been left to crumble despite the fact it is a designated historic site (update June 2023, many of the outbuildings have now been torn down). I couldn't help but think that any of these buildings would have made an ideal site to house a more permanent collection which if done well, could be a major tourist attraction not unlike the Air Force museum in Dayton. A portion of the original factory is also used by the museum to warehouse portions of the collection, including the original X-22, a Bell project which pioneered the field of tiltrotor aircraft and whose design closely resembles the modern day Osprey tiltrotor. As well, Lockheed Martin occupies about 60,000 square feet of the former Bell Inertial operation. At any rate, further correspondence with one of the museum staff was more successful, and I was fortunate to be granted a tour inside the old plant.
Above: Remains of the Bell Aircraft plant where the company produced most of it's iconic aircraft after moving from the original plant at the Elmwood site- which has also been systematically torn down. Below: family day at the Bell plant- is it just me or did most men dress way better in the 1940's?
I stumbled across the original former Bell Aircraft plant #1 quite by accident when visiting Buffalo last year (2016)- the building has an amazing history having housed three of the most famous aircraft companies of the early 20th century. I’d made a wrong turn and ended up in the parking lot of a Home Depot only to notice an older factory directly behind it- the 2050 Elmwood address it turned out, was once used to build fighter planes in WW1, then later, flying boats, before the manufacturer decided it would be easier to build them on the west coast where they wouldn’t have to deal with ice in the water for half the year. Bell Aircraft was the last tenant of the building which at one time was the largest aircraft plant in the world.
But the Elmwood address proved not well-suited for modern aircraft construction and Bell moved his factory to nearby Wheatfield and the Niagara-Buffalo airport. I decided I’d make the short drive to the Wheatfield plant to see what remained. The factory is a massive structure, located on the far end of the airport and is slowly falling apart as time takes its toll on the almost vacant building. Most passers-by wouldn’t give the facility a second glance, but for the huge “Bell Aircraft” sign that remains intact on one of the main structures. Strolling around the main apron, I could imagine many of the historic aircraft that made their first flights from this place- Chuck Yeager first climbed into the X-1 here (first jet to go supersonic), the Bell helicopter, X-15, the X-22 (fore-runner of the modern Osprey VTOL) and countless others. Since the factory is largely off-limits ( a small portion is used for next generation aerospace research) I determined to see if I could find someone who might be able to get me inside the factory for a look around- getting into factories without invitation is something I do a lot these days, but the best way is always through an insider. I decided to start with the nearby Niagara Aerospace Museum where I had a very fortuitous and chance encounter with the one person (with a shared interest in Bell Aircraft) that could not only get me in, but share his experience of some 45 years at Bell Aircraft!
Hugh Neeson recalls he had no idea what position he would be offered in 1955 when his church pastor set him up with an interview at the local aircraft plant, other than the recommendation was assuredly going to result in a job offer. The company was Bell Aircraft, and the founder and president Larry Bell, was in the process of transitioning the company from it’s P-39 fighter production of over 9500 aircraft to a new direction which would ensure the company’s survival in the years to come. The company had already produced the first jet fighter in North America over a decade earlier, and Neeson describes his initial tour of the plant as feeling like a child in Disney Land as he looked out over the production floor from an overhead walkway (shielded with covered sides to ensure secretaries in skirts could pass back and forth uninhibited), while Larry Bell pointed out numerous X-planes on one side of the plant, and large Rascal surface to air missiles on the other in various stages of construction. The development of the hydrogen bomb had led to the realization that the large bombers (B-29s, B-36’s and B-50s) used to deliver atom bombs would no longer suffice, since the aircraft could not safely escape the blast of the much larger bombs. The Rascal was designed to overcome this by allowing the bombers to remain far enough away, and the contract helped Bell Aircraft transition to a post-war economy. The experience gained building the Rascal missiles culminated in the development of Bell’s contribution to the Lockheed Agena upper stage rocket engines which were responsible for launching most of Americas satellites in the 1960s (used to effectively resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis by identifying all of Russia’s missile silos) and maintaining the American nuclear deterrent to this day with the Minuteman 3 missiles (Bell made the fourth stage engines) . An innovative fuel chamber that Bell developed to overcome what Hugh describes as an “ullage problem” with the Rascal rockets ( and experienced by most early rocket engines) solved the problem of rocket fuel sloshing around inside rocket fuel tanks causing them to quit at the most inopportune times; as fuel was burned during flight, an accordion of stainless steel would slowly expand into the vacated space of the expended fuel, ensuring that subtle flight attitude changes would not result in an engine outage. The Airforce was delighted with the innovative solution, and Bell’s dominance in rocket systems was secured. The company would go on to make numerous vital contributions to Apollo space program from a lunar landing simulator (Neil Armstrong’s experience on it allowed him to manually land the Apollo 11 LEM successfully, narrowly averting potential catastrophe), to the lunar ascent engines which returned every astronaut safely from the moon’s surface.
It was Bell Aircraft’s ability to constantly innovate and solve technical problems that propelled it to become arguably the most influential aircraft company in the world, aided perhaps by Mr Bell’s knack of hiring extremely capable engineers who were driven by a strong sense of curiosity. Although retired since 1999, it is quickly apparent that Neeson- who ended his career as VP at Bell- shares these traits, and his degree in physics informs his ability to easily explain complex aeronautical concepts although he is quite modest, professing that “I was a physics major so I don’t know how to do too many things.” With a simple fixture held together by a threaded rod and a slew of strings stretched across two opposing plates, he demonstrates how straight cooling holes are drilled into the curved bowl (without bending) of an Agena rocket nozzle, making what would otherwise appear impossible, quite simple. Neeson recounts that when he started at Bell in 1955, it employed a diverse group of engineers including 6 seasoned African American engineers, all of whom were crucial to the X-1 program. When they travelled to Edwards Air Force base to perform testing on the X-1B, the engineers were refused admittance by the Airforce staff to the “Whites Only” dining area on base, but the test pilots- including Neil Armstrong- made a point of eating with the Bell engineers.
Inside the Niagara Aerospace Museum, Neeson gestures to a model of a large air cushion vehicle, or hovercraft, a project which he takes particular pride in, having helped spearhead the program to its maturity during his tenure. Another example of Bell Aircraft’s pioneering spirit, the origins of the company’s hovercraft started with a young engineer in the early 1950’s who was interested in the new idea of high speed vehicles riding on a cushion of air. An early prototype vehicle, financed with the company’s own money- reached speeds of 80 knots, skimming across the Buffalo harbour on Lake Erie, prompting at least one local tug to call on the local police to report a UFO travelling at high speed. Ultimately, the program produced what is now known as the LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) which is operated by the US Navy/Marine Corps. There are 90 craft currently in service having served in critical roles both militarily and for peacetime use such as the landing of supplies in Haiti after the 2008 hurricane there.
Bell had developed a helicopter, the UH-1 (or “Huey” as it was known to Vietnam era pilots) in the early 1950’s which became one of the most successful helicopters of all time, but a devastating strike convinced Bell to move production away from Buffalo while retaining rotor blade and subassemblies at the Wheatfield plant (of which thousands were made)- it was perhaps the beginning of the end of aircraft production in western New York.
Today, a portion of the building is still occupied by Lockheed, as well as Moog Inc, a company which manufactures control systems for aircraft such as the B-2 bomber and Space Shuttle. The clean rooms once employed by the engineers of Bell have now been put to new use developing new technologies for the next generation of military aircraft, but the majority of floor space within the massive assembly halls remains empty. It was once used for a period of time as an indoor storage space for RVs and boats but insurance costs ended this enterprise, and now only a portion is used by a company that manufactures oil rig components. It’s apparent that Mr Neeson still commands the respect of anyone associated with the former Bell plant and although we are strolling through a secure military R&D section of the plant, no one stops to question what we’re doing there-although he cautions me not to take any photos as we make our way to the now empty hangars which are the size of at least a few football fields. A large American flag, which looks like it’s hung there since the end of the war, drapes the entrance to the former assembly hall where some of the most significant aircraft of the 20th century were once built. The heat is kept at around 15C to prevent structural damage but smaller ancillary buildings outside are in serious decay. When asked how he feels about the slowly deteriorating factory, Neeson observes that “These buildings have served their purpose, now it’s time to move on.”.
Before leaving the cavernous assembly hangar, Neeson asks one of the building maintenance staff to unlock a door marked “Property of the US government” to reveal a large aircraft alone in a room which was once used for research into high altitude flight in the early days of space flight, covered in a plastic tarp. Pulling back the tarp reveals a large VTOL aircraft, called the X-22 which Bell developed and flew first in 1962. A set of wings from one of the P-39’s built during the war years lies tucked behind the experimental plane gathering dust. The X-22 was to be the very last aircraft developed at the Buffalo plant, and successfully flew a test program of over 400 hours, helping to develop many of the algorithms that define flight transition from vertical to horizontal and back on cutting edge aircraft such as today’s Osprey VTOL.
I end my visit with Neeson by assisting him load one of the Agena rocket nozzles into the back of his car for a planned speech at a local university. Although retired for many years, it is clear he is justly proud of his company’s incredible achievements, when Bell was a giant of the aerospace industry. But I hope he is wrong about the building.
.
But the Elmwood address proved not well-suited for modern aircraft construction and Bell moved his factory to nearby Wheatfield and the Niagara-Buffalo airport. I decided I’d make the short drive to the Wheatfield plant to see what remained. The factory is a massive structure, located on the far end of the airport and is slowly falling apart as time takes its toll on the almost vacant building. Most passers-by wouldn’t give the facility a second glance, but for the huge “Bell Aircraft” sign that remains intact on one of the main structures. Strolling around the main apron, I could imagine many of the historic aircraft that made their first flights from this place- Chuck Yeager first climbed into the X-1 here (first jet to go supersonic), the Bell helicopter, X-15, the X-22 (fore-runner of the modern Osprey VTOL) and countless others. Since the factory is largely off-limits ( a small portion is used for next generation aerospace research) I determined to see if I could find someone who might be able to get me inside the factory for a look around- getting into factories without invitation is something I do a lot these days, but the best way is always through an insider. I decided to start with the nearby Niagara Aerospace Museum where I had a very fortuitous and chance encounter with the one person (with a shared interest in Bell Aircraft) that could not only get me in, but share his experience of some 45 years at Bell Aircraft!
Hugh Neeson recalls he had no idea what position he would be offered in 1955 when his church pastor set him up with an interview at the local aircraft plant, other than the recommendation was assuredly going to result in a job offer. The company was Bell Aircraft, and the founder and president Larry Bell, was in the process of transitioning the company from it’s P-39 fighter production of over 9500 aircraft to a new direction which would ensure the company’s survival in the years to come. The company had already produced the first jet fighter in North America over a decade earlier, and Neeson describes his initial tour of the plant as feeling like a child in Disney Land as he looked out over the production floor from an overhead walkway (shielded with covered sides to ensure secretaries in skirts could pass back and forth uninhibited), while Larry Bell pointed out numerous X-planes on one side of the plant, and large Rascal surface to air missiles on the other in various stages of construction. The development of the hydrogen bomb had led to the realization that the large bombers (B-29s, B-36’s and B-50s) used to deliver atom bombs would no longer suffice, since the aircraft could not safely escape the blast of the much larger bombs. The Rascal was designed to overcome this by allowing the bombers to remain far enough away, and the contract helped Bell Aircraft transition to a post-war economy. The experience gained building the Rascal missiles culminated in the development of Bell’s contribution to the Lockheed Agena upper stage rocket engines which were responsible for launching most of Americas satellites in the 1960s (used to effectively resolve the Cuban Missile Crisis by identifying all of Russia’s missile silos) and maintaining the American nuclear deterrent to this day with the Minuteman 3 missiles (Bell made the fourth stage engines) . An innovative fuel chamber that Bell developed to overcome what Hugh describes as an “ullage problem” with the Rascal rockets ( and experienced by most early rocket engines) solved the problem of rocket fuel sloshing around inside rocket fuel tanks causing them to quit at the most inopportune times; as fuel was burned during flight, an accordion of stainless steel would slowly expand into the vacated space of the expended fuel, ensuring that subtle flight attitude changes would not result in an engine outage. The Airforce was delighted with the innovative solution, and Bell’s dominance in rocket systems was secured. The company would go on to make numerous vital contributions to Apollo space program from a lunar landing simulator (Neil Armstrong’s experience on it allowed him to manually land the Apollo 11 LEM successfully, narrowly averting potential catastrophe), to the lunar ascent engines which returned every astronaut safely from the moon’s surface.
It was Bell Aircraft’s ability to constantly innovate and solve technical problems that propelled it to become arguably the most influential aircraft company in the world, aided perhaps by Mr Bell’s knack of hiring extremely capable engineers who were driven by a strong sense of curiosity. Although retired since 1999, it is quickly apparent that Neeson- who ended his career as VP at Bell- shares these traits, and his degree in physics informs his ability to easily explain complex aeronautical concepts although he is quite modest, professing that “I was a physics major so I don’t know how to do too many things.” With a simple fixture held together by a threaded rod and a slew of strings stretched across two opposing plates, he demonstrates how straight cooling holes are drilled into the curved bowl (without bending) of an Agena rocket nozzle, making what would otherwise appear impossible, quite simple. Neeson recounts that when he started at Bell in 1955, it employed a diverse group of engineers including 6 seasoned African American engineers, all of whom were crucial to the X-1 program. When they travelled to Edwards Air Force base to perform testing on the X-1B, the engineers were refused admittance by the Airforce staff to the “Whites Only” dining area on base, but the test pilots- including Neil Armstrong- made a point of eating with the Bell engineers.
Inside the Niagara Aerospace Museum, Neeson gestures to a model of a large air cushion vehicle, or hovercraft, a project which he takes particular pride in, having helped spearhead the program to its maturity during his tenure. Another example of Bell Aircraft’s pioneering spirit, the origins of the company’s hovercraft started with a young engineer in the early 1950’s who was interested in the new idea of high speed vehicles riding on a cushion of air. An early prototype vehicle, financed with the company’s own money- reached speeds of 80 knots, skimming across the Buffalo harbour on Lake Erie, prompting at least one local tug to call on the local police to report a UFO travelling at high speed. Ultimately, the program produced what is now known as the LCAC (Landing Craft Air Cushion) which is operated by the US Navy/Marine Corps. There are 90 craft currently in service having served in critical roles both militarily and for peacetime use such as the landing of supplies in Haiti after the 2008 hurricane there.
Bell had developed a helicopter, the UH-1 (or “Huey” as it was known to Vietnam era pilots) in the early 1950’s which became one of the most successful helicopters of all time, but a devastating strike convinced Bell to move production away from Buffalo while retaining rotor blade and subassemblies at the Wheatfield plant (of which thousands were made)- it was perhaps the beginning of the end of aircraft production in western New York.
Today, a portion of the building is still occupied by Lockheed, as well as Moog Inc, a company which manufactures control systems for aircraft such as the B-2 bomber and Space Shuttle. The clean rooms once employed by the engineers of Bell have now been put to new use developing new technologies for the next generation of military aircraft, but the majority of floor space within the massive assembly halls remains empty. It was once used for a period of time as an indoor storage space for RVs and boats but insurance costs ended this enterprise, and now only a portion is used by a company that manufactures oil rig components. It’s apparent that Mr Neeson still commands the respect of anyone associated with the former Bell plant and although we are strolling through a secure military R&D section of the plant, no one stops to question what we’re doing there-although he cautions me not to take any photos as we make our way to the now empty hangars which are the size of at least a few football fields. A large American flag, which looks like it’s hung there since the end of the war, drapes the entrance to the former assembly hall where some of the most significant aircraft of the 20th century were once built. The heat is kept at around 15C to prevent structural damage but smaller ancillary buildings outside are in serious decay. When asked how he feels about the slowly deteriorating factory, Neeson observes that “These buildings have served their purpose, now it’s time to move on.”.
Before leaving the cavernous assembly hangar, Neeson asks one of the building maintenance staff to unlock a door marked “Property of the US government” to reveal a large aircraft alone in a room which was once used for research into high altitude flight in the early days of space flight, covered in a plastic tarp. Pulling back the tarp reveals a large VTOL aircraft, called the X-22 which Bell developed and flew first in 1962. A set of wings from one of the P-39’s built during the war years lies tucked behind the experimental plane gathering dust. The X-22 was to be the very last aircraft developed at the Buffalo plant, and successfully flew a test program of over 400 hours, helping to develop many of the algorithms that define flight transition from vertical to horizontal and back on cutting edge aircraft such as today’s Osprey VTOL.
I end my visit with Neeson by assisting him load one of the Agena rocket nozzles into the back of his car for a planned speech at a local university. Although retired for many years, it is clear he is justly proud of his company’s incredible achievements, when Bell was a giant of the aerospace industry. But I hope he is wrong about the building.
.
May 2019 I had an opportunity to return to the old Bell factory #2 in Wheatfiled recently after connecting fortuitously with the former VP of Bell, Hugh Neeson who invited me to come for a tour. It was only a few years since my last visit but the subsequent deterioration of the place relative to the photos above was apparent.
Update June 2023: The buildings in the photos above have now been torn down with the exception of the main hangar structure which still houses a large fabrication company and skids upon skids of items held in longterm storage. I suppose the clock is ticking on this building as well since the roof has sprung numerous leaks since I last visited with numerous 1000L totes strategically placed throughout the multiple football field sized building, in order to catch water from numerous roof leaks. The building is simply to big to repair with the limited revenue generated by it's current tenants.
The P1011 (above right) and its American study in the Dayton museum below, was found by the Allies after the war and brought back to Niagara Falls for analysis, first to Wright and then to Bell in 1948. They were particularly interested in it's variable wing which was revolutionary at the time. The result of the research at Bell was the X-5 (above left and below)- flown notably on it's last flight by none other than Neil Armstrong. The X-5 now resides in Dayton.(left)
Larry Bell worked for Consolidated Aircraft early in his career, starting as sales manager in 1928, but when they wouldn't let him progress in the company, he decided to form his own. Before the US entered the war, Larry had the opportunity to visit Germany and saw how the Germans were leading the pack in aviation advances and had the opportunity to view an advanced (at the time) German helicopter design. When Larry got his chance, he set up his factory just like the ones he'd seen in Germany and later, would go on to develop the iconic Bell helicopter, presumably inspired by what he'd witnessed in Germany.
Bell's first military venture was the Airacuda, a sleek Bell Aircraft design with numerous aeronautical firsts incorporated into it's design, but unfortunately it was a victim of project creep and by the time it was ready, it had become an underpowered, heavy aircraft that no one wanted. Some very cool photos of the aircraft can be found at the San Diego historical museum's website here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/albums/72157681538947966
Bell's first military venture was the Airacuda, a sleek Bell Aircraft design with numerous aeronautical firsts incorporated into it's design, but unfortunately it was a victim of project creep and by the time it was ready, it had become an underpowered, heavy aircraft that no one wanted. Some very cool photos of the aircraft can be found at the San Diego historical museum's website here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/sdasmarchives/albums/72157681538947966
The Bell Model 30 ship 1A was the first helicopter to fly with a semi rigid two bladed rotor system and had a stabilizer that made it easier to fly than the Sikorsky helicopters of the time. It flew first in December 1942 and a subsequent crash required a rebuild of the tail which is as it appears now at the Steven Udvar Hazy museum.
The Bell model 47 was the first helicopter to enter commercial production as the next generation of the Model 30 and an udated version saw significant service in the Korean war. This particular model saw it's last flight in December 2004 an outstanding 57 years after it's first flight, for which it holds the world's record.
Bell didn't stop at helicopters either- they were the pre-eminent investigators of vectored flight long before anyone thought it was possible, and built a variety of experimental aircraft which would provide much of the groundwork research to pave the way for aircraft such as today's modern F-35. The X-14 was one such aircraft and it flew a very successful test program starting in 1957 right up until the 1980's. The original test aircraft still exists today in the personal collection of the Ropkey Armor Museum in Indiana. The XV-3 above was a joint project with the Airforce and was the first tilt rotor to successfully transition from vetical flight to horizontal and back in December 1958. Two were built and this is the second, the first having been written off during flight tests early in the program.
Bell's Control Tower at Wheatfiield
One could make a strong argument that Bell Aircraft contributed more to the advancement of aviation technology than any other American company during it's heyday from helicopters to tiltrotor experimentation (see the X-22 above), from the first supersonic aircraft (Bell shared the Collier trophy for the X-1 aircraft which first broke the sound barrier) to contributions to the Apollo space program. The X-22 remains in storage today in a Niagara area warehouse- here's some images below of how it looks today.....
Bell Aerospace developed this ascent propulsion engine for the lunar excursion module (LEM) which was the only system on the Saturn 5 rocket that did not have a back-up system- if it failed, the astronauts had no way of getting off the moon. It never failed to return them to the mother ship. Of course there was a fail-safe three way redundant valve to ensure the fuel made it to the combustion chamber.
Trees slowly encroaching on the main entrance doors to Bell's offices. It was used by Midland Machinery for a period of time. It's too bad no one has seen the potential value to the local economy to salvage one or more of these historic buildings and use the huge amount of available artifacts to tell the Bell story.
'Update June 2023 I returned to the museum to view some small scale models and to see how things are at the museum. Sadly, the main museum is also now under threat, with the building's roof in need of a ten million dollar repair which there is scant hope of the volunteer group ever raising. Annual ticket sales which are the only revenue streams apart from some corporate support would not cover the interest on such a loan. The main factory where the X-22 is still housed, along with some additional museum aircraft in long term storage, is also not likely to survive the next 10-20 years- so a plan needs to be formulated as soon as possible to save this collection. Perhaps a large corporate entity or sister museum like the Smithsonian or Pima museum which has ample room for additional historic aircraft could step in and take some of the collection on loan. Perhaps if the city of Buffalo could recognize the value that a premier aviation museum could bring to their coffers, some financial support might be forthcoming; as it is now, the city provides no financial support and in the absence of a financial plan, the past ten years have shown that hoping for a financial saviour is not a sound business plan. Hopefully, as new directors step up to face the challenges, a sound business plan emerges to save this priceless collection.
Letter to Buffalo Mayor Brown
November 19 2023
Dear Mr Mayor,
I wanted to recount a visit to your city some years ago in 2014 when I serendipitously visited the Niagara Aerospace Museum and had the good fortune to meet up with Hugh Neeson, the last VP to head up the Bell Aerospace plant in your fine city. As an avid aviation fan, Hugh and I hit it off immediately and soon found myself on a guided tour of the former Bell Aircraft/Aerospace factory down the road. Listening to the amazing story of this historic building by a former employee, personally hired by Mr Bell himself as a young man was truly fascinating. If you’ve never visited the building, I highly recommend having one of the current curators take you on a tour; despite the fact that the property is in a somewhat state of decay, the sheer scope of what was accomplished there in the name of aerospace progress is hard to comprehend without actually visiting and touring the factory. I’m sure you are already aware of some of the historic aerospace developments that happened here; over 9500 fighter planes built in WW2, development and construction of famous record breaking aircraft, the X-1 and X-2, development of first adjustable wing jet, development of the first commercially successful helicopter, development of the famous Cobra helicopter, construction of the engines that allowed the astronauts to return from the moon, development of the algorithms that allowed for VTOL flight (X-22), development of the first commercially successful Hovercrafts, and countless others-the list goes on and on!
Why am I writing to tell you this you may ask? My impression of Buffalo as an outsider (I am from Canada)is that first, it could really use a financial boost and second, that the city does not offer tourists much to see outside of the Niagara Falls (I must add also as a condition of my Canadian citizenship, that our side is much better!) and this is a travesty when you consider it has one of the richest histories of any city in the United States between Curtiss, Consolidated, Fleet and Bell Aircraft! Each time I return, it seems another piece of that rich history has been thrown away as almost an afterthought. It strikes me that you are missing a truly unique opportunity to create an entirely new tourist industry by building a dedicated aviation attraction (maybe by the airport or by the Falls to keep them from coming to Canada when they’re done ogling the Canadian side from Buffalo?)
Here is a fact you may wish to consider; more than eight million people visit the two museums of the National Air and Space museum in Washington every year! After the Natural History Museum, this constitutes the two most popular museums in North America. I think there’s room for another entry from a city that practically put man on the moon, provided the aircraft to defeat the Germans and subsequently revolutionized air travel. Imagine an attraction that draws over 30 times the population of Buffalo annually! (Eight million visitors to the Air and Space museum yearly) The Falls would become a secondary attraction. Yes, you’d need to expand the collection but there is plenty of artifacts to build a world class aerospace attraction in Buffalo. I recall some years ago that Cleveland had a similar problem- no one would ever have reason to go there, but once they decided to claim their heritage as the Home of Rock n Roll with the Hall of Fame, it became a destination city.
Speaking with members of the Board of Directors at the Niagara Aviation Museum, I quickly came to understand that the risk of this heritage being forgotten or worse, parted out to other museums across the country is indeed very real. It’s all volunteer run, proceeds barely keep the heat on and only by the grace of local aerospace companies do their efforts manage to retain a basic telling of your aerospace history. And no support from the local council- I couldn’t believe it.
Surely there are government programs to invest in a suitable attraction to take advantage of this gift of aerospace history. Not only that, but your city is still active in cutting edge aerospace technology and having this kind of attraction will bring more people of an aerospace mindset to your city. It’s an audacious plan but I guarantee if you build it they will come (to quote my favourite American movie!).
Dear Mr Mayor,
I wanted to recount a visit to your city some years ago in 2014 when I serendipitously visited the Niagara Aerospace Museum and had the good fortune to meet up with Hugh Neeson, the last VP to head up the Bell Aerospace plant in your fine city. As an avid aviation fan, Hugh and I hit it off immediately and soon found myself on a guided tour of the former Bell Aircraft/Aerospace factory down the road. Listening to the amazing story of this historic building by a former employee, personally hired by Mr Bell himself as a young man was truly fascinating. If you’ve never visited the building, I highly recommend having one of the current curators take you on a tour; despite the fact that the property is in a somewhat state of decay, the sheer scope of what was accomplished there in the name of aerospace progress is hard to comprehend without actually visiting and touring the factory. I’m sure you are already aware of some of the historic aerospace developments that happened here; over 9500 fighter planes built in WW2, development and construction of famous record breaking aircraft, the X-1 and X-2, development of first adjustable wing jet, development of the first commercially successful helicopter, development of the famous Cobra helicopter, construction of the engines that allowed the astronauts to return from the moon, development of the algorithms that allowed for VTOL flight (X-22), development of the first commercially successful Hovercrafts, and countless others-the list goes on and on!
Why am I writing to tell you this you may ask? My impression of Buffalo as an outsider (I am from Canada)is that first, it could really use a financial boost and second, that the city does not offer tourists much to see outside of the Niagara Falls (I must add also as a condition of my Canadian citizenship, that our side is much better!) and this is a travesty when you consider it has one of the richest histories of any city in the United States between Curtiss, Consolidated, Fleet and Bell Aircraft! Each time I return, it seems another piece of that rich history has been thrown away as almost an afterthought. It strikes me that you are missing a truly unique opportunity to create an entirely new tourist industry by building a dedicated aviation attraction (maybe by the airport or by the Falls to keep them from coming to Canada when they’re done ogling the Canadian side from Buffalo?)
Here is a fact you may wish to consider; more than eight million people visit the two museums of the National Air and Space museum in Washington every year! After the Natural History Museum, this constitutes the two most popular museums in North America. I think there’s room for another entry from a city that practically put man on the moon, provided the aircraft to defeat the Germans and subsequently revolutionized air travel. Imagine an attraction that draws over 30 times the population of Buffalo annually! (Eight million visitors to the Air and Space museum yearly) The Falls would become a secondary attraction. Yes, you’d need to expand the collection but there is plenty of artifacts to build a world class aerospace attraction in Buffalo. I recall some years ago that Cleveland had a similar problem- no one would ever have reason to go there, but once they decided to claim their heritage as the Home of Rock n Roll with the Hall of Fame, it became a destination city.
Speaking with members of the Board of Directors at the Niagara Aviation Museum, I quickly came to understand that the risk of this heritage being forgotten or worse, parted out to other museums across the country is indeed very real. It’s all volunteer run, proceeds barely keep the heat on and only by the grace of local aerospace companies do their efforts manage to retain a basic telling of your aerospace history. And no support from the local council- I couldn’t believe it.
Surely there are government programs to invest in a suitable attraction to take advantage of this gift of aerospace history. Not only that, but your city is still active in cutting edge aerospace technology and having this kind of attraction will bring more people of an aerospace mindset to your city. It’s an audacious plan but I guarantee if you build it they will come (to quote my favourite American movie!).