Wright Image Group Hopes To Raise $20 Million For The Project

With all of the aviation heritage in the state of Ohio, there is one thing that is fairly notable by its absence; an Aviation Hall of Fame.

The Wright Image Group hopes to change that. For the past decade, the group has been raising funds to construct a 10,000 square foot learning center which would house the Hall of Fame at the base of a 270-foot-tall monument depicting the 1905 Wright Flyer III at its top.

It's an ambitious plan. The Dayton Daily News reports that Curt Nelson, executive director of the Wright Image Group, says that the organization has received about $2.1 million in contributions so far, which is about 10 percent of the overall goal. He said the Learning Center would cost about $2.6 million. The monument would be visible from two Interstate highways near Dayton on land that would be either purchased, donated or both.

Nelson told the paper that he's hoping to have a major donor identified by this summer, and it received a $250,000 earmark from the state legislature last year. But National Aviation Heritage Alliance Executive Director Tony Sculimbrene said that significant government support is difficult to come by in today's environment. The State of Ohio is currently facing a budget shortfall, and U.S. Rep. Mike Turner (R-OH), who has in the past spoken on the House floor supporting the project, says federal funding is not available for the project. It would be considered an "earmark", he said, and those are currently not permitted under House rules.

(Image from YouTube video posted by the Wright Image Group)

FMI: Original Story, www.wrightmonument.org