Legends of Flight at the Science Museum of Virginia

Legends of Flight is featured at the Science Museum of Virginia Saturday, November6, 2010 through Sunday, January 30, 2010.

Modern airliners have come a long way since the Wright brothers’ fabric experiments of the early 1900s. Join chief test pilot Mike Carriker as he flies through aviation history, showing you legendary aircraft that have advanced commercial flight and paved the way for the massive airliners of today.

Legends of Flight takes you soaring through majestic mountain peaks in a Schleicher high-performance sailplane and jolts you into the air in a Harrier Jump Jet, leaping into the sky from a standstill and then rocketing to tactical speeds. Carriker is flight-rated in more than 100 different aircraft and is one of the world’s top test pilots — just the right person to take you on the journey of fascinating aviation advances.

Since the introduction of wide body planes in the 1960s and early 1970s, followed by the Boeing 777 in 1994 there have been no game changing passenger airline designs until now, with development of the huge and super efficient Airbus A380 and the smaller, even more technologically advanced Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

Legends of Flight takes you on the maiden flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner which took place only last December.

Tickets for Legends of Flight are $8.50. Tickets for Legends of Flight and Science Museum exhibits are $14 for youth ages 4-12, seniors 60+ and active military and $15 for adults. Children 3 and under are free. For information call (804) 864-1400 or 1-800-659-1727 or visit www.smv.org. The Science Museum is located at 2500 West Broad Street.