AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011 - 40

PILOT BRIEFING

Kids slide into aviation from a Boeing 747
ven adults will enjoy a kids’ water slide planned to open June 6 at the Evergreen Aviation and Science Museum in McMinnville, Oregon. The Evergreen Wings and Waves Waterpark offers four slippery routes, from tame to wild and crazy, and all of them start from inside a retired Evergreen Boeing 747 mounted on top of a 60-foot-tall building. The museum may be better known to some as the new home of the Howard Hughes Spruce Goose, already on display. The waterpark is part of the museum’s Captain Michael King Smith Educational Institute, dedicated to the late son of Evergreen Aviation founder Delford M. Smith, now the chairman of the board of the museum. In the waterpark, there will be a 10,000-square-foot children’s museum with nearly two dozen interactive exhibits designed to teach concepts like propulsion, Bernoulli’s principle, the water cycle, and harnessing water as power. The aim is to teach not only about the science of water, but also about the basic principles of aviation and space flight, incorporating the aviation, space, and water themes already present in the main museum. Visitors climb to the airplane and choose the slide of their choice. The “Nose Dive” is a highenergy, two-person inner-tube ride that combines a fast initial drop during a high-bank turn through a dark “oscillation” section before “breaking out of the clouds” into a circular bowl below. The ride culminates in a smooth splash landing. The “Signature” ride starts with a steep run into the bowl itself followed by a rotational routing around the bowl. The “Mach One” slide is highspeed ride that shoots visitors through a transparent orange tube above the entry to the park. The “Tail Spin” is high energy and features fast acceleration and a tight series of figure-eight, high-bank curves. The “Sonic Boom” is the mildest of the rides, although its name may not sound tame.
AOPA PILOT •

The 747 now at rest flew 58.5 million miles before gracing the top of the waterpark. It took two cranes to lift the aircraft to the top of the building, with one used to prevent oscillations. The maneuver required one of only seven aircraft slings available in the world to lift the aircraft. Engines were removed, but the aircraft still weighed 328,000 pounds. There are 28,000 pounds of ballast in the nose. The aircraft acts like a big sail atop the building, requiring rugged superstructure below to handle wind forces. Waterpark officials claim it is the first time a Boeing 747 has ever been placed atop a building anywhere in the world. —Dan Namowitz

Say Again?
Test yourself with these aviation quiz questions
By AOPA Pilot staff See answers on page 43 Aerodynamics 1. What was aerodynamicist Richard Whitcomb’s biggest contribution to high-speed flight? 2. “Supercruise” is the ability of an aircraft, such as the F–22 Raptor, to fly at supersonic speed without the use of gas-guzzling afterburners. What was the world’s first aircraft to accomplish this feat? 3. What aerodynamic feature do the MiG–15, F–86, and Boeing 707 have in common? 4. The Bell X–1 showed the advantages of non-hinged control surfaces for supersonic and transonic flight. What was the last U.S. fighter built with hinged control surfaces? 5. What high-flying U.S. pilot discovered the jet stream (but never flew a jet)?

40 • MAY 2011

AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of AOPA Pilot Magazine - May 2011