Hill Aerospace Museum hosts 'Plane Talk' speaker series

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  • Hill Aerospace Museum
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah --  The Hill Aerospace Museum at Hill AFB will host a plane talk series featuring speakers related to heritage of Hill Air Force Base, the United States Air Force, other military branches, and many other subjects related aerospace and the defense industry.

Plane Talk takes place on Saturdays at 1 p.m. in the newly renovated museum auditorium. The series is open to the public and admission is free.

Guests will speak on the following topics:

March 10

Presenters Rory Murphy, David Nicholas, Oz Crosby, and Steve Leatham will speak about a B-18 bomber that crashed into Iron Mountain two miles west of Park City 77 years ago on a stormy night.

Five of the seven Airmen survived. This event was forgotten over time. Murphy will share his personal experience from that night.

Murphy was an infantry paratrooper for four years with the 6/327th (Brigade Alaska) and the 1/505th (82nd Airborne Division). He has been a resort developer in the Park City area for the past 25 years.

Nicholas has worked in the media and entertainment business for the past 40 years. On a volunteer basis he researches and write for the Park City Historical Society with a particular interest in trains and plane crashes.

Crosby was born in 1943. He went on to build flying model airplanes and experimented with rockets made from old bazooka shells. He enjoys aviation history.

Leatham has a passion for Park City history. The story of the B-18 bomber that crashed on Iron Mountain near Park City on Nov. 17, 1941, was nearly forgotten. He works to honor the courage and heroism of the two airmen who lost their lives and the five who parachuted to safety in a blinding snowstorm through his research, writings and lectures.

March 17

Presenter Tom Fitzgerald served in the Army Air Corps during World War II from 1943-1945. During that time, Fitzgerald worked as a flightline mechanic on the P-47 Thunderbolt in the European Campaign. He worked in seven different air fields following General George Patton.

March 24

Mike Fuller has been with Orbital ATK for 12 years and is currently working in business development, responsible for NASA programs. Fuller’s responsibilities include NASA’s Space Launch System booster, NASA Evolvable Mars Campaign along with Deep Space Habitats, and other SLS-related activities.

Fuller also spent seven years working in research and development for thermal protection and ultra-high temperature materials before becoming a thermal protection systems lead for Ares I first stage rocket motor.

For more information, call Robb Alexander, Aerospace Heritage Foundation of Utah executive director, at 801-825-5936 or email robbalexander@aerospaceutah.org.