AU Libraries exhibit area features early innovations in flight technology

Auburn University Library’s newest exhibit on the first floor of the Ralph Brown Daughon Library features early innovations in flight technology. “No Time to Fall: Mechanical Innovations of Flight” features select items from Special Collections and Archives’ Hampton Aviation Collection and the Walter Scott Hoover Papers.

“Auburn University Libraries’ Special Colelctions and Archives Department holds one of the nation’s best research collections in aviation and aerospace history,” said Greg Schmidt, head of the Special Collections and Archives Department. “Research into the history of technology runs deep at Auburn University, and we are honored to be a part of this endeavor.”

The Hampton Aviation and Walter Scott Hoover Papers collections showcase just a few of the notable contributions that talented, visionary inventors and engineers have made to the world of aviation, from its beginnings in the 1700s to the dawn of the space age in the 1950s. Some of the items on display include: an original, 9-foot variable pitch propellor prototype that was tested at Ohio’s Wright Field; photographic prints of the first dirigible ever brought down during war; a hearing transcript from 1925 regarding the future of government involvement in the aircraft industry; photographs of early experimental airplanes; and more.  

The “No Time to Fall” exhibit is open during all regular library hours, and the public is welcome. The exhibit will run through the end of July 2024.