San Diego Air & Space Museum named California's Official Air and Space Museum and Education Center

(November 6, 2006) - The San Diego Air & Space Museum has been designated as California's Official Air & Space Museum and Education Center. Museum President and CEO, Bill Lennartz made the announcement and presented the State's proclamation during its 21st Century of Flight Distinguished Achievement Awards Gala at the Museum Saturday night.

The measure, adopted by the California State Assembly April 20, 2006 and the California State Senate on August 10, 2006 was introduced by Assembly Member, Jay LaSuer and coauthored by Assembly Members Shirley Horton, Ray Haynes, George A. Plescia, Lori Salda–a, Juan Vargas, Mimi Walters, and Mark Wyland.

Assembly Resolution No. 140 took into account the Museum's excellence in its Education programs for youth, including in-house and outreach classes to organizations and schools, as well as the staff and over 250 volunteers who greatly contribute to the operation of the Museum.

"This designation is an indicator of the sustained excellence the San Diego Air & Space Museum has achieved over the years among aviation-themed museums and the overall quality of our programs," said Jim Kidrick, Vice President of Operations. "The California Assembly took into consideration the quality of the Museum's educational programs, exhibits and its volunteers. The Museum is highly structured and it operates accordingly. We are truly honored."

As a member of the Smithsonian Institution's Affiliates Program, the San Diego Air & Space was also the first aero-themed organization to receive accreditation from the American Association of Museums in 1986.

Discussing many of the Museum's one-of-a-kind items on display including the world's only GPS Satellite, and one of only three Predator UAV's on display in a museum, the San Diego Air & Space Museum is considered at the "pinnacle of its game," Kidrick said.

The Museum's restoration volunteers are well known for their recreating aircraft, many from original blueprints. In addition, they worked on restoring one of the engines of the Enola Gay now on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Udvar-Hazy Complex at Dulles International Airport as well as recently refurbishing the original seats of Ronald Reagan's Air Force One on display at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.

Creating another first in the Museum's unique history, in April 2006 the Museum acquired the former Allied Aerospace Low Speed Wind Tunnel located at San Diego International Airport's Lindbergh Field. The facility now known as the San Diego Air & Space Technology Center has been in continuous operation for nearly 60 years.

As the only wind tunnel in the nation capable of performing low-speed flutter testing, the LSWT has conducted nearly 100,000 hours of testing and has been used extensively in numerous military and civil aerospace development programs in addition to testing nearly 150 professional and amateur bicyclists including Lance Armstrong and the Discovery Cycling Team, along with 2006 Tour de France's Floyd Landis. In addition, every member of the 2006 US Olympic Luge Team was tested in the wind tunnel.