Airport & Aviation Appraisals Unveils Web Site

It might be one of the most unusual corporate Web sites you’ll ever visit. Airport & Aviation Appraisals, Inc. (A&AA), based at Morristown (NJ) Municipal Airport, has built its reputation as the go-to source for expert financial valuations of airport businesses and properties. But its all-new Web site (www.airportappraisals.com) is more remarkable as a window into history.

Harvard-educated A&AA President Win Perkins, a licensed real estate appraiser specializing in aviation properties, also harbors a lifelong passion for studying the life of Charles Lindbergh. Most will find his expertise at his day job as boring as Calvin Coolidge’s diary. (Noteworthy exceptions include anyone who needs a certified, expert appraisal of the value of an FBO or other airport property). So Perkins has created something really special on his Web site to make up for it. It’s front and center on the site, presented as part of an image the Spirit of St. Louis’s instrument panel, and it’s free.

With unique knowledge of Lindbergh’s flight and history, Perkins has painstakingly assembled news footage from five cameras that filmed Lindbergh’s takeoff from Roosevelt Field, Long Island. He’s mixed it with enhanced audio from the same newsreel sources. “I have about 95% of the takeoff, with the original audio accurately synched to the footage,” said Perkins. For the first time, you can now see and hear – in real time -- the takeoff that changed aviation, and the world, forever.

As Lindbergh’s Spirit of St. Louis trundles past the cameras, you hear the Doppler roar of a newsplane flying overhead, the Ah-oo-gah horns of the chase cars, and the cheers of the crowd as he breaks ground and begins a slow climb toward Europe. You can even hear a spectator yell “Pull Up!” as the airplane strains to clear the telephone lines at the end of the runway.

The takeoff is part of a four-part documentary on Lindbergh’s quest for the Orteig Prize presented throughout the site, and Perkins’ on-screen narration provides deep insight into not only technical details of the flight, but also its human challenges; including how ill-equipped young Lindbergh was to confront the crippling notoriety that would dog him in the hours, days and years to come. The 1927 New York-to-Paris flight made Charles Lindbergh the first true, global media superstar.

Anyone with even a passing interest will find http://www.airportappraisals.com/ an unforgettable window into Lindbergh’s world. And for those with a legitimate need for airport-related appraisal services, you’ll find A&AA’s capabilities and experience an invaluable resource.