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End of an Era, the Last Reno Air Races There once as a land where brave skilled pilots and the smell of 115/145 Avgas fuel and the dream of victory prevailed - it was called Reno. Here is where the fastest motor sport in the world took its last bow. Where a small group of genius aviators and dreamers, with limited finances, made lower drag airframes and pushed for more horsepower in their piston engines in the quest for faster airspeed. Here was the last ever to be seen of the "Knights of the Air," and their stories of how they won by pushing their craft far beyond what others accepted as limits. Look for it only in books, for it soon will be no more than a dream remembered. A time and place where a unique group of engineers, mechanics, pilots, and visionaries gathered every September to push the envelope. They are gone - gone with the wind. The first airplane race was in Reims, France in 1909, just six years after the Wright Brothers first flew. Although Frenchman Louis Bleriot was favored, USA’s underdog, Glenn Curtiss, won. Eventually the races became dominated by countries demonstrating their fastest new military pursuits. That changed at the Cleveland National Air Races of 1929. The Thompson race was the unlimited closed pylon race. The well-funded military pursuits were embarrassed when a small civilian company&rquo;s low wing Travel Air Mystery Ship easily beat them all, turning laps at just under 200 mph. Though the military tried for the next several years, civilian innovations just three years later had Jimmy Doolittle winning at over 250 mph in the Gee Bee R1, (and earning the winner’s purse of $4,500 [equivalent to $98,800 in 2024 dollars]. The golden age of air racing ended when colorful Roscoe Turner (who often flew cross country with his pet lion, Gilmore) won Cleveland at just under 300 mph. As most of you know a farm boy from Oshkosh Wisconsin, named Sylvester "Steve" Wittman, competed with old WWI military engines and his homebuilt, amazingly low-drag airframes. Wittman often led the race, but never won. However, Steve almost always finished in the money. 1939 would be the last Cleveland Air Races until after the war. When the Cleveland Air Races returned in 1946, North American Aviation, along with many other companies had made huge progress in top speed. With advance trainers and fighters selling at scrap prices, many pilots, male and female, could not wait to modify them to race in the cross-country Bendix race and the closed-course pylon Thompson race. The Thompson would see P-39s and P-63s Bell Cobras (one was entered by Steve Wittman), Corsairs and Super Corsairs, P-38s, Curtiss YP-60 and XP-40 and several P-51 Mustangs. Many rare WWII fighters that survive today, were saved from the scrappers to be raced. For the women’s race, the Halei Race (named after a department store in Cleveland) fielded only North American AT-6 Texans and SNJs. It was dominated by former WASPs pilots. By 1948, the women were turning around the course in their T-6s at over 234 mph! A respectable Reno Gold T-6 speed today. But there is a catch, their T-6s had large blowers installed on the motor, canopies removed, and wings modified to make that speed. In 1949 the rules changed to compete the T-6 racers had to have "stock motors" and nonclipped wings. These requirements are still used by the T-6 class today. However, in September 1946, the focus at Cleveland was on the Unlimited R (reciprocating piston engine) class. Speculation and branch service pride drove discussion of . . . |
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The Final Reno Air Race Report The attendance of the 2023 Reno Air Races was the largest ever! They estimated 75,000. Far exceeding its predecessor, the Cleveland Air Races. For many people attending the Reno National Air Races was on their bucket list, and this was their last chance to do so. All the Reno reserve boxes, and bleacher seats sold out well in advance of the race. But there was no limit on general admission and pit passes. The parking lots were full by 9 am. The Reno Race merchandise was gone by Thursday afternoon. This year the weather was warm, lots of sunshine with occasional high clouds, little wind, and no forest fire smoke to limit visibility like last year. Unlimited Class The Unlimited class draws the most interest. This year the unlimited races had some seldom seen types, including a P-63 flown by Patrick Nightingale and a P-40E Sneak Attack flown by Jim Thomas. They gave the stock Mustangs a run. But the real draw was the super Unlimiteds. They offered some competitive exciting racing, which included racers that had been unlucky, or robbed, in the past, of having at least one Reno win. For example, in 1964, the first Reno Race, pilot Bob Love in P-51 Bardahl Special finished ahead of Bill Stead’s F8F-2 Smirnoff Bearcat flown by Mira Slovak. However, Mira was declared the winner due to the rules that were adopted from unlimited boat racing. This year, 59 years later, the Bardahl Special was back, never having been declared a Reno winner owner Justin Zabel had a well-prepared race Merlin installed, capable of holding 130 inches of manifold pressure and a cleaned-up airframe with parts from past winner VooDoo. In the cockpit was a top race pilot, Steven Hinton that qualified the Bardahl Special at 470 mph! Another hopeful was Miss America, always sporting one of the prettiest paint jobs ever put on a P-51. Often finishing in the top three but never winning. Recent years Miss America flashed across the finished second with an exciting pass on the last lap to challenge the leader. Only to be disqualified for flying too high. Too high, is higher than 250 feet per the FAA. [I wonder if the FAA rule authors ever did over 400 mph, passing aircraft, knowing the engine could blow at any time, below 250 feet? However, there has always been a lot of controversy regarding enforcement of Air Racing Rules.] If you race, regardless of what you race, you know there is never enough preparation time. This was true for Miss America that was unable to obtain a qualifying time. She would have to . . . |
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Harry L. Ogg and His Private Air Office Beginning in the 1930s, several aircraft companies began catering to the business market. Waco offered its QDC while Beech promoted their Staggerwing. Both were fast and comfortable. In 1947, Beech introduced their distinctive Bonanza. It became known as the businessman’s time machine. It would be several years, however, before an aircraft was built large enough to accommodate a flying office conceived by Harry Lamb Ogg in 1929. Born in Newton, Iowa, on September 2, 1884, Ogg entered the University of Iowa following high school. He took his electrical engineering courses seriously yet found time to assist in the establishment of the first radio station in Newton and participate in X-ray experiments. Unfortunately, one test resulted in devastating burns to his right arm that necessitated amputating it below the elbow. A quiet, yet innovative young man, he overcame the handicap and accomplished a great deal despite of it. In 1908, Orlando B. Woodrow, a clerk for the Jasper County Bank, dreamed of a washing machine powered by electricity. He submitted plans for his invention to the patent office and received one of the earliest approvals for the manufacture of an electric washing machine. John Nelson, a mechanic for Skow Manufacturing, was selected to build the washers. Ogg, a recent university graduate, contributed his electrical knowledge. Little did he know that he would launch a prosperous career marketing electric washing machines.[1] When several of Woodrow’s machines were completed, systematic testing began. Woodrow, Nelson and Ogg each took one home. Several others were tried out by the inventor’s neighbors. All test runs proved successful and the newly-formed Automatic Washer Co. began manufacturing five washers a day in the front room of a laundry building. Ogg, now in a leadership role, knew if the company wanted to outperform the competition, it was essential to continually improve their washing machines. With the assistance of Nelson, Ogg received patents for upgrades in the speed regulator, a combined washing and wringing machine, and an efficient agitating disc. By 1917, production necessitated the building of a 100,000 square foot, four-story factory. Despite the growing local success of the company, Ogg wanted to expand sales opportunities across the nation. The astute manager soon found a solution, perhaps inspired by an ad for a Travel Air 6000. 450 miles since morning - two engagements filled and home in time for dinner. Breakfast at home - leisurely attention to office mail - Indianapolis in time for luncheon - important engagements filled and back to Chicago by each evening. Not an idle dream, but an everyday occurrence for the modern business executive who travels by air. How to Save a Day - how to gain a day on competitions, is fully answered by using the Travel Air cabin monoplane. It takes off quickly and smoothly, climbs fast, cruises at 100 miles per hour and lands slowly, without shock. In the late 1920s, Walter Beech offered a luxury model, the Travel Air 6000. The 6000-A model, powered by a 450-hp Wasp engine, received certification in February 1929. The 6000-B, powered by a 300-hp Wright Whirlwind J-6, was granted a type certificate the following month. Marketed as an executive aircraft, both models ultimately received widespread acceptance for their size by the airlines. The high-wing monoplane . . . |
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Marston Mat: Secret Weapon of American Air Power It was 10 feet long, 15 inches wide, covering 12.5 square feet with a surface of Swiss cheese stamped out of steel and it weighed 66.2 pounds. Locked together, 60,000 of them - 1986 tons of stee1 - created a durable all-weather surface 5,000 feet long and 150 feet wide that routinely accepted punishment from 60,000 pound airplanes thumping down upon it at speeds of 90 mph. This is the material that provided the quickly built platforms from which American combat aviation was projected around the world during WWII. During 1941-45 the material was generally known as "Marston mat." This led many persons to believe that it was invented by someone named Marston. Those endowed with greater imagination suspected that it was a British invention, probably manufactured near Marston Moor, England. The truth is more prosaic. The name is owed to a tiny whistle-stop community on the Seaboard Railway in a the northwest corner of North Carolina’s piedmont 35 miles west of Fort Bragg, (Renamed Fort Liberty in 2023). It was here on a low hill one mile east of Highway U.S. 1 and two miles northeast of Marston, N.C., that the material was first put to practical use. This was during the Army’s Carolina Maneuvers of November 1941. It was an emminently satisfactory installation that had epochal consequences. The "Marston strip," 150 x 3,000 feet, was operational for only a few weeks. When the maneuvers ended the runway was dismantled, reloaded into 18 railroad gondola cars and hauled away to Langley Field, Virginia - taking with it the name of Marston. From this small beginning the "Marston strip" as
it - was called entered the Army’s vernacular and the material became known as "Marston mat." Years later, when memories of WWII had faded and acronyms took absolute control of military vocabularies, the village of Marston lost its claim to fame when grim, soulless bureaucrats gradually reduced the material’s identification to a sterile "PSP" - pierced stee1 plank. A quarter of a century after 1945, the generation that laid hundreds of thousands of tons of Marston mat throughout Southeast Asia had no idea of who or what at Marston might have been: the material was simply "PSP." Anglo-French Inspiration In the spring of 1939 the U.S. Army Air Corps took note of operations in Britain and France, where the respective air forces were experimenting with steel grids for unimproved . . . |
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The Disappearance of the Martin M-130 Hawaii Clipper; The page one headline of The New York Times on July 30, 1938 was in boldface: Under a Manila dateline was the following: "The huge flying boat Hawaii Clipper, unreported since 12:11 P.M. yesterday on a flight from Guam, was the object today of one of the most intensive sea searches ever undertaken in Asiatic waters. When darkness yesterday forced the realization that the Clipper would be unable to make her usual afternoon landing . . . Pan American officials called on the army and navy..." Pan Am Trip 229 took off on July 29, 1938, with six passengers and a crew of nine. For the initial eight hours of the projected 12.5-hour, 1,589-mile flight, radio messages received from the aircraft indicated the flight was routine. But at 04:15 UTC, when the Panay, Philippines, radio operator called the Clipper, no reply was received, and emergency procedures were begun. Years later, as is noted herein, two books claim the Hawaii Clipper was hijacked. The Search The Clipper was overdue that evening at Manila. According to page 1 of The New York Times, "the navy dispatched every available vessel in the Sixteenth Naval District," plus "the army dispatched at dawn six long-range Martin bombers capable of a 1,100-mile flight to weave an 80-mile-wide pattern toward the Clipper’s last reported position, 565 miles from Manila. . . By noon, the bombers had scanned 72,000 square miles of ocean without success. . . [in] perfect visibility." Two and a half months later, on November 18, 1938, the Air Safety Board of the Civil Aeronautics Authority, a forerunner of the National Transportation Safety Board, issued a report on the missing Hawaii Clipper. Regarding the search, it said the vessel nearest the Clipper’s last reported position was U.S. Army transport USAT Meigs, a 431-ft steamship. This vessel was about a hundred miles west-northwest of the last reported position of the Clipper. About six and a half hours later, (around local midnight) Meigs arrived at the Clipper’s last-reported location, whereupon the ship searched the immediate vicinity for three hours without making any discoveries. For the balance of the night and throughout the next day, the vessel searched the general area as instructed by Pan Am. At 5:10 p.m. that day, Manila time, an oil slick was sighted about 28 miles SSE of the Clipper’s last reported position. Officers of Meigs estimated its diameter as between 500 and 1,500 feet, roughly circular. A small boat was launched to collect a sample of the slick, but only a small amount was collected before the boat was recalled due to darkness. Although the Meigs hove to . . . |
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U.S. Aircraft Operated by the NEI in Australia During WWII With the Japanese invasion of the Netherlands East Indies (NEI) in February and March 1942, a large number of U.S. manufactured aircraft owned by, or enroute destined for the NEI, were diverted to Australia and used by the RAAF or U.S. services based in Australia. These involved aircraft of the Militaire Luchtvaart - Koninklijk Nederlandsch Indisch Leger (ML-KNIL), the Marine Luchtvaart Dienst (MLD) as well as the Koninklijke Nederlandsch Indische Luchtvaart Maatschappij (KNILM). The history of these aircraft has been scattered over many reference sources. Some of these sources are solid and reliable while others started off as honest ‘assumptions’ that over time have been misquoted as ‘facts,’ giving rise to conflicts that may never be resolved. Finally, some data has not yet been recovered and may well have been lost permanently with the passing of time. The following summarizes data that the author has found in published reference sources (books and websites) as well as data provided by correspondents (e-mails). It does not contain newly researched data although the ‘side-by-side comparison’ of data has allowed some outstanding queries to be resolved. The primary purpose of publishing the article is to draw out additional information and photos and/or corrections. Information on the fate of aircraft after their transfer to the RAAF, USAAF etc. has been summarized, especially where such details are readily available on, for instance, the ADF Serials website. While, after the capitulation, the NEI was keen to remain in control of the aircraft it owned and had on order, the rule imposed by the U.S. was that all aircraft arriving in Australia after March 9, 1942, were to be transferred to the USAAF 5th Air Force in Australia, the RAAF or the U.S. Navy. Aircraft that had not been delivered (meaning ‘shipped from the U.S.’) by March 16, 1942, were impressed in the U.S. and were not shipped. The ships that had carried the NEI aircraft from the U.S. were the Kota Baroe (arrived in Tjilatjap on February 27, 1942, where it was unloaded), Zaandam (arrived in Tjilatjap in February 1942 but redirected to Fremantle where it arrived on March 6, 1942, and was probably unloaded), the Sloterdijk (arrived in Tjilatjap on March 2, 1942, but redirected to Fremantle where it arrived on March 8, 1942, and was probably unloaded), the Tossair (unloaded in Melbourne after arrival on March 3, 1942), the Tjibesar (probably unloaded in Albany after arrival on March 4, 1942), the Tarakan (unloaded in Sydney after arrival on April 1, 1942), the Tabian (probably unloaded in Fremantle after arrival on March 9, 1942), the Tjinegara (unloaded in Sydney after arrival on March 10, 1942), the Mapia (probably unloaded in Melbourne after arrival on April 3, 1942), the Weltevreden (unloaded in Sydney after arrival on April 3, 1942), the Tabinta (unloaded in Sydney after arrival on April 5, 1942) and the Bantam (unloaded in Sydney after arrival on April 23, 1942). It should be noted that some of these ships may have called at other Australian ports at an earlier or later date. The U.S. continued to recognize a ‘debt’ to the NEI and in due course supplied replacement aircraft as part of Lend-Lease arrangements. These aircraft, mainly Mitchell bombers, P-40N fighters and Lodestar transports, are not included in this discussion. ML-KNIL aircraft Martin 139WH-3A |
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National Airways System and their Air Kings The Air King was a three-place, open cockpit biplane manufactured by National Airways System of Lomax, Ill., between 1926 and 1929. Some 70 planes were built. It got its name during an early demonstration flight when a pilot commented, "It’ll be the ‘King of the Air’." And so the name caught on. The background of Tannus is as varied as it is interesting. He was born in Ainarab, Lebanon, and was orphaned at the age of nine. After laboring for several years in Europe he immigrated to America in 1897. Fortunately, he had the foresight to recognize the value of an education and this prompted him to help himself through school selling oriental rugs, until finally graduating from Northwestern University in 1904 with a pharmaceutical degree. He went to work for a medical school in Keokuk, Iowa, and remained in their chemistry department until failing eyesight forced a change of vocations While selling rugs along the Mississippi River, Tannus observed plentiful stands of wild sedge grass growing on the bottomlands and recognized its potential for making brooms. He organized a broom factory at Canton, Mo., which prospered until the sedge grass was exhausted. The factory was subsequently moved during September 1919 to Lomax, Ill., where brooms were manufactured from imported Kansas broom straw. The cultivated broom business at Lomax flourished and Tannus subsequently expanded his financial interests to include a printing shop, general store and the leasing of farm ground to grow cucumbers.[2] One wonders why Tannus became interested in the manufacture of airplanes? It is known he did not particularly cherish flying, which in those days was certainly a requisite for pioneering in any aircraft venture. Perhaps the answer lies in his being an opportunist and visualizing a vast aviation industry with Lomax as the hub. The Lomax Machine Shop and Foundry, complete with tools, was acquired and converted for building airplanes. The management was put in the hands of Glenn J. Romkey of Burlington, Iowa, who had a barnstorming background. He soon found that building a competitive aircraft with foundry tools and an inexperienced labor force was proving to be a difficult assignment. To acquaint workers with aircraft . . . |
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Harvey Crawford; Pioneer West Coast Plane Builder, Engineer, Pilot, Instructor Harvey Crawford was born at Henley, Mo., November 12, 1889, the son of pioneer aeronaut John Crawford. As a youth he moved with his parents to Perkins, Okla., where he attended local schools. Being a son of air-minded parents he developed an early interest in aeronautics, and in 1900 at the age of 11 made his first ascension and parachute drop from his father’s hot air balloon, and for some time during his youth made the county fair circuits of the mid-west with his father. A brother, W.H. Crawford, was also an aeronaut. Crawford studied as an apprentice machinist at Alamogordo, N.M., while continuing ballooning with his family whenever possible. In August 1904 Crawford moved to Santa Paula, Calif., where he made a 40-foot dirigible, using a-10 hp motorcycle engine. The aircraft was an unsuccessful design. It was so under powered Crawford was unable to make any satisfactory flights. The project was subsequently abandoned. In addition to these activities he studied marine engineering and mechanical drafting from 1905 to 1907. By this time, the Crawford extended family had relocated to the Tacoma, Wash., area. Here, Crawford’s interest turned to airplanes and he started to build his first machine in 1908, before he had ever seen one. It was a biplane powered by a 40-hp Elbridge engine. He experimented with this plane through 1909 and 1910 and, by himself, succeeded in getting a start toward learning to fly. He later installed a 50-hp Gnome rotary engine in this plane and continued to experiment. During this period the Crawford family move to South Tacoma, and then later to Puyallup, Wash., where, with the help of his father and brother, Crawford built a second machine during the winter months of 1910-1911. This was a modified Curtiss-type biplane with a 50-hp Call opposed-type aircraft engine. This "first made in Washington" plane, called the Crawford, was ready for first trial flight tests at Lakeview, near Tacoma, on January 21, 1911. The design was quite successful from the start. A sizable crowd of local spectators was thrilled by the success of this young hometown aviator and his locally built plane. He continued to fly and experiment with this plane through the summer of 1911 but was plagued by engine troubles. In spite of this Crawford did succeed in gaining some flying experience. In the fall of 1911 Crawford took his plane and moved all operations to Los Angeles, Calif., where later he entered the amateur events of the 1912 Los Angeles Air Meet at Dominguez Field, January 20-28, 1912. By this time he had installed a 6-cylinder 2-cycle water-cooled Emerson aircraft engine. Competing with most of the west coast junior airmen Crawford mad a notable showing. He flew every day and won a first place prize for duration in the amateur events with a flight of two hours and 20 minutes. After the meet he continued to practice at Los Angeles for a time and in February was shaken up in a bad landing with a dead engine. On March 10, Crawford and Frank Stites flew at the Orange Show in San Bernardino, Calif., under the management of the Eaton Brothers. During that event Crawford had a smashup and sustained minor bruises. During the summer of 1912 Crawford continued his flying and aviation experiments. Plagued by engine troubles, he finally installed a 60-hp Hall-Scott powerplant that provided him with improved reliability. In late September he contracted to make daily 20-minute flights at his home town Puyalllup Valley Fair (in Washington). During this event he organized the Crawford Brothers Puget Sound Aerial Mail, conducting private experimental mail flights for the Fair crowds carrying Cachets such as: "Via Crawford’s Puget Sound Aerial Mail," "Greetings from the Valley Fair by Air," "This card carried by Crawford’s . . . |
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This issue of the Forum focuses on the National Air The FORUM is presented as an opportunity for each member to participate in the Journal by submitting interesting or unusual photographs. Most of the images come from contributions to the AAHS archives. Unfortunately, with older images the contributor information has been lost. Where known, we acknowledge them. Negatives, slides, black-and-white or color photos with good contrast may be used if they have smooth surfaces. Digital submissions are also acceptable, but please provide high resolution images (>3,000 pixels wide). Please include as much information as possible about the image such as: date, place, msn (manufacturer’s serial number), names, etc., plus proper photo credit (it may be from your collection but taken by another photographer). Send submissions to the Editorial Committee marked "Forum of Flight," P.O. Box 483, Riverside, CA 92502-0483. Mark any material to be returned: "Return to (your name and complete address)." Or you may wish to have your material added to the AAHS photo archives. |
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The 2023 year has swept past, with both highs and lows for the Society. Our Endowment Fund didn’t provide the expected returns (as experienced by many Americans, certainly!) but the Society has been named the recipient of two different bequeathments, to be received in 2024. In consolidating our offices to Flabob HQ (closing the Huntington Beach office) we lost the support of several dedicated local volunteers, but operating costs have been reduced by 40%. Volunteers have finished the cataloging and entering all our 5,600-plus aviation books into our "Book Connect" library software – a first! This is a huge win, as we can now search for a title, author or subject on behalf of members or researchers needing specific information. We still have 60 or more boxes of aviation magazines to log in, however, and do not (yet) have a method to enter more than the magazine title, volume, date, and subject key words (versus each article title). Due to excessive delays in city permitting and approvals, Flabob Airport authorities have delayed planning of the long-discussed aviation library building, where the AAHS aviation books will eventually reside. We may not see this project begin for another 3-4 years. Flabob manager Beth Larick provided some on-site storage space so we can use our office areas for the book collection. We have also successfully connected with the Flabob Aviation Preparatory Academy (FAPA) who are planning to allow students to utilize the AAHS library via a dedicated computer station, donated by AAHS, to view our “Book Connect” and check out books of interest. Through the sales of the Larry Klingberg model collection, AAHS now has $16,500 in the Aviation Scholarship Fund. With the loss of volunteers, a scholarship award program has yet to be finalized, but we look forward to setting up the process and providing more news on this soon. The AAHS Journal has been published nearly on schedule in 2023, and the FlightLine newsletter has made all its publication deadlines. We struggle mightily, however, with the collection of material for our members to enjoy. This deficit however, CAN be addressed by you, our members! Your experiences, stories, and photos are what we MOST need to publish the quality publications you receive in your mailbox and inbox. Make it a point this year to collect those papers, recollections, stories and photos and forward them to the AAHS office. We can help organize and write up your thoughts with our available resources. 2024 will bring new opportunities and new challenges, certainly. We continue to work for you to make sure there are more "highs" than "lows." Jerri Bergen |
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