Where you’ll find videos of past lectures, presentations, and other events at the Aviation Museum of N.H.
Thursday, March 26, 2026: Lt. Cmdr. ‘Skip’ Carter, U.S.N. Ret., recounts some of the many highlights of his 24 years serving as a pilot and flight instructor in the U.S. Navy.
Thursday, Jan. 15, 2026: All About the Alton Bay Ice Runway. Over the past 20 years, pilot Paul Russo has flown into the Alton Bay Ice Runway more than 100 times. In an ‘Exploring Aviation’ presentation, Russo recounts stories of operating in and out of the only FAA-authorized ice runway in the lower 48 states.
Thursday, Dec. 11, 2025: Shirley Phillips, author of the memoir ‘How Not To Fly An Airplane,’ discussed her book and answered questions about her career in aviation at an ‘Exploring Aviation’ presentation at the Aviation Museum of N.H. Phillips was a long-time commercial pilot and former flight instructor at Daniel Webster College in Nashua, and currently volunteers as a mentor in the Aviation Museum’s ‘Flying Tigers’ student plane-building project at Farmington High School in Farmington, N.H.
Monday, Nov. 17, 2025: Join Nathaniel MacDonald, education director of the Aviation Museum of N.H., for a primer on Granite State aviation history, recorded at a meeting of the Campton Historical Society. Nathan, a World War I buff, delivered his talk in an authentic period uniform!
Friday, Oct. 10, 2025: The guest of honor at our 2025 fundraising Gala was Richard VanGrunsven, founder of Van’s Aircraft and designer of the RV-12iS aircraft being used in our student plane-building programs in three N.H. high schools. At the Gala, Dick was interviewed by Erin Fehlau of WMUR-TV; here’s a recording of their talk.
Thursday, Oct. 2, 2025: ‘The Silver Dollar Girls.’ A presentation by Margaret DiBenedetto, author of ‘The Silver Dollar Girls,’ an a historical fiction novel that intertwines a contemporary story with World War II history, focusing on a young woman who flees to a rural farmhouse during the COVID lockdown and uncovers her great-grandmother’s past as a WASP (Women Airforce Service Pilot).
Thursday, Sept. 4, 2025: ‘The Experience of An Active Duty Air Force Pilot on 9/11.’ Join Glenn Carson, Lt. Col., USAF (Ret.) as he recounts the experience of being on duty at a Louisiana Air Force Base when the 9/11 attacks unfolded on the morning of Sept. 11, 2001. Even President George W. Bush makes a brief appearance as the nation rushed to respond to the emergency.
Saturday, Aug. 16, 2025: PlaneFest / Rise Above: A brief look at all the action at our 2025 ‘PlaneFest!’ including the arrival of a P-51 Mustang courtesy the Commemmorative Air Force; the ‘Rise Above’ traveling exhibit celebrating World War II-era heroes the Tuskegee Airmen and the WASP female fliers; a look at fun hands-on activities that included kids building their own rockets; and the celebrate of Orville Wright’s birthday, complete with cake and singing, all set to a stirring public domain musical soundtrack!
Thursday, Aug. 7, 2025: ‘Bob Fogg and New Hampshire’s Golden Age of Aviation,’ a presentation by Jane Rice, author of a comprehensive history of pioneering Granite State pilot Bob Fogg, who barnstormed his way around New Hampshire in the early days of aviation.
Saturday, July 26, 2025: Remembering Dan ‘The Docent’ Kelley. Join us for a celebration of the life of Dan Kelley, a long-time Aviation Museum volunteer who passed away earlier in the year after a period of declining health. It was an honor for the Aviation Museum to host this ceremony in honor of a man who gave so much and inspired so many.
Thursday, July 11, 2025: ‘Anatomy of a NASA Space Suit,’ a presentation by Nancy Rodden of ILC Astrospace, a company that supplies many of the garments worn by NASA astronauts. Rodden, a Nashua native, draws from her decades of experience at a company that plays a little-known but vital role in the nation’s space program.
Thursday, June 26, 2025: Author Lisa Rogak speaks about ‘Propaganda Girls,’ a new book that explores a little-known all-female military unit that played a crucial part during World War II that’s been little known—until now.
Thursday, May 29, 2025: Author Marina Kirsch visits the Aviation Museum to speak about ‘Flight of Remembrance,’ her book about her family, with a focus on her father: an aerospace expert in the 1930s who was forced to work for Hitler’s rocketry effort during World War II, but who later emigrated to the U.S., where he helped Werner Von Braun’s team develop the Saturn V rocket used during the Apollo program.
Thursday, April 10, 2025: What was it like to be on duty at an active Missle Launch site during the height of the Cold War. Find out in ‘Life in a Cold War ICBM Site,’ a presentation by U.S. Air Force Maj. Carl Stidsen (Ret).
Thursday, March 13, 2025: ‘They Almost Became Jet Engines,’ a presentation on metal sculptures created by Abraham Megerdician, a longtime GE aircraft engine machinist who worked in the company’s facilities in Lynn and Everett, Mass. The sculptures were created by Megerdichian from brass, aluminum, and other scrap metals purchased from GE stock. The presentation was given by his son, Robert Megerdichian, who is hoping to create a museum to display pieces created by his father. The Aviation Museum of N.H. is working with Megerdichian to arrange to display a selection of his father’s creations so the public can view and enjoy them.
Wednesday, March 5, 2025: A ceremony and ribbon-cutting was held in the Slusser Aviation Learning Center to celebrate the first day of the Aviation Museum of N.H.’s new schedule of being open five days a week to the general public. The museum is now open from Wednesdays through Saturdays 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.; Sundays 1 to 4 p.m. (That’s up from our longtime schedule of three days per week.) On hand to make remarks were Ray Chadwick, president of the museum’s board of directors, and Patrick Duffy, who was instrumental in moving the airport’s 1937 Terminal building to its present location in 2004 and opening the museum. A ceremonial cake was created by the Bake Shop on Kelley Street in Manchester, N.H. Many thanks to officials from the Greater Derry/Londonderry Chamber of Commerce for providing the ribbon and giant scissors!
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024: The Aviation Museum took possession of a piece of the fuselage of a B-17E flown by Capt. Harl Pease of Plymouth, N.H. when his aircraft was shot down over Rabaul, New Britain on Aug. 6-7, 1942, leading to his capture and subsequent execution in a Japanese prison camp. The piece, extracted from the crash site in the 1980s, was recently acquired by volunteer Steve Heffelfinger and his wife Gisela, who donated it to the museum in memory of their relatives whose record of military service extends back to World War I. The fragment was accepted in a presentation ceremony that included a reading of the entire citation that was issued with Pease’s Medal of Honor, awarded posthumously to his parents by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in December of 1942, plus a ceremonial procession and installation of the fragment conducted by Major Derek Voigt of the N.H. Wing of the Civil Air Patrol.
Thursday, Nov. 7, 2024: A crowd gathered at the Aviation Museum on Thursday, Nov. 7 for a presentation and book-signing by Leah Dearborn, author of ‘Grenier Air Base: A Beacon On The Home Front,’ the new book published by the museum. Leah, the museum’s associate director, talked about the research that went into the book, read excerpts, answered questions, and showed vintage home movies shot at the base, which is today’s Manchester-Boston Regional Airport. ‘Grenier Air Base: A Beacon on the Home Front’ is $35 per copy and makes a great gift for the local history buff or aviation fanatic in your life. To order it online, click on our Grenier Air Base: A Beacon on the Home Front page.
Thursday, Oct. 17, 2024: Memories of a TWA pilot! N.H. native J.D. Clarke presented ‘From Open Cockpit to Around the World,’ a talk about his six decades in aviation. Clarke, 85, started flying at Newport’s Parlin Field in the years after World War II; his aviation career included 20 years as a flight engineer and pilot for Trans World Airlines, one of the nation’s major carriers throughout the 20th century before it was absorbed by American Airlines in 2001. Among his memories: changing the bulb of a reading light for a distinguished passenger, Katherine Hepburn! A former instructor at Hawthorne College in Antrim, N.H. and Aviation Museum volunteer, Clarke is now retired; he and his wife Carolyn reside in Center Strafford, N.H. Clarke’s presentation was part of the museum’s ‘Exploring Aviation’ lecture series.
Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024: Crewing on the B-24 and B-29 in the 21st century. In our latest “Exploring Aviation” presentation, speaker Nick Infantino recounts tales of volunteering to help these warbirds travel the country as part of the Commemorative Air Force’s ‘Air Power’ history tour. Learn what it’s like to keep these vintage aircraft aloft.
Thursday, April 25, 2024: Turtles Fly, Too! In our latest “Exploring Aviation” presentation, speaker David Dinneen tells us all about ‘Turtles Fly, Too!’ a non-profit organization that rescues ailing sea turtles stranded in cold New England waters and transports them via air to rehab centers in warmer climes.
Monday, March 11, 2024: President Biden paid a quick visit to New Hampshire on Monday, March 11. Here’s video of the landing of Air Force One (in a stiff NW wind) at Manchester-Boston Regional Airport just before 1 p.m.; video taken from the Aviation Museum of N.H.
Monday, March 11, 2024: Air Force One departing Manchester-Boston Regional Airport at 4:30 p.m.
Thursday, Feb. 8, 2024: ‘The Flying Ace’ (1926), a silent-era aviation thriller with an all-Black cast, was screened at the Aviation Museum of N.H. with live music to mark Black History Month. A segment on the screening was produced and aired by N.H. Chronicle that explores the film’s historical value as well as the live musical accompaniment provided by Jeff Rapsis, the museum’s executive director.
Thursday, Jan. 25, 2024: Retired United Airlines Capt. Ken Perkins of North Hampton, N.H. recalls highlights from a life in aviation, which included seeing the doomed Hindenburg airship pass over his elementary school in Connecticut on May 6, 1937—the day it would later explode arriving in Lakehurst, N.J. Ken’s commercial career spanned the post-World War II era of piston-driven airliners to modern jets; he flew everything from the DC-3 for Capital Airlines in the 1950s to the 747 for United in the 1980s. He served as co-pilot on the 1974 United flight that carried an ailing Charles Lindbergh to his final resting place in Hawaii. Presented as part of the Aviation Museum’s ‘Exploring Aviation’ series.
Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023: Jonathan Westerling on New Hampshire’s Abandoned Airports. Presented as part of the Aviation Museum’s “Exploring Aviation” series.
Thursday, Sept. 21, 2023: Frances Dean Nolde, author of ‘She Looked to the Sky,’ speaks about her book, which chronicles the life of her mother, famed 1940s aviator Frannie Nolde. Presented as part of the Aviation Museum’s “Exploring Aviation” series.
Thursday, July 27, 2023: The Crash of Delta Airlines Flight 723. On July 31, 1973, Delta Air Lines Flight 723, which departed from Manchester, crashed at Boston’s Logan Airport, killing all 89 on board. On the 50th anniversary of what is still New England’s deadliest air disaster, journalist Fred Kocher and author Paul Houle review how the crash happened, how it was covered, how it affect the families of those involved, and the long trail of fallout that came afterwards.
Thursday, April 20, 2023: A presentation by Jim Becker, CEO of Lighthawk Conservation Flying, a Massachusetts-based group that uses volunteer pilots and their aircraft to aid and advance conservation activities across the nation and around the world.
Thursday, March 23, 2023: A talk by author Mary Build, a Maine-based pilot who took up seaplane flying in her mid-40s and how it changed her life, a story she told in a newly published book, ‘Finding Myself in Aviation.’
Thursday, Jan. 26, 2023: Long before the Wright Brothers pioneered powered flight in 1903, balloonists and aeronauts were taking to the skies throughout the 19th century. In ‘Lighter Than Air,’ Leah Dearborn (assistant director of the Aviation Museum of N.H.) takes us back to those days of drifting and dare-deviltry!
Saturday, Nov. 9, 2019: Berlin Airlift 70th Anniversary. Join Berlin Airlift Veteran Ralph Dionne of Nashua as he recalls flying into the German capital in 1948-49 to deliver much-needed supplies during the Russian blockade. Plus: we re-enact the Berlin Airlift Candy Bombing using a helicopter, tossing out Wrigley’s gum and Hershey’s chocolate attached to parachutes.
Thursday, Oct. 17, 2019: It Fell From The Sky. A presentation by investigator Bill Kolias on the crash of a B-52 in Fremont, N.H. 60 years earlier, in August 1959. No crew member was lost in this incident, but due to Cold War security concerns the family members of the crew never got the full story of this harrowing incident. The presentation is augmented by several family members who were able to visit the crash site the next day.
Thursday, Aug. 9, 2019: The Great Greenfield Railroad Trestle Fly-Under. On July 22, 1979, local pilot Bronson Potter flew his Aeronca Champ under the Greenfield Railroad Trestle. Forty years later, in a program at Mason (N.H.) Elementary School, we ask why—and we also view some long-forgotten home movie footage of the actual event!