Research physicist and parachute expert, Dr. Jean Potvin, visited the Aviation Trail Parachute Museum on July 16.
As a friend and supporter of the museum, Dr. Jean Potvin, a physicist at St. Louis University, has been a regular contributor to the Aviation Trail Parachute Museum twitter feed. For his first in-person visit to the museum, he drove in from St. Louis with several crates full of parachute related materials from his personal collection to share with the committee. His vast collection includes parachutes, ejection seats, and volumes of documentation on the items. With his impressive academic background, his experience as a test and sport parachutist with over 2600 jumps, plus an enthusiastic presentation, he captivated the committee with details on the materials, parachute history & technology, ejection systems, and many interesting parachuting stories.
The purpose of the meeting was to discuss the possibility of collaboration between Dr. Potvin and the Parachute Museum, allowing some of his parachutes and ejection seats to stored and displayed at the museum. One of his goals is to make his items more easily available for public view. This will be explored further in the coming months. After the meeting Parachute Museum Curator Randy Zuercher led a tour of the museum, so Dr. Potvin could get a first hand idea of the scope and layout of the museum and its storage areas.
After arriving back home the next day, Dr. Potvin texted back to Randy: “I very much enjoyed my time talking chutes and museum with you, Steve and Andrew. Looking forward to my next trip to Dayton.”
For more on Dr. Jean Potvin’s academic credentials, publications, and field of studies, see this link:
The Parachute Museum is Site #1b on the Aviation Trail. @parachutemuseum
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