Wichita Air Heritage Tour makes stops at NIAR

By Joseph Kleinsasser

Wichita’s reputation as the “Air Capital” is well documented. Knowing that Wichita is the mecca of aircraft manufacturing is one thing. Gaining access to it and experiencing it is another.

The Wichita aviation story is finally accessible to the general public through the Wichita Air Heritage Tour. WSU’s National Institute for Aviation Research, a leader in its field, is one of the stops on the tour.

The tour is a collaborative effort of the Wichita Convention and Visitors Bureau, three of the four aircraft manufacturing plants (Boeing, Raytheon and Bombardier-Learjet), NIAR, McConnell Air Force Base, Kansas Aviation Museum, and Kansas Cosmosphere & Space Center.

Visitors will get a behind-the-scenes tour and an opportunity to experience first-hand why Wichita is the “Air Capital of the World.” The tour presents the past, present and future of aviation.

The mission of the Wichita Air Heritage Tour is to boost economic development for the city and to satisfy the numerous requests the city’s visitors bureau receives for such tours.

While establishing the tour package, Gene Countryman, director of tourism for the Wichita Convention & Visitors Bureau toured the NIAR. Judy Naccarato, NIAR assistant director of operations, said Countryman was extremely impressed with the facility. “He definitely wanted to include us in the tour since we represent the education and research segment of aviation, present and future,” said Naccarato, who provides the tours at the NIAR.

The NIAR has already provided a Wichita Air Heritage Tour to a group of conservation engineers (about 35 people) and have two more tours scheduled — one in May and one in October.

The tour includes a broad overview of the NIAR’s history, a walk-through and description of the Crash Dynamics Laboratory, Composites and Advanced Materials Laboratory, CAD/CAM Laboratory, and aerodynamics laboratories (water and wind tunnels). Some labs may be unavailable due to proprietary projects.