Walter Boyne
Author and Former Director of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution

Topic: " Dawn Over Kitty Hawk "

Walter J. Boyne, former director of the National Air and Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution, enlisted as a private in the United States Air Force in 1951 and retired in 1974 as a Colonel with more than 5,000 hours in a score of different aircraft, from a Piper Cub to a B-52.

For his achievements, in 1998 the National Aeronautic Association named him an Elder Stateman of Aviation. The Federation Aeronautique Internationale, the international aviation organization of which NAA is a member, honored Boyne with its 1998 Paul Tissandier Diploma.

Walter J. Boyne is the former Chairman of the Board of Wingspan, the Air and Space Aviation Channel, and President of his own firm, Walter Boyne Associates. He has written more than 400 articles on aviation subjects and is one of only a few authors to have had both fiction and nonfiction books on The New York Times bestseller lists. His nonfiction books include Dawn Over Kitty Hawk, The Smithsonian Book of Flight, The Leading Edge, Weapons of Desert Storm, and Boeing B-52: A Documentary History; his fiction books include The Wild Blue (with Steven Thompson), Trophy for Eagles, Eagles at War, and Air Force Eagles.

After his retirement in 1974, he joined the National Air & Space Museum of the Smithsonian Institution. Early in his museum career, Boyne personally saw to the establishment of the Silver Hill Garber Facility as the world's premier restoration and preservation facility for air and space craft. He was also responsible for the original installation and suspension of all of the artifacts in the Museum.

He became Acting Director in 1981 and Director in 1983. At NASM he founded Air & Space magazine, initiated the new all-glass restaurant, secured an agreement with NASA to fly IMAX cameras on Shuttle Flights, and supervised three IMAX films, including The Dream is Alive. When Don Engen was FAA Administrator, he and Boyne signed the agreement giving 83 acres of land to the Smithsonian, thus initiating the process to establish the new Dulles extension of the NASM.

In his capacity as Director, he served as pro bono consultant to dozens of museums in many different countries, a task he continued in a professional role after his retirement. He has acted as consultant for the Museum of Flying, in Santa Monica, the Mighty Eighth Air Force Museum in Savannah, the Aerospace Education Center in Little Rock, and for many others.

Upon his retirement in 1986, he began a third career of writing and consulting. He has written more than 800 articles, thirty-three nonfiction books and five novels. He is the author of aviation sections in the Encyclopedia Britannica, as well as in three other encyclopedias, including Encarta.

His fourth career, in television, began five years ago, when he served as Chairman of the Board of Wingspan, the Air and Space Channel.

He is married to his wife of 50 years, Jeanne; they have four adult children, five terrific grandchildren, two priceless dogs and two great cats