MILLENNIUM MOMENT

Frank Tallman achieved a lifelong dream when he opened the Museum of

the Air at the then-Orange County Airport -- now John Wayne -- in 1963.

Tallman, who was also president of Tallmantz Aviation Inc., worked in

aviation for 35 years. When Tallman was 8, his father bought a two-seater

biplane and Tallman began to get some flying time at an early age.

“I was born a little too late to begin flying when I would have liked

to, but I made it,” Tallman said. “I was probably one of the last to

learn to fly in the helmet-and-goggle days of the open cockpit.”

Tallman’s museum contains a collection of antique and modern aircraft.

One of the most challenging achievements of Tallmantz Aviation was the

difficult job of recreating the “Spirit of St. Louis” airplane, which was

built for the 27th Paris Air Show at the request of the U.S. Department

of Commerce.

Tallman, who lived at the Balboa Bay Club, died in a plane crash in

1978 during a flight from Oakland to the John Wayne Airport.MILLENNIUM

MOMENT celebrates the people who made a major contribution to the

Newport-Mesa community this century.