COLUMBIA, S.C. — Technicians are working to save historic newsreel of the early days of aviation that is deteriorating rapidly after being stored in caves in New Jersey, a Smithsonian Institution official said Thursday.
More than 800,000 feet of newsreel, which includes shots of aviator Charles Linbergh and dirigibles, will be transferred from nitrate-based film to safety film, said Smithsonian spokeswoman Rita Cipalla.
``Our interest is in saving this footage and transfering it to safety film,`` she said. The national museum is working with the University of South Carolina, which houses the footage, on the project.
``The film covers just about every aviation personality and every aviation event,`` Cipalla said.
The University of South Carolina received some 10 million feet of the Movietone film under a 1979 agreement with 20th Century-Fox.
Newsreel footage includes several major events and personalities -- Mexican bandit Francisco Pancho Vila on his ranch, first aerial shots of the Grand Canyon and interior shots of the U.S. dirigible Roma.