Museum Will Act As 'Mission Control' For Powering Imagination Flights

On May 21, 1927, Charles Lindbergh landed in Paris, electrifying the world with his historic 33.5-hour journey. On the anniversary of that landing, Erik Lindbergh (pictured), grandson of Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh, announced a partnership between Powering Imagination and Seattle's well-known Museum of Flight, the largest private air museum in the world, for future Lindbergh flights. The Museum will serve as Mission Control for Powering Imagination's projects, including its flagship adventure: retracing the historic 1931 "North to the Orient" journey by Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh as they sought to develop air routes from the U.S. to Asia.

"We are proud to announce that the Museum of Flight in Seattle, Washington will provide an education hub and mission control for Powering Imagination as a sponsor and a partner that will help us reach a global audience," said Erik Lindbergh CEO of Powering Imagination. "The Museum of Flight is a leader in preserving our aviation heritage and a world leader in in Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) education for people of all ages. Locating our Mission Control for a global adventure at the Museum of Flight will allow visitors and supporters from all over the world to follow our progress and understand how sustainable technologies under development today are creating new opportunities for tomorrow."

Erik Lindbergh, CEO of Powering Imagination and Doug King, President and CEO of the Museum of Flight, noted that the opportunity to tell the story of Powering Imagination's programs represents an outstanding opportunity to link past aviation milestones with current cutting edge research and help explore and promote future developments in aviation together for a global audience and museum visitors alike.

"In 2002 when Erik Lindbergh retraced his grandfather's flight across the Atlantic, I was a part of setting up his Mission Control for that journey," said Doug King, President and CEO of the Museum of Flight. "We were able to use the story of his trip to inspire the public and create educational curricula and networks. I'm delighted to be able to work with Erik again on this ambitious program to combine adventure, innovation, and sustainability."

Powering Imagination's next intercontinental project is to retrace the historic 1931 "North to the Orient" journey by Charles and Anne Morrow Lindbergh. In those formative days of aviation travel, the couple sought to develop air routes from America to Asia. In 2016, Erik and his team will embark on an adventure of more than 8,000 miles in a floatplane powered in part by alternative fuels, to demonstrate the progress being made to make aviation sustainable. Museum visitors will be able to follow the planning and preparation over the next two years, and they will be able to participate in the journey in real time while it is underway. Project management, flight planning, and weather monitoring for the flight will be led from a Mission Control facility at the museum.

"Meticulous planning was a key piece of Charles Lindbergh's approach to aviation and we will be continuing that focus with our 2016 flights," said Eric Bartsch, Chief Operating Officer of Powering Imagination. "While it can be said that our flight planning began more than 87 years ago with the notes and documents from the original trip, we still have a huge amount of work to safely and smoothly pull off an expedition halfway around the world through numerous climates, weather systems, and countries. Making the Museum of Flight's our home base provides a strong foundation to support program and we appreciate their visionary partnership."

With this announcement, the Museum of Flight joins Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and Air Charter Service in supporting Powering Imagination. Look for more announcements about their growing network of partners in the coming months as their sustainable aviation program gains momentum.

(Image provided by Powering Imagination)

FMI: www.PoweringImagination.com, www.museumofflight.org