Corben Super Ace

Grimms’ Fairy Tales at Dane County Regional Airport

A National Geographic website about Grimms’ Fairy Tales offers these words of advice:

“Looking for a sweet, soothing tale to waft you toward dreamland?  Look somewhere else.”


That’s because the stories Jacob and Wilhelm Grimm collected in the early 1800’s don’t always have happy endings. There are witches. There are wolves. And there are creatures and plot turns kids (and some adults) shouldn’t read about before bedtime.

But if you’re wide awake and passing through the Dane County Regional Airport in Madison, Wisconsin, you’ll definitely want to spend time perusing the books, prints, engravings, and historical documents in the airport’s new exhibition:  Once upon a time … – The Brothers Grimm – Life and Work, on view through June 25, 2010.

And when you’re in the terminal, don’t forget to look up: a full-size Corben Super Ace airplane – like the ones built in Madison in the 1930’s – is suspended from the ceiling. Volunteers from the Madison chapter of the Experimental Aircraft Association built this plane using original 1930s plans.