Pittsburgh’s connection to aviation, space history revealed

When it comes to the history of aviation, Orville and Wilbur Wright and their space-traveling successors Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin and Michael Collins are household names.
But what about Calbraith Perry Rodgers and Jack Kinzler?
The stories of the two Pittsburgh natives and their hometown also figure prominently in the conquering of the skies and beyond, as told by Andy Masich.
The president and chief executive officer of the Senator John Heinz History Center served as guest speaker at the Historical Society of Mt. Lebanon’s recent annual banquet, tying local connections to everything from the Wright Flyer’s 12 seconds over Kill Devil Hills to Apollo 11’s moon mission.
Back in 1903, for example, the Wrights’ search for a suitably lightweight metal led them to Pittsburgh Reduction Co., which supplied aluminum for their craft’s engine and crankcase. As Alcoa, the corporation continues to supply the aerospace industry with essential materials.
As for Rodgers, his time in the national spotlight in 1911.
“He took on William Randolph Hearst’s challenge to fly from coast to coast,” Masich explained. “No human being had ever flown across the continent before.”
Shortly after taking 90 minutes’ worth of lessons from Orville Wright, Rodgers headed out from Sheepshead Bay, N.Y., and eventually arrived in Long Beach, Calif.

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Andy Masich speaks.
“Yes, he did crash 20 times,” Masich said. “He had broken just about every bone in his body by the time he got to California. He was in a whole body cast by the time he dipped his wings in the Pacific. But he did it.”
Half a century later, Alan Shepard became the first American to travel into space as part of the United States’ effort to keep up with the Soviets. Shortly afterward, President John F. Kennedy announced the national goal of reaching the moon by the end of the decade.
Once again, Pittsburgh played a key role.
To succeed in the quest, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration developed the Saturn V, the most powerful rocket ever put into operation.
“The parts for the Saturn V were made all over the country,” Masich said. “But a company named North American Rockwell, headquartered here in Pittsburgh, got the big contract, to do the command module, the escape landers, some of the internal components and the third stage that actually got the vehicle to the moon.”
When Apollo 11 was ready to launch from Merritt Island, Fla., on July 16, 1969, holding it upright was an apparatus made by Coraopolis-based American Bridge Co.
And as for the equipment that sent images back to televisions all over the earth?
“Those cameras were made by Pittsburgh’s Westinghouse especially for this launch,” Masich reported.
And when Armstrong, Aldrin and Collins returned, they initially wore masks made by Mine Safety Appliances, which now has its headquarters in Cranberry Township.
“No one on earth knew what these guys were going to bring back from the moon with them,” Masich explained “They didn’t know if there were viruses or microbes or moon spores or something that might wipe out the human race. So they put on these special breathers that had the valves reversed, so anything they breathed out was trapped.”
The local links don’t stop there.
“Another Pittsburgh guy, a fellow named Jack Kinzler, was hired first to build models for wind tunnels to test how the re-entry would go when these space capsules entered the earth’s atmosphere at 17,500 miles per hour,” Masich said. “They had to figure out, which direction does the capsule have to face? Will it burn up on re-entry?”
Kinzler, whom fellow NASA engineers called “Mr. Fix It,” also designed the lightweight pole that allowed the U.S. flag to be displayed as if it were flying on the windless moon.
Along with his presentation, Masich spoke about the history center preparing to host the national tour of Destination Moon: The Apollo 11 Mission, organized by the Smithsonian Institution Traveling Exhibition Service while the National Air and Space Museum undergoes renovation.
Among the highlights of the exhibit, which opens Sept. 29, will be the presence of the Rockwell-built Columbia, the mission’s command module.
“That’s what’s coming to Pittsburgh next year,” Masich said. “It’s never left the Smithsonian since it went there after going to the moon.”
For more information, visit www.heinzhistorycenter.org/exhibits/destination-moon-apollo-11-mission.