Photo By Airman 1st Class Patrick Njuguna | Earl Bagwell, 316th Wing SparkX Cell Innovation and Idea Center innovation officer,...... read more read more
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A collaboration between the 316th Wing Historian team and SparkX Cell Innovation and Idea Center is bringing aviation history into the digital age—one 3D scan at a time.
On June 4, 2025, the team traveled to the Air Mobility Command Museum at Dover Air Force Base, Del., to capture high-resolution 3D scans of four historic aircraft.
The effort is part of an ongoing project to create fully traversable digital models of the aircraft, allowing viewers to explore both the interior and exterior of each airframe.
The 3D models will be featured in an interactive Science Technology Engineering Art Mathematics exhibit during the 2025 Joint Base Andrews Air Show, offering a new way for attendees to engage with the legacy of airpower.
“The 3D walk through puts you in the feeling of that moment, where you can encapsulate what those Airmen had to go through,” said Earl Bagwell, 316th Wing SparkX Cell Innovation and Idea Center innovation officer. “Bringing it to life in a way that the youth are going to understand and want to interact with.
Bagwell teamed up with Sara Barksdale and Meaghan Kacmarcik, the 316th Wing’s historians, to bring the concept to life. Using advanced scanning equipment and visualization tools, the team is turning decades-old airframes into modern learning experiences.
Kacmarcik, who studied museum display techniques in graduate school, said she felt motivated to bring a fresh spin to their traditional pop-up exhibit.
“I wanted to get away from that more old-fashioned history...not just words on a panel and some pictures,” said Kacmarcik. “I wanted people to touch, feel and see things.”
The team’s upcoming exhibit aims to do just that, blending historical preservation with immersive digital interaction to highlight the evolution of military airpower. From cockpit details to cargo holds, every scan offers a unique look at the historic aircraft.
“Part of an Air Force historian’s job is to instill a sense of legacy and heritage,” said Barksdale. “If we can find a way to reach a wider audience through innovation, then that’s what we need to do.”
“History is built on the backs of those who came before through their actions, their work, their innovation, their engineering and sometimes their lives,” she continued.
The 2025 Joint Base Andrews Air Show is scheduled for Sept. 13–14 and will feature aerial demonstrations, STEAM exhibits, and static displays highlighting airpower across generations.
| Date Taken: | 07.21.2025 |
| Date Posted: | 07.21.2025 09:15 |
| Story ID: | 543315 |
| Location: | JOINT BASE ANDREWS, MARYLAND, US |
| Web Views: | 54 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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