Daniel Webster College's Aviation Heritage Festival

to feature WW II's Donald S. Lopez

Families will enjoy the September 25 & 26

Aviation Festival's speakers, exhibits and activities

Nashua, NH - WWII will come alive at Daniel Webster College and adjacent Nashua, NH, Municipal Airport (KASH) when WWII pilot and deputy director of the National Air and Space Museum, Donald S. Lopez, talks about that extraordinary time in history at the College's 2004 Aviation Heritage Festival September 25 and 26. Dozens of aircraft will be on display, including a good number of planes representing the WWII era, including the P-51 Mustang, the F4U Corsair, the P-47 Thunderbolt, the P-40 Warhawk, the B-17 Flying Fortress, the B-24 Liberator, the B-25 Mitchell, and the TBM Avenger. Lopez will be speaking on both days at the Eaton-Richmond Center at Daniel Webster College.

During World War II, Lopez served in China, flying Curtiss P-40s and North American P-51s. "I am particularly interested in telling the story of the air war in China. The operation there was miniscule compared to the other theaters of the war, but its contribution was much larger than is generally recognized," he said.  “The Aviation Heritage Festival venue at Daniel Webster College is an ideal way to share that information,” Lopez added, “and enhances what students may have learned in the history classroom.” 

The Festival runs from 8:30 a.m. 5 p.m. both Saturday and Sunday. Adult admission is $15, children 4-12 are $5, children under 3 are free. Tickets for seniors over 65 and veterans are $12; special discounts are available in advance for group of ten or more. Free parking is available or pilots may fly in.  For directions and updated information, visit www.dwc.edu/festival or call 603-577-6622.

After the war, Lopez attended the Air Force Test Pilot School, spent almost six years testing fighters, and completed a short combat tour flying North American F-86s in Korea. Following a tour in the Pentagon, he earned a bachelor's degree in aeronautical engineering at the Air Force Institute of Technology and a master's degree in aeronautics from the California Institute of Technology. He spent the next five years at the U.S. Air Force Academy as an associate professor of aeronautics and chief of academic counseling. After his retirement from the U.S. Air Force in 1964, Lopez worked as a Systems Engineer on the Apollo-Saturn Launch Vehicle and the Skylab Orbital Workshop for Bellcomm, Inc.

Lopez has been with the Smithsonian Institution since 1972, when he came to the organization as assistant director for the Aeronautics Department. He became part of the team that was responsible for planning the construction and opening of the National Air and Space Museum. In his role as assistant director for Aeronautics, Lopez was instrumental in developing the exhibits that welcomed visitors at the museum's opening July, 1976, and have made it the most visited museum in the world.

Lopez became deputy director in 1983, a position he held until 1990. He served as senior advisor to the director before retiring in 1993. From 1993 to 1996, Lopez served as senior advisor emeritus and was again appointed deputy director in 1996. His most recent book, Fighter Pilot's Heaven: Flight Testing the Early Jets, was published by the Smithsonian Institution Press in 1995. He also authored Into the Teeth of the Tiger in 1986, and The National Air and Space Museum: A Visit in Pictures, 1989.

Founded in 1965 as the New England Aeronautic Institute, Daniel Webster College has long been distinguished as one of the nation’s leaders in professional aviation education and offers the bachelor of science degree in aviation flight operations (professional pilot), aviation management, and air traffic control. The college is also recognized for its leadership in computer science and management, as well as its newest major, Social Science. For information about Daniel Webster College, visit www.dwc.edu or call 603-577-6000.

Donald Lopez, Deputy Director of the National Air and Space Museum; Credit: Photo by Carolyn Russo/NASM, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution; Copyright: Smithsonian Institution