Page 6 - Aerotech News and Review, Aug. 6, 2021

Discover aviation treasures in the heartland
by Larry Grooms
special to Aerotech News
MARSHALL, Mo.—This rural heart of Middle America is a region where collectors and historians come in search of hidden gems and rare treasures. They look for Civil War artifacts, antique furnishings, and priceless vintage cars preserved in dilapidated barns and sheds. And then there are museum quality remains from America’s Golden Age of Aviation from 1919 to 1939.
Among seven recognized civil, com- mercial and military aviation museums ranging from St. Louis to Kansas City, perhaps the lesser-known but most his- torically rooted Golden Age shrine is the Nicholas-Beazley Aviation Mu- seum in Marshall, just down the road from Mark Twain’s hometown.
tive Director Shanon Nichols notes that smalltown Marshall became a pioneering player in shaping the fu- ture of American aviation between the world wars.
Because of the vision of two local businessman, Russel Nicholas and Howard Beazley, the farming com- munity broadened its economic base by opening an aircraft manufacturing plant in 1921, producing both spare parts and complete aircraft.
On March 6, 1924, the Nichols- Beazley duo stepped up again to open what was to become the world’s larg- est civilian flight school, training more than 3,000 pilots before its closure in 1939 as World War II erupted in Eu- rope.
The Nicholas-Beazley Aircraft Fac- tory produced a line of innovative air- craft, and fully restored original exam- ples are displayed on the floors of its
wing monoplane trainer NB-3 was among America’s first all-metal air- craft, and was called the new day air- plane. The instructor pilot sat in back, with up to three students sitting side- by-side in a widened forward cockpit with a shareable stick. Designed by Walter H. Barling, NB-3 set records for altitude, distance, speed and fuel efficiency.
The NB-8, one of the most creative and practical designs to emerge from the Marshall factory in the early 1930s, involved design assistance from the leg- endary American engineer Al Mooney, founder of Moony Aircraft. The NB-8 has wooden wing ribs allowing wings to be folded back to be towed by a car and stored in a garage at a time when few airports had hangar space. Fifty- eight were built, five remain, and the Marshall, Mo. Museum has two, one of them with wings folded.
MIGNET HM-14 FL YING FLEA, designed by Henry Mignet and manu- factured by Jacob Van Dyke with com- ponents supplied by Nicholas-Beazley, was built in 1937. The diminutive one-person aircraft, resembling a cross between a motorized pram on bicycle wheels, is a rarity, owing in large part to its dubious appearance as a potential widow maker.
Taylorcraft TC-6 Army Air Corps Troop Glider on display at the museum had no direct historical attachment to Marshall Airport, Nichols explains, but the 1941 World War II veteran aircraft
was found in the basement of a nearby community which had once been the home of actor Steve McQueen. Nich- ols recalls, “They told us if we could get it out, we could have it. So we did.”
Stimulating simulation
The classic promotional pitch about having something for kids of all ages is actually credible at the Nicholas-Bea- zley museum, where flight simulators are offered in a range of experience and skill sets to generate visitor enthusiasm from experienced pilots to elementary school pupils.
Especially popular is the DC-9 flight deck simulator that is loud and challenging.
Photograph by Aubrey Hobratschk
And Nichols proudly notes that the aviation museum in Marshall has a growing Science, Technology and Math (STEM) program that incorporates a virtual air traffic control tower where students learn about meteorology, aca- demic skills associated with flight plan- ning and aviation, and even airport se- curity. They can learn to be TSA agents in the airport metal detector.
Older kids with gray around the edg- es are challenged as well by computer- based simulators where inattention does virtually prang the aircraft.
Getting there
Visit the museum’s website at nicholasbeazley.org.
Museum and Community Execu-
showrooms, along with some additional planes not designed and built there, but with historical ties to the region.
Flying Stars on exhibit include
A 1927 NB-3 Trainer, one of only 100 built, and the last of just 20 to re- main registered and airworthy. The low
Photograph by Aubrey Hobratschk
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