Earth Discovery Center takes shape

Once complete, the center will provide five times the classroom space and serve more than twice as many visitors each year. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Once complete, the center will provide five times the classroom space and serve more than twice as many visitors each year. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/

First Published: The Flyer, October 20, 2006 12:56 pm

By Jerry Battiste

INDIANAPOLIS — Excitement is building at Eagle Creek Park as construction on the new Earth Discovery Center enters its final phases.

Buried in the forest overlooking the reservoir, the building blends nicely with the surrounding greenery, despite the mud and construction equipment. In front, sidewalks are being poured; the parking lot will be next and the landscaping will follow shortly after that. By December, the center will be complete and programming is expected to be in full swing by spring of 2007.

Jim Weir is executive director of the Eagle Creek Park Foundation, a non-profit group formed in 1978 to support the park through volunteer and fundraising work. Membership now numbers more than 2,000. That’s twice as many as they had in 2001, but Weir said he expects that number to grow as the park continues to make itself more attractive to guests of all types.

Eagle Creek Park is already a popular destination for boaters, anglers and naturalists, but Weir said they want it to be a destination for everyone seeking an outdoor adventure in an urban setting.

“As we started to look into this, we discovered one of the larger user groups at Eagle Creek are runners and joggers,” Weir said.

Drive through the park just about any clear day, he said, and someone can be spotted cruising the paths. And regardless of the weather, someone is likely fishing somewhere too, he said. In fact, most of the members of the foundation are themselves regular users of the park who turned to volunteer work as a form of penance.

“One member told me he spent so much time at the park, every day riding his bicycle up and down the trails, that he felt guilty not doing something to help,” Weir said.

At 5,200 acres, Eagle Creek Park is one of the largest municipal parks in the nation and the only Indianapolis park tasked with funding itself. A $4 daily admission fee only goes so far, Weir said.

What foundation members felt they needed was a world class facility to build on its existing nature programming. The only question was, what sort of facility should it be?

Weir said the old Visitor Center at the park would see about 40,000 guests every year, half of which were school children from kindergarten to fifth grade. With this in mind, they set about designing the new Earth Discovery Center to better serve that group, and anyone else interested in having a learning experience during their visit to the park.

The foundation formed focus groups and queried local educators on what type of facility would best suit their needs. Soon, a plan was created and fundraising work began in earnest. Foundation members have so far secured more than $3.5 million for building the new center, but are still seeking another $1 million to cover the cost of programming.

Walking through the nearly-finished center, Weir makes no effort to hide his enthusiasm for the project. Students at all levels, from kindergarten through college to those attending adult-learning programs, are expected to study the environment using the park as their living laboratory.

“We call it ‘come in and get out’ because they can come into one of our labs, the wet lab or the dry lab, learn about a sector of the environment like the wetland, then go out into the park and actually experience that environment firsthand,” he said.

In the $650,000 exhibit area, four habitats will be represented: The forest, meadow, wetland, and reservoir. Lab tables and equipment for group study, interactive computer displays and remote cameras for observing specific park habitats up close, provide a variety of learning tools for teachers and students alike. It is expected the new Earth Discovery Center will see more than 100,000 visitors each year.

The old nature center, which sits along a protected bird sanctuary, will become an ornithology center, focusing specifically on the abundant species that call the park home.

Weir said the new center will be “much more science oriented as opposed to the traditional park nature center” but stopped short of calling it a school. Currently, the park offers a variety of learning programs but only has the capacity for one class at a time. The new center will have room for up to four simultaneous classroom groups. Student attendance at park programs is expected to rise from 22,000 visitors a year to closer to 50,000.

“We don’t expect to have that many students right at the get-go,” Weir said. But he said he expects the center “will easily reach that number” once the programming is in full swing.

The new center is a subtle addition to the quiet forest in which it sits, but Weir hopes it will be a powerful force in the community.

“It is the first of its kind,” Weir said of the center and the proposed programming. “But what we believe is that once finished, it will become the model for what a nature center should be at parks all across the nation.”

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.

Indianapolis airport terminal on schedule

Eventually standing six stories high, the glass enclosed Civic Plaza at the terminal is expected to be a central gathering poing. Jerry Battiste/ Flyer photos

First Published: The Flyer, December 12, 2006 03:13 pm

By Jerry Battiste

INDIANAPOLIS ’ The people responsible for construction of the new Indianapolis International Airport want everyone to know the $1.07 billion project is on budget and on schedule.

During a recent media tour of the unfinished facility, John Kish, project director for the Indianapolis Airport Authority, said the new airport was having an impact on everyone in the community, regardless of whether they were even aware of the project.

’With the scope and cost of this project, it’s as if we are spending $1 million a day for three years,’ he said. ’And 75 percent of that money is staying in Indiana.’

Construction on the project began in earnest in 2003 when the Federal Aviation Administration and the IAA broke ground on the new air traffic control tower. This past summer all operations were transferred to the new tower, the third tallest in the nation, and the old tower was recently demolished in a controlled explosion.

The new 1.2 million square foot terminal building is scheduled to open in late 2008 and is expected to serve the air transportation needs of the state for the next 30 years.

Kish said weather could still be a factor in estimating the exact completion date, but if the facility cannot be opened by October of that year, airport officials would likely wait until 2009, after the holidays pass, before holding a grand opening.

More than 1,000 doors, 10,000 light fixtures and 11,000 tons of steel are required for the project. The state-of-the-art facility will have 10 moving sidewalks and 23 elevators and escalators.

Kish said a glass enclosed ’Civic Plaza,’ with a ceiling six stories high, abundant retail space, and room for public gatherings is the jewel of the new terminal.

’This will truly be a facility we, as a city, can be proud of,’ he said. ’With the new Civic Plaza, passengers can sit in a beautiful area, with the best view of downtown around, and have a latte while they wait for their plane.’

More than 7,000 parking spaces will spread across 2.5 million square feet of available parking and a ground transportation hub will provide commercial shuttle, bus, and limousine service to and from local hotels.

This is the first commercial airport built in the United States since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks and the extensive changes to FAA airport regulations that followed. New guidelines, like a new baggage terminal with a special room for workers to immediately pull and isolate any suspicious packages, have been incorporated into the plan. Also, an underground fuel delivery system will mean fewer fuel trucks on the taxiways.

Chris Walter, project safety director for Hunt/Smoot, tasked with completing the Midfield building, said despite the new security measures and the pressure of building the first airport under stricter FAA guidelines, the job is much the same as any other building project.

He said most of the workers hired for the project are local contractors, people who have grown up in central Indiana and have a stake in the community. They know how important the airport is to the local economy, what the project means for their friends and family, he said, but they are more concerned about doing the best possible job than they are about dealing with imagined pressure.

’Most of these guys don’t even know it’s the first airport being built since 9/11,’ Walter said. ’Working on a big project like this means taking a certain sense of pride in what you do, and they have that. But to them, it’s just another project ’ nothing out of the ordinary.’

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.

Barnstorming Red Barons delight air show crowds

Pilots Jayson Scott Wilson (left) and Bryan Regan discuss the flight path before taking a group of reporters for a short flight. (Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo)


Soaring over cornfields, the view is similar to what barnstorming pilots saw in the 1920s. (Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo)

By Jerry Battiste

First Published: The Flyer, August 25, 2006 02:36 pm

MT. COMFORT — Just two decades after the Wright brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, barnstorming was sweeping the nation, elevating daredevil pilots to the heights of celebrity.

Today, few aerobatics teams of this type remain. Of course stunt pilots abound, but true barnstorming has all but vanished from the landscape.

But not quite. Barnstorming lives on in the 21st century, compliments of an unlikely sponsor: Frozen pizza.

The legend goes something like this: Prior to the 1970s, pizza was considered a purely ethnic food, so giving your product an Italian sounding name made good business sense. Then Tombstone Pizza came along and changed that business model, opening the door for companies to call themselves whatever they wished. As it happened, one of the Red Baron Pizza founders was fond of biplanes, and saw a potential marketing bonanza. So the company bought and refurbished a few vintage aircraft, hired some pilots, and started pulling banners through the skies above every outdoor event they could. A few years later, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron team started doing aerobatics displays at air shows nationwide, and the rest, as they say, is history.

Today Red Baron Pizza is owned by the Schwan Food Company, but the squadron remains an integral part of the company’s marketing plan.

Since 1979, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron has been astounding crowds with fantastic displays of aerobatics showmanship. It now boasts a team of four fully restored Boeing Stearman biplanes built between 1941 and ‘43. During World War II, U.S., Canadian, and European pilots trained in these exact aircraft. In fact, more pilots have trained in a Stearman than in any other type of plane.

In the past 27 years, the Red Baron Pizza Squadron has logged more than six million miles and lofted more than 80,000 passengers, taking awe-struck guests through a lightning fast series of loops, hammerheads and barrel rolls; flying formation just a few short feet apart, sometimes with wingtips overlapping, dangerously close but never quite touching.

The seven Red Baron Squadron pilots are among the most highly-trained in the world, with nearly 50,000 hours of flight time among them. The planes themselves are never trailered from site to site. Pilots fly them cross country, about 250 miles between fuel-ups, landing at small airstrips in small communities and meeting the local folks like a barnstormer would have done in 1927.

The most noticeable changes in barnstorming are all safety related: Pilots train rigorously throughout the year and each crew chief maintains the highest rating granted by the FAA; Performance standards are among the highest in the world.

Twenty years ago, lead pilot Bryan Regan had a little college money left over and was itching to take flying lessons. He said he doubted at the time that it would lead to anything, but felt it was something he just had to do.

“I never dreamed I would make an occupation of it,” Regan said. “It was just something I had wanted to do my whole life. I really thought I would do it and get it out of my system, but it didn’t turn out that way.”

Regan wound up getting his license, taking a side job at a local airport, and meeting some people starting an air cargo service. A pilot job flying cargo led to his meeting and piloting for some folks doing a wing-walking act, which in turn led to his meeting the Red Baron Squadron and joining the team.

That decision, he said, was a no-brainer.

“Once you get in one of these airplanes, you realize they’re pretty spectacular,” he said.

Pilot Jayson Scott Wilson flies the left wing position for the squadron. Wilson’s father and an uncle both flew crop dusters professionally. He spent 23 years as a military pilot, flying three combat tours with the U.S. Army. Wilson has led squadrons as large as 260 aviators in both combat and non-combat situations. He is also the director of operations for the squadron, ensuring proper safety and professional standards are maintained during and between shows.

Despite his impressive resume, Wilson is coy about his time as a pilot.

“I’ve only been flying since I was about 11,” he said with a smile. “I’m 43 now, so I guess that’s a while.”

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.

Challenger Center welcomes astronaut and the community

Former NASA astronaut Ken Reightler posed with fans and answered hundreds of questions about the past, present and future of space travel. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Nathan Shirley pauses at the NASA display table loaded with astronaut equipment, food, and actual pieces of the shuttle heat shield. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Brad Roberson and his daughter, Amanda, 7, use a step-ladder to test experimental aircraft during Saturday’s Open House. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/


Volunteer members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc. provided children with hands-on instruction in practical science. Jerry Battiste/Flyer photo/

By Jerry Battiste
First Published: The Flyer, November 15, 2006 05:43 pm

BROWNSBURG — Ken Reightler, former U.S. Navy test pilot and NASA astronaut, has been around the world more than 200 times, literally, but last weekend was his first visit to Brownsburg.

Reightler, currently the president of Lockheed Martin Space Operations in Greenbelt, Md., was in town for an open house at the Brownsburg Challenger Learning Center. This year marks the 20th anniversary of the Challenger Shuttle disaster which inspired the creation of the center.

Hoosiers drove from near and far to shake hands with the astronaut, learn about space exploration, and have some fun with science. The open house began at 10 a.m. and lasted until 4 p.m., and throughout the day children and adults learned about space science from a variety of resources.

Brad Roberson brought his daughter Amanda, 7, and his son, Travis, 10, from Cloverdale for the day-long event. As Amanda built and tested experimental aircraft, Travis was getting a lesson in practical science from local members of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Roberson said they knew in advance the event would be well worth the trip.

“The kids came up here once on a field trip and ever since then they’ve been wanting to come back,” he said.

IEEE member Blake Buescher was among the half dozen or so members volunteering their time to instruct children in how to build a flashlight, a rubberband racer, or a mission sample bag. Buescher said the group hoped to inspire future engineers by creating hands-on experiments that demonstrated practical scientific principles: Wind up a rubber band and store energy that can be controlled and channeled to a wheel for motion.

It all seemed like fun and games to the children, but the engineers hope it will leave a lasting impression.

“We are trying to give the kids a better idea of what engineering is and what it is an engineer does,” Buescher said.

Dave and Renee Shirley brought their son, Nathan, 10, from Whitelick to experience the hands-on space science. Mingling with Reightler and getting a close-up look at some actual NASA equipment was an added bonus.

Nathan, who said he wants to be a video game designer when he grows up, also harbors a secret desire to travel to space one day, but only if he knows he can come back home when he’s done.

“It’s pretty interesting, but I don’t want to go if there’s a chance it might explode,” he said.

In his two talks at the open house Reightler addressed some of those very concerns. As part of Lockheed Martin, the company responsible for designing and building the new Crew Exploration Vehicle, he is intimately aware of the pressure to make space travel as safe as possible and the importance of inspiring future generations of space explorers.

The new CEV, he said, will not even need a pilot. In the future, he said, working in space will be more about having a skill that can be used out there, rather than simply having the skills to get there.

“The vision is, when we go back to the moon, we go to stay,” Reightler said. “So it’s more important to think about it in terms of what you want to do rather than what you want to be. New navigation systems, new communication systems, new propulsion systems ... there are a lot of pieces to this thing.”

Allyson Santner, or Commander Santner as she is known at the center, spent a good portion of Saturday afternoon helping children make space-themed buttons. She said it was “standing room only” during Reightler’s first talk, with children seated on every inch of available floor space.

“The kids have been pretty enthusiastic,” Santner said. “But that’s what we wanted. We’d have been so disappointed if they weren’t.”

Emily Kniffin, 11, and Jamie Thompson, 10, colored their own space-themed buttons. Despite their common interest in coloring, they had decidedly different opinions when it came to space exploration.

Kniffin said she would be interested in giving zero-gravity a try, but Thompson said of space travel, “It’d be cool, but I still don’t want to go.”

Published: November 15, 2006 05:43 pm

This story originally appeared in The Hendricks County Flyer, 2006.