The flight pattern at the San Diego Air & Space Museum goes straight through with adventurous aircraft history from the Wright Brothers to space exploration.

The facility is bolstered by one of the nation’s leading digitized research libraries, two plane-building workshops and a strong curatorial staff.

CEO James Kidrick, who has authorized many changes in the eight and a half years he’s been in charge, said it’s a place to have fun and gain a high quality experience.

Along the way are interactive exhibits like the MaxFlight® and F-35 simulators, a kid-zone, 3D/4D movie theater plus dynamic, hands-on and ever-changing traveling exhibitions.

“Obviously, we would like to have more space,” Kidrick said. “For instance, it would be difficult to fit in a B17 or B24 [WWII bombers]. If we add an aircraft we have to take something out.”

Nevertheless, the visitor has no reason to be disappointed in the way aircraft are displayed. Highlighted might be the working flying replica of Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis, the actual Apollo 9 Command Module spacecraft and the only real GPS satellite on display in the world.

Artifacts on hand come from the Wright Brothers, Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and other aviation and space pioneers.

As an affiliate of the Smithsonian Institution, the Museum is also is a member of the prestigious American Alliance of Museums.

Kidrick singled out a replica of the 1911 Curtiss pusher (engine and propeller behind the pilot’s seat) biplane that was among the first to take off and land from a ship.

Kidrick recalled his days as a Navy pilot when he landed and took off from carriers while flying an A4 Skyhawk and A7D Corsair. He retired as a commander after 21 years in the service.

He explained that life at the museum goes far beyond the exhibits where between 225 and 250 volunteers carry the workload there and at the Gillespie Field Annex in El Cajon.

Besides docents on the exhibit floor, others are in the research library and in the workshops where replicas are constructed.

He said the workshops here and at Gillespie are a mixture of veterans from the aircraft industry and those who are willing to learn.

“It takes time to build replicas from scratch, maybe as long as six to 10 years,” he said. “However, it will take less time to reconstruct a damaged plane like the Ought F40-7 Corsair we now have on display.

“We’ve built a bunch of things for the USS Midway [Museum] with the equipment we have in our working area,” he added.

Kidrick gambled when he added the non-aircraft theme Ripley’s Believe It or Not exhibit last year.

Because of the public’s response, he said his ”team” voted to continue the show through this year with a 50 percent changeover.

Key fundraisers are the popular annual Hall of Fame banquet and a golf tournament.

New BPOC Exec

Balboa Park Online Collaborative, a non-profit organization that provides strategic support and technology development for cultural institutions, announced Nik Honeysett as the new chief executive officer.

Honeysett joins BLOC from the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles, where he was the head of administration. He will assume his new role on June 2.

As the technology backbone of the 27 Balboa Park cultural institutions, BPOC is responsible for website development and park-wide wireless access to in-gallery technology.

Honeysett replaces Vivian Kung Haga, who served as the executive director since May 2012 and is relocating to Japan.

Zoo gets $6 million grant

San Diego Zoo Global has received an education gift of $6 million from the Price Family Charitable Fund, a permanent endowment for San Diego Zoo Global’s education programs for Title 1 schools in San Diego County. It’s the largest gift Global has ever received.

“Hands-on learning is one of the most important opportunities we can provide for our students,” said State Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Torlakson. “It’s engaging, it’s relevant and it’s fun.”

Ryun’s record celebrated

The 50th anniversary of Jim Ryun’s extraordinary feat to become the first high school boy to run a sub-4 minute mile was celebrated at San Diego’s historic Balboa Stadium on June 5.

A national coalition including representatives from the San Diego Track Club, Bring Back the Mile, Competitor Group, Inc. and Ryun himself announced plans for a Jim Ryun Festival of Miles, a summertime celebration in San Diego to honor the milestone achievement.

Ryun was the first high school runner to break the four-minute mile as a junior at Wichita East High School in Wichita, Kansas. On June 5, 1964, on a clay track in Compton, he ran 3:59. Then as a senior, he ran 3:55.3 — a mark that stood for 36 years. ESPN has rated him the number-one high school athlete of the century, beating out Tiger Woods and LeBron James. A three-time Olympian (1964, 1968 and 1972) and silver medalist at the 1,500-meters, Ryun eventually was elected as a United States Congressman from Kansas.

—After an award winning, 38-year sports writing career with the San Diego Union and authoring three books, Johnny McDonald now considers writing a hobby. He enjoys covering aspects of the port district, convention center, Balboa Park, zoo, and stories with a historical bent. You can reach him at [email protected].