“At the Controls”

The National Museum of the Marine Corps is hosting the traveling exhibition “At the Controls: The Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum Looks at Cockpits,” from now until January 4, 2009. This photographic exhibition offers visitors a unique perspective of cockpits from some of the world´s most impressive air and spacecraft.

“At the Controls” features 20 large-format color photographs of historically significant cockpits, such as the Wright brothers´ 1903 Flyer; the “Enola Gay,” a Boeing B-29 Superfortress; the Mercury “Friendship 7”; and the space shuttle “Columbia.” Using a 4 by 5 camera with 120-degree wide-angle lens and a variety of lighting techniques, photographers Eric F. Long and Mark Avino have created unique images that contrast the simplicity and complexity of cockpits throughout aviation history.

Measuring approximately 4 by 7 feet, the images depict in rich and precise detail the evolution of the controls, instruments and displays used to fly these air and spacecraft. The cockpits in the exhibition were selected because their instrumentation panels vividly illustrate the development and refinement of aviation technology. Additional information gives the Museum visitor insight into how some of these air and spacecraft relate to Marine Corps history.

“At the Controls: The Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum Looks at Cockpits” was developed by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service and the Smithsonian’s National Air and Space Museum.