This collection includes a scrapbook of newspaper clippings on the helicopter, before the trials; drawings of the helicopter; and prints of paintings of pioneering flights. It also includes reports written by Bleecker, "A Proposal for the Construction of an Experimental Helicopter" (1926); "A Study of Assisted Take-off" (1937); three mimeographed pamphlets detailing engine operations under the pseudonym "Si Klohn;" photographs of model helicopters used in wind tunnel tests; and 100 photographs of the Curtiss-Bleecker Helicopter.
Biographical / Historical:
Maitland B. Bleecker (b. 1903), inventor for Curtiss-Wright, developed the Curtiss-Bleecker Helicopter for which trials were held in 1930.
Provenance:
Maitland B. Bleecker, gift, 1991, 1991-0029
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
A. Francis Arcier, (1890-1969) was an aviator, scientist, designer and engineer whose pioneering work in aviation design spanned six decades and earned him many honors.
Scope and Contents:
The A. Francis Arcier Collection contains approximately 3 cubic feet of material relating to his extraordinary career in aviation. This collection has biographical and professional documents, technical information on aircraft designs, patents, correspondence, newspaper clippings, publications, certificates, photographs, negatives and three scrapbooks.
Note: The digital images shown for this collection were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product which did not reproduce all materials found in this collection; some items have not been scanned.
Arrangement:
Every effort was made to provide dates when possible and each series is arranged in chronological order.
The collection is arranged as follows:
Series 1: Biographical and professional material
Series 2: Technical material
Series 3: Publications
Series 4: Photographs
Series 5: Scrapbooks
Biographical/Historical note:
A. Francis Arcier, (1890-1969) was an aviator, scientist, designer and engineer whose pioneering work in aviation design spanned six decades and earned him many honors. Born in London, he studied aeronautics in Passey, France under Sir Gustave Eiffel, the designer of the Eiffel Tower. He served as draftsman for such notable aircraft designers as Gabriel Voisin, Henri Coanda, Frank Barnivell and Gordon England. At the age of 21, he learned to fly and received his international aviator's certificate. He served as a flight instructor at the Hall School of Flying in Hendon, England and during World War I, with Handley Page, Ltd. He designed the first twin engine and the first four engine bombers used by the United States and its Allies. Arcier emigrated to the United States in 1919 and was employed as Chief Engineer at the Witteman Aircraft Corporation, makers of the Barling Bomber designed by Arcier. It was the largest heavier-than-air aircraft of its time. During his years with Witteman, Arcier won the Army Air Service Engineering Divisions' design competition for a bomber aircraft design. That same year, Arcier became Chief Engineer for the Fokker Aircraft Corporation, where among other notable accomplishments, he designed the Fokker Trimotor Transport which was used by Amelia Earhart and by Richard Byrd in his flight over the North Pole and also across the North Atlantic. After Arcier attained his United States citizenship in 1929, he became Vice President of Operations and Director of the General Airplanes Corporation in Buffalo, New York. In 1930 under his leadership, the "Mailplane", one of the first all-metal airplanes, was built. Later in 1930, Arcier became Chief Engineer of the Weaver Aircraft Company, WACO. He worked for WACO for 17 years in various capacities. Arcier and the Waco Aircraft Company made many contributions to the National Defense Program during World War II such as the Model UPF-7. The Waco Company was entrusted with the entire combat and cargo glider Program of the U.S. Army Air Forces. This was initiated in an Army Design Competition which the Company won and resulted in a program involving the design, prototype construction and, in some cases, production construction of some twelve models ranging from Model CG-3A to the CG-15A. These gliders were built by the thousands under Arcier's technical direction by sixteen prime contractors and many hundreds of sub-contractors throughout the nation. In 1948, Arcier became Chief Scientist for U.S. Air Force Intelligence at Wright- Patterson AFB until he retired in 1963. After his retirement, he served as consultant to the Commander, Foreign Technology Division and Special Advisor to the Division's Advisory Group on scientific and technical intelligence matters. Among his honors were the USAF Meritorious Civilian Service Award (1953), and the USAF Distinguished Civilian Service Award (1961.) A. Francis Arcier died on November 21, 1969.
Provenance:
Elizabeth Arcier, gift, 1972, additional material received from Francis Arnoult, 2019, NASM.XXXX.0072.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection consists of a nine by eleven inch scrapbook containing newspaper accounts of the activities and experiments of the Cleveland Rocket Society and of speaking engagements of Ernst Loebell, several black and white photographs of Loebell and his rockets, a binder entitled "Personal History of Ernest Loebell," a binder of Ernest Loebell's lectures and documents and correspondence relating to his career and to the Cleveland Rocket Society.
Biographical / Historical:
German-born Ernest (Ernst) Loebell (1902-1979), engineer and rocket designer, was a graduate of Breslau and Oldenburg universities. In Berlin and later New York, Loebell was employed as a mechanical engineer for Otis Elevator Company. He moved to Cleveland in 1930 and worked for White Motor Company and Lear, Inc. In Ohio, he helped organize the Cleveland Rocket Society, which between 1933 and 1938 sought to develop a liquid fueled engine that could power a stratospheric rocket across the Atlantic. Six rocket motors were built and were tested on an estate outside of Cleveland. One of the Society's rocket models was displayed at the Paris International Exposition of 1937. The Cleveland Rocket Society folded in 1938 due to lack of funds.
Provenance:
Ernst Loebell, Gift
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection contains the following types of material: scrapbooks; photographs; stereographs; lantern slides; glass plate negatives; trading cards; booklets; aviation banquet menus; aviation-related advertisements; postcards; and various other types of aeronautical ephemera.
Biographical / Historical:
Melvyn Buchner was a collector of aeronautical ephemera.
Provenance:
Melvyn Buchner Estate, Gift, 1997
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection contains a variety of documentation pertaining to the Vostok capsule. Included are: engineering drawings by Donald J. Ritchie of the capsule, the cabin instrument panel, the cabin control panel and the ejection seat; detailed pencil drawings of the capsule and the cabin instrumentation, in English and in Russian, most are signed and dated; an article from 'Aviation Week and Space Technology' May 31, 1965, magazine and newspaper clippings; and sixty-five black and white photographs of the capsule, cabin instrument panel, cabin control panel, ejection seat, and space suit.
Biographical / Historical:
The former Soviet Union began manned space flight on April 12, 1961, when they launched cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin into orbit around the Earth aboard the Vostok space capsule. The single-seat Vostok remained in use for five more flights, until 1964, when it was replaced with the multi-seater space capsule Voskhod.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Frank Winter, Gift, 1996, XXXX-0583, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of approximately seventeen cubic feet of LTA material created or gathered by Norman Mayer during his career, 1941-2000s. The material spans from early Goodyear, Navy and Zeppelin design material, to later LTA designs from the 1970s-2000s, including those from Airship Industries Ltd, American Skyship Industries and CargoLifter AG. The types of material include: photographs, drawings, manuals, patents, conference reports, notebooks, design and feasibility studies/reports, scrapbooks and 16mm film.
Biographical / Historical:
Norman Mayer (1916-2015) was an aerospace engineer, whose professional career spanned 65 years in the airship industry. Mayer graduated from the Academy of Aeronautics in Queens, New York, in March 1941 and immediately began his career at the Goodyear-Zeppelin Corporation in Akron Ohio as a design, research and flight test engineer for Naval patrol airships. After his work at Goodyear, he worked for the U.S. Navy Bureau of Aeronautics in Washington, D.C. as an expert in lighter-than-air (LTA) technology. In 1961, Mayer joined the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) where he managed research in space stations, lunar and planetary bases, orbiting telescopes and composite materials. While at NASA, he served as a consultant to the State Department and the World Bank on LTA systems. He retired from the government in 1984 and continued to consult in LTA systems for government and industrial organizations. He was an Associate Fellow of the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics, an Associate Member of the Society of Naval Architects, an Honorary Life member of the Lighter than Air Society and of the Navy Lakehurst Historical Society and technical chairman of the Naval Airship Association.
Provenance:
Margaret Mayer, Gift, 2016
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of four photo albums filled with images from Michael Francis Malone's time at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand. They are all spiral bound and measure approximately 10 by 12 inches. In addition to photographs, the albums contain business cards; receipts; news clippings; and other ephemera. One album features hand-painted artwork on the cover. The collection also contains forty-three 35mm Kodachrome slides in original cardboard mounts, and a small selection of loose color and black and white prints of various sizes (the largest of which measures 8 by 10 inches). Images in the collection show various scenes on base; views of Malone on duty; aircraft; various sites in Thailand; various Thai citizens; and a number of images of a United Service Organizations (USO) show held at the base. Aircraft shown in the photographs include the North American T-39A (CT-39A) Sabreliner; Douglas B-66 Destroyer; Republic F-105 Thunderchief; Boeing KC-135; North American F-86 Sabre; Lockheed C-130 Hercules; and the McDonnell F-4 (F4H) Phantom II. Notable entertainers shown in the photographs include Bob Hope; Phyllis Diller; Joey Heatherton; Anita Bryant; Les Brown & His Band of Renown; and Vic Damone. Finally, the collection contains a small selection of Malone's military records and a few news clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Michael Francis Malone was a military police officer with the 355th Air Police Squadron and was stationed at Takhli Royal Thai Air Force Base, Thailand from October 1966 to September 1967. While at Takhli, Malone took a number of photographs and also received additional photographs from a friend in the base's photo lab. One notable event during Mr. Malone's time at Takhli was a United Service Organizations (USO) appearance by Bob Hope. Mr. Malone retired from the military in August 1968 but served in the Air National Guard from the late 1980s until 2003. Malone was also a ranger with the National Park Service for 28 years.
Provenance:
Michael Malone, Gift, 2016
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of materials relating to Robert Earl Falke's career in the U.S. Marine Corps including log books covering his entire service; correspondence; photo postcards; photographs; news clippings; a World Travel Service, Ltd. schedule and map of Bangkok, Thailand; an English/Vietnamese translation leaflet; official military orders; a Naval Air Basic Training Command publication entitled "[North American] T-28 [Trojan] Radio Instruments Maneuver Description;" a scrapbook created by Falke of his time in Vietnam; and a USMC/Vietnam Helicopter Pilots Reunion directory from 1989. The photographs range in size from 3.5 by 3.5 inches to 4 by 6 inches and are a mix of color and black and white prints. The photographs show daily life on base in Vietnam. The scrapbook includes additional photographs, postcards, military orders, and news clippings.
Biographical / Historical:
Robert Earl Falke (1942-2009) was born in California. He attended San Jose State College and graduated with a two-year degree in Aeronautics. In 1963, Falke joined the U.S. Marine Corps. Falke served in Vietnam as a helicopter pilot flying Sikorsky (S-58) HUS-1 (UH-34D) Seahorse aircraft. Falke later was an instructor for flight training at Naval Air Station Pensacola, Florida in North American T-28 Trojan aircraft. Falke was honorably discharged from the Marines in 1969 and went to work as a civilian pilot for United Airlines. Falke was with United Airlines for 37 years until his retirement.
Provenance:
Merry Carole Falke, Gift, 2013
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This scrapbook contains photographs of an air meet in Romania, circa 1930, with Romanian, Czechoslovakian, and Italian pilots and aircraft.
Scope and Contents:
This scrapbook contains photographs of an air meet in Romania, circa 1930, with Romanian, Czechoslovakian, and Italian pilots and aircraft. The scrapbook features many photographs of Romanian King Carol II, his mother Queen Marie, and his younger brother Prince Nicholas (Nicolae) at the air meet, as well as other Romanian and foreign dignitaries. A Romanian woman parachute jumper and a Romanian "air ace," both unnamed, also appear. The scrapbook includes photographs of Standard Oil booths and refueling trucks. The cover of the scrapbook bears the logo of "Stanavo Aviation Engine Oil," the aviation arm of Standard Oil.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
In about 1930, an air meet was held in Romania which was attended by Romanian King Carol II, his mother Queen Marie, and his younger brother Prince Nicholas (Nicolae). The event featured aviators from Romania as well as those from other countries such as Italy.
Provenance:
Edward Zell, Transfer, unknown, NASM.XXXX.0306.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection consists of one large format scrapbook of photographic-quality photocopies of clippings relating to the life and career of Glenn L. Martin presented to him by the Institute of Aeronautical Sciences. Also included are 30 certificates and two oversized photographs: a signed photo of G.C. Marshall and one featuring a group of 22 men on the wing of a Martin JRM Mars.
Biographical / Historical:
Glenn L. Martin (1886-1955) was an early aviator and aircraft designer. Beginning in 1910, he quickly broke many flight records and designed and manufactured aircraft for both governments and private individuals. In 1916, he formed Wright-Martin Aircraft Aircraft Co., which included ownership of the Simplex Automobile Co. Moving his aircraft from Los Angeles to Cleveland, he continued to design and manufacture aircraft. Later, he moved his plant to the Baltimore area, where maintained the largest privately owned aircraft business in the world.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
Delia Martin, gift, unknown, XXXX-0018, unknown
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
John Matthew Miller III (born June 3, 1896) was active in aviation throughout his life, as a naval aviator, air mail pilot, transport pilot, autogiro pilot, flight instructor, aircraft manufacturer, airport operator, agricultural pilot, and helicopter test pilot, working at different times for the United States Navy, the U.S. Aerial Mail Service, Pitcairn Aeronautical Corporation, and the U.S. Department of Agriculture; from 1927-1929 Miller operated his own business, the Miller Aviation Corporation of New Brunswick, New Jersey. The collection includes Miller's pilot licenses and log books, scrapbooks, photographs, newspaper clippings and assorted ephemera, predominantly from the 1914 to 1939 period of Miller's life.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains both original materials and photocopies of materials loaned by the donor for copying. Original materials include Miller's United States Navy Naval Aviator Certificate, an aircraft log book for the Curtiss Seagull "Jacques Cartier" (owned by The Chicago Tribune), a photo album entitled "The Miller Corporation, New Brunswick Airport" featuring images of the Miller (Corp) MCA-1 Amphibian Biplane, assorted loose photographs, correspondence from Robert Woods Johnson (of Johnson & Johnson), two panoramic group photographs of the US Navy Flight A Naval Aviation detachment at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in 1917, newspaper clippings (several covering James G. Ray's autogiro flight over Washington, DC in 1934), assorted ephemera relating to Miller's aviation career, and two bound books: Flying Officers of the U.S.N. (US Navy): 1917-1919 and Saga of the US Air Mail Service: 1918-1927, (Air Mail Pioneers, Inc., 1962). Photocopied materials include two of Miller's pilot log books, two of Miller's pilot licenses, a scrapbook, and selected pages from additional scrapbooks from which individual photographs were copied by the National Air and Space Museum in 2001. The collection also includes Smithsonian Institution numbered copy prints of these selected photographs.
Arrangement:
Materials in this collection are grouped into Series by type; materials within a series are generally arranged chronologically, grouped by subject.
Biographical / Historical:
John Matthew Miller III was born June 3, 1896, at Tacoma, Washington. As a teenager, Miller came east to study at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and found summer employment with the Burgess Company aircraft manufacturers at Marblehead, Massachusetts. In 1917, following the entry of the United States into World War I, Miller was accepted into the Massachusetts School for Naval Air Service (Flight A Naval Aviation detachment at MIT), and, after two months, moved on to elementary flying instruction at Hampton Roads, Virginia, and then advanced instruction at Pensacola, Florida. He was commissioned into the United States Naval Air Service as an Ensign on March 16, 1918, and stationed at Naval Air Station Rockaway Beach, New York, where he performed patrol and convoy work off New York harbor, until ordered to inactive duty on December 15, 1918. Miller promptly joined the US Aerial Mail Service; after training in Dayton Wright DH-4 air mailplanes at Belmont Park, Long Island, Miller was posted to Bustleton, Pennsylvania, as station manager. Following his two years of air mail service, Miller worked at a number of aviation jobs, including time with the America Trans Oceanic Company (Miami, Florida, 1920), survey flights in Quebec (Canada, 1922), and managing operations for Pitcairn Aeronautical Corporation at their base adjacent to Hadley Field in South Plainfield, New Jersey (the New York terminal for the New York to Chicago and New York to Atlanta air mail routes). Miller was an active member of the New Brunswick (NJ) Aero Club, owners of a Pitcairn PA-3 Orowing based at Pitcairn's field. On August 1, 1927, Miller organized the Miller Aviation Corporation, operating out of New Brunswick Airport (a.k.a. "Miller Field"), a short-lived airfield located southwest of the city of New Brunswick. Miller Aviation offered flying instruction, local sightseeing flights, and charter passenger flights in the mid-Atlantic seaboard region. In 1928-1929, the Miller Aviation Corporation designed, constructed, and tested the Miller (Corp) MCA-1 Amphibian Biplane; sadly, the aircraft crashed during its first ground landing. After his company failed, Miller returned to Pitcairn Aeronautical as an autogiro pilot, making a number of flights through the 1930s for Pitcairn, the US Department of Agriculture, and others. During World War II, Miller temporarily rejoined the Navy as a Lieutenant Commander, serving as a helicopter test pilot at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland. Miller later worked for the Department of Agriculture until his retirement in 1956.
NOTE: John Matthew Miller III (born 1896, died circa 1980s), the subject of this collection, should not be confused with fellow air mail and autogiro pilot John McDonald "Johnny" Miller (1905-2008), occasionally referenced in this collection. Johnny Miller was more closely associated with the Kellett Autogiro Corp (Philadelphia, PA), and was famous for being the first to land an aircraft on the roof of a building.
Provenance:
Lee M. Gunther-Mohr, Gift, 2001, NASM.2001.0036.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This collection contains material primarily relating to the Hawthorne Flying Schools. It consists of class books from the Air Force cadets that were trained at Hawthorne facilities in North and South Carolina, a scrapbook of the 1943-45 issues of Hawthorne Prop Wash, the company newsletter, and photos used in Prop Wash.
Biographical / Historical:
Beverly "Bevo" Howard (1914-1971) was an aviation promoter and aerobatic pilot. He soloed in 1931 at age 16 and, in 1932, joined Hawthorne Aviation as a line boy. By 1936 he was the President of Hawthorne and joined Eastern Air Lines (1936-38), at 21 the youngest air line pilot in the United States. In the 1940s and 1950s the Hawthorne Aviation Schools trained approximately ten thousand pilots from thirty-two countries, including military pilots from the United States, France, and Pakistan. Best known as a stunt pilot, Howard was the first to perform an outside loop in a light aircraft (1938), succeeding in a 37 1/2 horse power Piper Cub. He won the National Lightplane Aerobatic Championship for three years in a row (1939, 1940, 1941) and the International Aerobatic Championship three times (all classes 1946, 1947, 1949; second place 1948, 1950). While flying at a show in Greenville, NC, on October 17, 1971, Howard had a fatal accident.
General:
NASMrev
Provenance:
unknown, gift, unknown, XXXX-0414
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
Frank Purdy Lahm (1877--1963) was the first balloon pilot, the first airship pilot, and the first airplane pilot in the US Army. Lahm was born in Mansfield, Ohio and on September 9, 1967, the airport there was renamed in his honor and dedicated as the Mansfield Lahm Airport. This collection consists of a scrapbook documenting the dedication ceremony for Mansfield Lahm Airport held on September 9, 1967.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a scrapbook documenting the dedication ceremony for Mansfield Lahm Airport held on September 9, 1967. The scrapbook includes 8 by 10 inch black and white photographs of the day's events as well as some ephemera, including a souvenir program. Speakers and other participants in the event that are pictured in the scrapbook include Paul E. Garber; Robert A. "Bob" Hoover; Royal D. Frey; Martin F. "Mike" Scanlon; William C. "Bill" Diehl; Ernest Craft Hall; Glenn E. Messer; Errol H. Zistel; William Austin Denehie; Stanley I. Vaughn; George A. Page, Jr; Emil Matthew Laird; George Henry Scragg; Claude W. Pound; and Fred W. Haise, Jr. Some of the photographs also show aircraft that participated in the day's aircraft display and air show including the Northrop T-38A Talon, McDonnell F-4D Phantom II, Cessna T-37 (Cessna 318B), Lockheed C-130 Hercules, Breezy RLU1 (Roloff-Liposky-Unger), North American P-51 Mustang, Lockheed F-104 Starfighter, as well as a Quail Decoy Missile (ADM-20, GAM-72) and a Hounddog Missile (AGM-28, GAM-77). Also shown on the ground and in flight are the US Air Force Thunderbirds aerial demonstration team.
Paul E. Garber, Gift, date unknown, NASM.XXXX.0268.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
The Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y) was one of Amelia Earhart's aircraft in which she set numerous records. This collection consists of one scrapbook documenting the aircraft and Earhart's flights in it.
This collection is in English.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of one scrapbook compiled by Charles H. Babb and Paul Mantz as the "Story of NC-965-Y." The scrapbook is contained in a 14 x 18 inch spiral notebook and includes a map of some of Amelia Earhart's flights in the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y); photographs of Earhart and the aircraft; newspaper clippings regarding some of her flights in the aircraft; and a history of the aircraft itself. The newspaper clippings set up to look like a collage are actually superimposed upon other clippings and printed on a single sheet and the photographs and map are printed as well rather than being originals adhered to the pages. The scrapbook appears to be professionally produced, possibly commissioned by Pratt & Whitney for advertising purposes.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Amelia Earhart's Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y) was completed by Lockheed in 1931. It had been ordered by John Henry Mears, who did not take delivery, and then sold to Elinor Smith before being purchased by Earhart. Earhart removed the Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine from her Lockheed Model 5B Vega (NR7952) in which she had made her record-setting solo transatlantic flight and installed it in the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special. The aircraft was also fitted with special fuel tanks, radio, high speed landing gear, and a NACA engine cowling. Earhart set several records flying in the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special including a women's transcontinental speed record flying from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey in July 1932; a women's international airline distance record flying from Los Angeles to Newark in August 1932 (a record she would break herself in 1933 flying the same aircraft); first person to fly solo from Honolulu, Hawaii, to the US mainland (Oakland, California) in January 1935; and the first person to fly solo from Mexico City, Mexico to Newark in May 1935. Also in 1935, Earhart made a record flight from Los Angeles to Mexico City, and she placed fifth in the 1935 Bendix Race. Earhart sold the Lockheed Model 5C Vega Special (A/C No. NC965Y) in 1936. It appeared in two Paramount Pictures movies, Wings in the Dark and Border Flight
, and was sold two more times before being destroyed in a hangar fire in 1943.
Provenance:
Unknown, material found in collection, NASM.XXXX.0049.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This collection contains one scrapbook which includes photographs and a news clipping pertaining to various aviation organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Also in the collection are a number of loose documents relating to the Guggenheim estate, Hempstead House, in Long Island, New York that was donated to the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences in 1917.
Scope and Contents:
This collection contains one scrapbook, measuring approximately 11 by 12.5 inches, which includes photographs and a news clipping pertaining to various aviation organizations in the United States, the United Kingdom, France, and Germany. Organizations included in the scrapbook are the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences; Aero Club of America; Royal Aeronautical Society (UK); Royal Aero Club of the United Kingdom of Great Britain; Aero-Club Von Deutschland (Germany); Rangsdorf Aviation Club (Germany); Lilienthal-Gesellschaft für Luftfahrtforschung (Germany); and the Aero Club of France. The photographs show exterior and detailed interior views of the facilities of these organizations. The scrapbook also contains a news clipping regarding the move into new headquarters for the Aero Club of America in 1911, and several photographs that appear to show an aviation-related exhibit in an unknown location that includes images of several trophies. Also in the collection are a number of loose documents relating to the Guggenheim estate, Hempstead House, in Long Island, New York that was donated to the Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences in 1917. These documents include floor plans of the first and second floors of the house; a topographical map of the estate grounds; and a map of Long Island with the estate marked on it. Finally, the collection includes a chart relating to various topics in the area of aviation medicine and what entities are doing research about them.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
During the early flight period, World War I, and on into the 1920s and 1930s, numerous famous flights by pioneering pilots represented the cultural acceptance of the airplane from an entertaining novelty into an instrument of commerce, a weapon of war, and a vehicle for spectacle. In response, there emerged a new form of technological enthusiasm called "air-mindedness." To be airminded meant the zealous support of aviation to bring about the next great era in human civilization, which many people called the "Air Age." During this time period, numerous aviation-related societies and clubs were formed.
Provenance:
Institute of the Aeronautical Sciences, Gift, NASM.XXXX.0269.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Dale Butler Sigler (1885--1965) joined the US Navy in April 1908 and became part of the Aviation Corps in the summer of 1911 as one of the first group of aviation mechanics. This scrapbook was compiled by Dale Butler Sigler and consists of photographs, drawings, and ephemera regarding the early days of US Naval aviation.
This collection is in English.
Scope and Contents:
This scrapbook was compiled by Dale Butler Sigler prior to his death in 1965, and consists of photographs, drawings, and ephemera regarding the early days of US Naval aviation. In addition to Sigler, prominent figures in naval aviation shown in the scrapbook include John Rodgers; Theodore Gordon "Spuds" Ellyson; John H. Towers; Victor Daniel Herbster; and Glenn Hammond Curtiss. Aircraft shown in the scrapbook include the Wright (Co) Model B, US Navy Aircraft; Curtiss A-1 (AH-1); and Curtiss A-2 (Owl, E-1, AX-1). The scrapbook also includes information on the first two Navy airfields: Greenfield Point, Maryland and North Island, San Diego Bay, California. The scrapbook also contains a four-page biography of Dale B. Sigler and his career in naval aviation.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Dale Butler Sigler (1885--1965) joined the US Navy in April 1908 and became part of the Aviation Corps in the summer of 1911 as one of the first group of aviation mechanics. Sigler left the US Navy in April 1912.
Provenance:
United States Navy, Gift, 1966, NASM.XXXX.0295.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
"The Foggiani" is the term used to refer to American military aviators who were trained in Foggia, Italy during World War I at the Eighth Aviation Instruction Center. In 1969, some of the Foggiani returned to Italy for a reunion trip organized by the Italian Ministry of Defense and the Italian Air Force. This collection consists of scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, and news clippings related to The Foggiani, both in terms of training and service in World War I and of the 1969 return trip to Italy made by some of the pilots.
This collection contains materials in English and materials in Italian.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of scrapbooks, photographs, correspondence, and news clippings related to The Foggiani, both in terms of training and service in World War I and of the 1969 return trip to Italy made by some of the pilots. The first scrapbook, which measures approximately 13 by 9 inches and is made of paper pages bound with string, contains images taken during World War I of various Foggiani pilots as well as images of various sites in Italy (including some aerial). Images of the Caproni Ca.33 (Military Ca.3, Ca.450) can also be seen in this album. The second scrapbook, which measures approximately 10 by 12 inches and is cloth-bound with adhesive coated "magic" pages, contains photographs and mementos from the 1969 trip including an official program containing the itinerary (in Italian and English); a detailed, typewritten account of the trip written by Arthur Douglas Farquhar (one of the Foggiani pilots); a list of attendees; and some additional World War I era photographs. The third scrapbook, leather-bound and measuring approximately 14 by 11 inches, is an official photo album of the 1969 trip compiled by the Italian Ministry of Defense. There is also a letter to Mr. Norman Sweetser accompanying this album. All three of the scrapbooks contain extensive caption information. This collection also contains twelve loose photographs of various sizes, mostly black and white, that appear to have been taken at a National Air and Space Museum event which included Foggiani pilots as well as members of the Caproni family. Also in the collection are a letter from Dr. Giovanni Caproni; a news clipping about the 1969 trip, in Italian; and a folio of Italian news clippings and photographs related to the 1969 trip (labeled N. Sweetser) which also includes a photocopy of a letter from the Mayor of Foggia to the Foggiani pilots.
Arrangement:
In the 1980s, many items in this collection were reproduced on National Air and Space Museum Archival Videodisc 2, a LaserDisc CAV format 12-inch (30 cm) optical disc published by the Smithsonian Institution. Print numbers applied during videodisc production are used as item-level image numbers (print numbers NASM 00147423 to NASM 00147907 and NASM 00176964 to 00176996, videodisc frame capture numbers VD-2A47423 to VD-2A47907 and VD-2B26964 to VD-2B26996) and the collection is stored in videodisc number order. Scrapbooks/albums are in original order. Some textual material in scrapbooks/albums has not been reproduced.
Biographical / Historical:
"The Foggiani" is the term used to refer to American military aviators who were trained in Foggia, Italy during World War I at the Eighth Aviation Instruction Center. Due to a lack of facilities in the United States, approximately 500 Americans were sent to Foggia for flight training with American and Italian instructors. Upon completion of their training, the pilots were commissioned in the US Army Air Service. In 1969, some of the Foggiani returned to Italy for a reunion trip organized by the Italian Ministry of Defense and the Italian Air Force which included visits to various historic and cultural sites in Italy as well as audiences with various Italian dignitaries, Pope Paul VI, and members of the Caproni family.
Provenance:
Unknown, Found in collection, NASM.XXXX.0895
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
J. Heron Crosman, III was an aviator who was awarded the Henry L. Doherty Trophy in 1933. This collection consists of a scrapbook kept by Crosman that documents his winning of the Doherty Trophy as well as his other experiences in aviation.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a leather-bound scrapbook (9.5 x 6.25 inches, 62 filled pages) kept by J. Heron Crosman, III. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings and photographs relating to Crosman and his family, clippings relating to Crosman's win of the Doherty Trophy, congratulatory telegrams received on the occasion of this win, correspondence, and other mementos. There are also two letters tucked inside to Crosman's daughter, Elizabeth "Trophy" Frederick, from a Waco enthusiast.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
J. Heron Crosman, III was born in 1904 in Pennsylvania, part of a socially prominent family. Crosman graduated from Princeton University in 1928. Crosman learned to fly in 1929 and purchased a de Havilland D.H.60 Moth (tail number NC139M), The Mothball, that year. In 1933, Crosman was awarded the Henry L. Doherty Trophy and a prize purse of $1,000 for winning the leg from Daytona Beach to Miami, Florida of the US Amateur Air Pilots' Association East Coast Cruise from Long Island, New York to Miami. The entire event included several different elements such as aerial treasure hunts and time and distance competition. The East Coast Cruise was one of many aerial competitions created to encourage aviation development in the United States during the 1920s and 1930s. Crosman competed against more than 50 flyers and won with a time of 2 hours and 14 minutes. Crosman later purchased and flew a specially designed Waco F-3 (tail number NC86Y), The Heart-throb.
Provenance:
Elizabeth C. Frederick, Gift, 2008, NASM.2008.0041
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Lucielle Belmont, Balloonist and Parachutist Scrapbook
Creator:
Belmont Baldwin Rutshaw, Lucielle, 1887-1961 Search this
Extent:
0.05 Cubic feet (1 flat box)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Date:
1914-1926
Summary:
Lucielle Belmont Baldwin Rutshaw (1887--1961) was a balloonist and parachutist who performed solo balloon ascensions and parachute drops as an entertainer at county fairs and exhibitions all over the United States and Canada in the years from 1912 to the early 1920s. This collection consists mainly of a scrapbook documenting her career.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a scrapbook documenting the career of Lucielle Belmont Baldwin Rutshaw. The scrapbook has a red cardstock cover and measures approximately 6.5 by 8.5 inches. The scrapbook contains newspaper clippings, photographs and correspondence with county fair officials regarding her performances, as well as ephemera such as county fair passes and tickets. The collection also contains a loose photograph of Lucielle Belmont Baldwin with her husband, C. C. Baldwin, and a studio portrait of her alone.
Arrangement:
Collection is arranged by type of material.
Biographical / Historical:
Lucielle Belmont Baldwin Rutshaw (1887--1961) was a balloonist and parachutist who performed solo balloon ascensions and parachute drops as an entertainer at county fairs and exhibitions all over the United States and Canada in the years from 1912 to the early 1920s. Belmont was sometimes billed as part of the "Famous Belmont Sisters" with sisters Mabel and Cleo, and was managed for at least part of her career by Robinson Attractions in Chicago, Illinois. Belmont was known for triple and sometimes quadruple jumps where she cut loose from one parachute then opened another one multiple times. After her marriage to C. C. Baldwin, Belmont sometimes appeared as Lucielle Belmont Baldwin and under this name she was granted License for Flying Civilian Aircraft no. 375 (to operate a hot air balloon) on April 9, 1918 by the Joint Army and Navy Board on Aeronautic Cognizance. Since she made her first solo balloon ascent, including a parachute jump, on August 14, 1912, Lucielle qualified for membership in the Early Birds of Aviation and she joined that organization with her married name from her second marriage, Lucielle Rutshaw.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
This scrapbook is a pictorial history of women in aviation, particularly the contributions of women with a connection to Beech Aircraft Company.
Scope and Contents:
This scrapbook is a pictorial history of women in aviation, particularly the contributions of women with a connection to Beech Aircraft Company. The scrapbook is in a three-ring binder that measures approximately 11 by 11.5 by 3 inches and features many captioned photographs and some ephemera. Many of the photos were taken when various pilots visited the Beech Aircraft Company and many include Olive Ann Beech. Some photographs show pilots posed beside aircraft. Pilots shown in the scrapbook include Gladys O'Donnell; Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden; Alma Arlene Palsgraff Davis; Ruth Rowland Nichols; Amy Mollison; Charlotte Frye; Lee Ya-Ching; Martha Ann Woodrum; Mildred Harshman; Joan Houbec; Mary Jane Sasala; Nadine Ramsey; Blanche Wilcox Noyes; Joan Fairfax; Mrs. G. S. Bustamente; Frances S. (Ceniceros) Bera; Lucile Wright; Edna Gardner Whyte; Janet Munkres; Peggy L. Pierce; Jacqueline Auriol; Viola Gentry; Jacqueline "Jackie" (Bessie Lee Pittman) Cochran; Gene Nora Jessen; Joyce Case; Patricia Z. McEwen; Edna D. Bower; Hideko Yokoyama; Grazia Sartori; Ann Roethlee; Mary Landis; Rachel Henry; Dorothy Magoffin; Margaret Ringenberg Grabill; Marion Rice Hart; Louise Sacchi; Velma Lee Copeland; Marilyn Copeland; Marion Dietrich; Jan Dietrich; Geraldine Lois Fredritz "Jerrie" Mock; Felicity Burnolli; Suzanne Beech; Toni LeVier; Jacqueline Cousins; and Joan Wallick. Aircraft shown in the scrapbook include the Travel Air Model B-4000 (J-5-C); Beech 17 Staggerwing; Beech Baron; Beech Queen Air A80; Beech Bonanza; and the Beech Musketeer.
Arrangement:
Collection is in original order.
Biographical / Historical:
Walter Beech, along with Clyde Cessna and Lloyd Stearman, founded the Travel Air Manufacturing Company in Wichita, Kansas in 1925. Travel Air was known for producing highly successful racing aircraft and several entrants in the 1929 Women's Air Derby flew Travel Airs, including the winner Louise Thaden. Shortly after Travel Air merged with Curtiss-Wright Corporation in 1929, Walter Beech left the larger company and founded Beech Aircraft Corporation with his wife Olive Ann Beech and three others in Wichita in 1932. The first aircraft produced by the company was the Beech 17 Staggerwing, designed to be a personal aircraft faster than military craft. Olive Ann Beech proposed that Beech Aircraft could increase sales of the aircraft by sponsoring a woman pilot, Louise Thaden with Blanche Noyes acting as co-pilot, to fly the Staggerwing in the 1936 Bendix Trophy Race. Thaden and Noyes won. Beech Aircraft continued to produce numerous successful civilian and military aircraft, and support women pilots, and Olive Ann Beech played an integral role in the company. In 1950, after the death of Walter Beech, she was named president of the company and remained in that role until Beech Aircraft was purchased by Raytheon in 1980 at which time she became a member of Raytheon's board of directors.
Provenance:
The Ninety-Nines, Gift, NASM.XXXX.0311
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
