Blue Swallow Aircraft's Personnel




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John Gaertner

Blue Swallow Aircraft

5445 Louisa Rd

Keswick, VA 22947 (434) 295-7177

Vision statement: Working on exciting, original, aviation related projects

Pertinent skills

Design & fabrication of high end technology devices

1987 - University of Virginia - B.A. History, concentration in aviation history
1989 - University of Virginia – M.A. Teaching, Virginia State Teaching Certification

Senior Research and Development Technician, Luna Innovations, July, ‘04 – October ‘06

Responsible for the design and fabrication of critical Lab testing apparatus and experimentation instruments.
Oversee all aspects of Lab’s research machining operation, welding, material acquisition, scheduling, and fabrication.
Conduct specific scientific testing along strict ASTM standards utilizing Lab equipment and fixtures.
Run ASTM D 117 Salt Fog corrosion testing for laboratory.
Responsible for 8,600 Sq. ft. facility maintenance and alterations.
Supervise all contractor modifications to the building and its laboratories.

President I.E.D., LLC (Parent Corporation of B.S.A.) Keswick, VA August 1989 - Present

Design, develop, and produce one-of-a-kind, high-end, interactive museum exhibits. Market designs to established museum contacts and new customers. Clients have included:

Work with museum and commercial exhibit houses under strict contract constraints.
Manage project budgets, material acquisition, subcontracting of work and business' financial accounts.
Curriculum advisor to NASM "How Things Fly" curriculum, NASA Wisconsin Space Grant Consortium Space Link project.
Discovery Channel Aviation programming script consultant.

Aviation World’s Fair 2003, Newport News, VA January 2002 – October 2002

Proposed aviation exhibition included more than 10 structures and 110,000 sq. ft. of covered historical exhibits, thirty-five historical aircraft, numerous interactive displays, small theaters and many hands-on exhibits.
Duties included locating and negotiating the use of historical aircraft with their respective owners and institutions, creating the conceptual design for the exhibits to be displayed, obtaining the necessary bids for materials and displays.
Project canceled by Virginia state governor due to state budget deficit.
Responsible for $3.2 million dollar budget for Aviation World’s Fair exhibition halls

EAA Air Adventure Museum, Oshkosh, WI June 1996 – May 2000

Curator at the world’s largest private aircraft collection. Responsible for organizing and presenting the collection's aircraft and artifacts illustrating key elements of historic and sport aviation. Duties included:
Long-range collection planning, theme development and major exhibit design.
Design and development of the Museum’s 7.5 million-dollar addition project.
Design of the interactive Youth Gallery and oversight of development of exhibit production.
Provided critical support for the Museum's successful AAM reaccreditation.
Provided recommendations for new acquisitions and coordinated research efforts to enhance the Museum's collection.
Responded to public and commercial inquiries for research assistance and information.
Prepared budgets and other management activities with Museum's Director, Registrar and Collections Manager.
Assisted Development Office with donation evaluations and prospects.
Assisted with Museum Docent training.
Represented the Museum at public outreach engagements and functions.
Wrote museum-related articles for nationally distributed publications.
Aircrew member of 1920 replica Vickers Vimy flight from England to South Africa.

National Air & Space Museum, Washington, DC August 1995 - May 1996

Responsible for the design, construction, installation and maintenance of the Museum's hands-on exhibits for the acclaimed "How Things Fly" gallery.
Utilized knowledge of metal, plastics, woods, mechanical systems, and other materials to fabricate mechanical and electromechanical mechanisms for the animation of exhibit elements.
Duties included creating blueprint drawings, cost-effective acquisition of materials, as well as safe and efficient operation of the division's mechanical fabrication and repair facility.
Supervised personnel and interns working in the fabrication facility.

Science Museum of Virginia, Richmond, VA September 1993 - July 1995

Responsible for the design, development and coordination of a statewide aviation education exhibit and outreach program.
Responsibilities included design of museum exhibits, research and writing of student high school curriculums, establishment of program literature and guidelines, location of statewide exhibit sites, and coordination of planned visits with site sponsors, state educational system and commercial businesses.
Created promotional material, press releases, and arranged scheduled transportation of exhibits to 32 sites in 8 months.
Responsible for the facility opening and closing, banking deposits and receipts, and supervision of volunteer staff.

Fall 2004-5 completed with 4.00 GPA courses in engineering PVCC Community College
Trained in the use of AutoCAD, SolidWorks.
Competent in use of Dreamweaver 4, Flash 4, Photoshop 7, Aldus PageMaker, Aldus Freehand, Microsoft Word, MS Excel, MS PowerPoint software.
Skilled in the area of aircraft/automobile restoration and parts fabrication, machine shop practices and tools: welding, TIG, MIG, oxyacetylene, mill and lathe work.
Extensive knowledge and experience in one-of-a kind fabrication and design.
Student pilot with over 200 hours logged in fixed wing aircraft and commercial hot air balloons.
Certified SCUBA diver.