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AAHS Journal, Vol. 52, No. 2 - Summer 2007 Table of Contents
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The Aeronca Story: Birth of the Personal Plane Jean Roche (pronounced "row-SHAY"), born in Royan, France, 1894, came to the U.S. three years after the Wright brothers’ first flight, at age 12, settling with his parents in New York City. He spent much of his boyhood experimenting with model aircraft " a growing fad of the times. Active in model-aviation clubs in the New York area, he won awards for his planes, and earned money carving propellers. He spent hours with other model aviators on Long Island, and around the real aviators who frequented the island " like pioneer barnstormer John B. Moisant, and aircraft-designer Gieuseppe
Bellanca. |
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Elephantine but Silent: U.S. Army Cargo Glider Development, Part I The development and production of American cargo gliders for transport of airborne forces and equipment during the Second World War was among the U.S. Army Air Forces’ (USAAF) most turbulent aeronautical undertakings. This was due principally to the pressures getting the gliders fielded rapidly and the uncertainties associated with what was an entirely new concept for the Americans. The initial rush to procure tactical gliders saw contracts placed for 11,814 aircraft in 1941 through 1943, of which about 10,000 were delivered. An interim program in 1944 and final effort in 1945 saw nearly 5,000 additional gliders delivered of 8,150 ordered. In developing the cargo glider, the U.S. Army worked with 16 companies and 22 contracts. It expended $6,200,000 through October 31, 1944, and more beyond. Ten contracts were cancelled, all but two because of poor contractor performance. While the glider program succeeded in equipping the service to deliver airborne forces directly into combat, these were almost exclusively with the Waco CG-4A aircraft. The many other gliders that were developed, partially or completely, have been little
reported.
Observing early German successes with assault gliders, General "˜Hap’ Arnold, Chief of the U.S. Army Air Corps (USAAF after June 20, 1941) kicked-off a crash program to acquire a glider corps for the Army’s airborne forces. Within months, he set repeatedly high goals for number of aircraft and pilots that sent his staff scrambling in Washington, D.C., and that of Air Materiel Command (AMC) at Wright Field in Dayton, Ohio. There was by no means unanimous agreement with this course of action. As with any military innovation, even in the progressive aeronautical field, there were inertia and bias to overcome. Many career officers felt the enterprise a waste of resources on a wrong-headed
concept. |
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Emil Strasser Photographs - 1932 National Air Races It is time for another trip down the runway of memories. This time it is to Cleveland, Ohio, in the year 1932. The National Air Races (NAR) were flown from August 27 to September 5. The Thompson Trophy Race was held on the last day of the show. The Bendix Trophy Race from Burbank, Calif., to Cleveland was another major attraction of the National Air Races. We hope you will enjoy the 75-year trip. |
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Newark International Airport: From Marsh to International Gateway When Newark International Airport was built, it was a humble airport; the first in metropolitan New York. Time would provide the airport with competition and numerous periods of uncertainty. Ultimately, however, consistent growth, aided by two major expansions following its creation, would transform a marsh located outside New York City into a major international
gateway. Where railways, waterways, airways and highways
meet Preliminary plans to provide for a $6,000,000 commercial airport which would be constructed, owned, and operated by Newark at Port Newark, were announced [August 3, 1927] by Newark [Mayor] Thomas L. Raymond."
When the plan to build Newark Metropolitan Airport was made, it provided for ample opportunities and ease of use. The initial statement by the mayor noted that ""¦the airport site would be twenty-two minutes from Broadway and Canal Street when the vehicular tunnel under the Hudson River (the Holland Tunnel) is opened and the new State Highway Route 1 is completed"¦" The mayor also announced that, pending approval of his plan, the airport was to be completed by the spring 1928. It is also important to note that the airport was designed "exclusively for commercial purposes," meaning there were no intentions of having any portion of the airport dedicated to military
aviation. |
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The CAF Arizona Wing’s B-17G
"Sentimental Journey" In the "Aircraft Photos by Emil Strasser, Part IX" which appeared in the Spring 2006 issue of the AAHS Journal there was a photo taken in 1975 of a B-17G, N9323Z, (44-83514) belonging to Aero Union in Chico, Calif. It was a surprise to see picture taken nine years before it became part of an organization that maintains and flies it to this day. This is the story of that
aircraft. |
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The Bourdon/Viking Kitty Hawk & Viking
(Schreck) Flying Boat Story As with many historical studies, and after years of collecting, by the time this writer was ready to put it all on paper, the key people in the original story were long gone, and in many cases it has been difficult to find, make contact, and interview their survivors. When any type of contact was made, there was no guarantee that historically significant photos or other documentation would be found, if in fact any such material did survive and does in fact
exist. SETTING This story begins in Rhode Island. The state capital, Providence, is the second largest city in New England and was founded by Roger Williams. The city lies at the head of Narragansett Bay, about 40 miles southwest of Boston,
Mass. LOCAL AIRPORTS IN 1928 On the north shore of Greenwich Bay, in Warwick near Nausauket, there was a flying field known as Pothier Field, at the summer community of Buttonwoods, about eight miles south of the city of Providence. It is a small community of beach cottages, small year-round homes mixed in with a few larger well-maintained
residences. |
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Since the late 1960s air-taxi operators situated around the shores of Lake Hood seaplane base, next to Anchorage International Airport, Alaska, have been operating DHC Beavers on floats. They carefully observe each other’s business and aircraft acquisitions while flying camera equipped tourists, hikers, campers, hunters, and sports fishermen to and from the
bush. |
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Remember When - the
Cessna 120/140 For
those of us who recall the period, a boom in general aviation was to take
place following World War II. It was anticipated that returning airmen
would trade their wartime aircraft, flown in hostile skies, for light
planes flown over peaceful American terrain. The return of many veteran
pilots, aviators and airmen was to be the catalyst behind the figurative
statement "an airplane in every garage," and it gave impetus to
artists’ conceptions of smiling families flying to vacation destinations
in futuristic light planes. Aviation magazines of the day reinforced this
vision by depicting modern-day housing developments with a runway and
individual taxiways leading up to each new home. |
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