The Pioneer - Philadelphia, PA
N 39° 57.510 W 075° 10.346
18S E 485272 N 4423165
This really nice metal sculpture depicts an early style airplane. It is located on the front lawn, right side of the Franklin Institute, Philadelphia, Pa.
Waymark Code: WM3B4Z
Location: Pennsylvania, United States
Date Posted: 03/08/2008
Views: 17
"The Pioneer" commemorates the first stainless steel airplane built in 1931 by the Edward G. Budd Manufacturing Company of Philadelphia. The sculpture demonstrates the practicability of its "Shotweld" process of fabricating stainless steel. The Pioneer was flown approximately 1,000 hours in the United States and Europe.
The stainless steel construction process for the BB-1 (this is the manufacturing name of the Pioneer) was patented in 1942. Whereas stainless steel later became the standard material for aircraft, at the time it was not considered practical; and only one BB-1 was built. In 1934, this plane was stripped of its fabric covering and mounted outside the Franklin Institute in Philadelphia, where it remains to this day as the longest continuous display of any airplane.
Title: The Pioneer
Artist: The Budd Company
Placement Date: 1934
Website: [Web Link]
Type of Object: Airplane
Location: Grass in front of Science Museum
Material: Metal - Steel
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