Last Updated: 1/4/2008
The Golden Age of Flight
"Jump Into Hell" by Larry Janoff
This painting of a Ford Trimotor was a
gift from the late Walter D. Pilkey, Frederick Morse Professor of Mechanical
and Aerospace Engineering, who jumped out of Ford Trimotors as a smokejumper
for two fire seasons in Montana,
in the 1950s. Through his Trimotor, Henry Ford is credited with moving the
airplane from the cow pasture to the hanger, leading to public confidence in
aviation. From 1925 to 1932, Ford built 196 Trimotors. This was the first
commercially successful, all-metal aircraft; it opened a new era in commercial
aviation. This plane was affectionately named the "Tin Goose" because
it "waddled" down the runway like a goose and the three loud engines
could sound like a goose honking. (The Ford Model T automobile was widely
labeled as the "Tin Lizzie.") The Ford Trimotor, with its corrugated
metal skin and cantilevered wing construction, was designed by William Bushnell
Stout. America's
initial transcontinental passenger service was inaugurated by Charles Lindbergh
in a Ford Trimotor. Admiral Richard E. Byrd made the world's first flight over
the South Pole, flying a Trimotor, in November 1929. After this flight, Byrd's
Trimotor, The Floyd Bennett, was left buried in the snow for about five years
at Little America. When Byrd returned with
another expedition in 1935, they dug out the plane and had it shipped back to Dearborn, Michigan, where
it is on display in the Greenfield
Village museum at the
Ford Plant. Franklin Delano Roosevelt flew in a Ford Trimotor to Chicago in 1932, to
accept the Democratic Party convention's nomination for President. En route, he
coined the phrase, "The New Deal".
"The Nineteenth Hour" by Keith Ferris
In 1919 the philanthropist Raymond B.
Orteig offered a prize of $25,000 to the person making the first non-stop solo
flight between New York and Paris. Charles Lindbergh enrolled in flight
school in 1922, and while flying the U.S. mail in 1926 decided to try
for the prize. He was able to convince a group of public-spirited men in St. Louis to support him,
then placed an order with Ryan Airlines of San Diego on Feb. 27, 1927 for a
plane equipped with a Wright Whirlwind J-5C 200 hp. radial, air-cooled engine.
It was test flown only 60 days later. While the plane was being built, he spent
time working out navigation details and plotting his course. He left Roosevelt
Field on Long Island at 7:52 a.m. on May 20,
1927. After flying 3600 miles, he landed to cheering crowds at Le Bourget
Airport near Paris
33 hours and 32 minutes later. In this Ferris print he finds dawn at 1:00 a.m. New York time.
"To The Races" by Alex Durr
The painting captures the romance and
nostalgia of the 1930s. The couple stands next to a 1932 Ford Victoria. The famous V-8 car was popular
throughout Europe as well as in America.
Even "Bonnie and Clyde" enjoyed the
"Deuce" enough to send a thank you letter to Henry Ford, praising the
car's speed and dependability. Behind the couple, the famous "Twentieth
Century Limited" streamlined J-3 Hudson roars by as two "Gee
Bee" Model Y's pass overhead enroute to the National Air Races
held in Cleveland, Ohio. The New York Central provided a
16-hour trip between New York City and Chicago. The train went
through Cleveland,
hence the title: "To the Races."*
"Lost" by Jack Fellows
Almost 20 hours out from Lae, New Guinea,
on the morning of July 2, 1937, Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan are lost over
the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. After
more than a month circling the globe in a highly modified Lockheed 10 Electra
transport, they are trying to make Howland
Island, then Hawaii,
before finishing the flight in California.
After her last communications with the Coast Guard cutter Itasca,
waiting for the aircraft off Howland, she and Noonan disappeared forever in a
mystery that has never been solved conclusively.
At the time of her disappearance, Amelia
Earhart was probably the most famous pilot in the world next to Charles
Lindbergh. A pioneer in getting women accepted as equals among their male
counterparts, she was tireless in promoting aviation’s potential. She
broke a number of world records: the first woman to cross the Atlantic by air,
the first woman to fly an aircraft solo across the Atlantic
and the first person to fly solo across the Pacific, thus becoming the first
person to solo both major oceans. After buying the Electra through Purdue University,
she wanted to become the first person to fly around the world at the equator.
The Lockheed 10 Electra was one
of the finest aircraft of its day, thanks in large measure to a young
aeronautical engineer named Clarence "Kelly" Johnson, who would later
go on to design the P-38, F-80, F-104 and SR-71. In the days of fabric and
wood, the all-metal Model 10 monoplane became successful as both a fast
airliner and a military transport with top speeds in excess of 200 mph. It was
a natural choice for Earhart and her famous technical advisor, Paul Mantz, who
was responsible for training Earhart and overseeing the world flight.*
"Heartland Express" by John
Young
The venerable DC-3 lifts off a
runway in America’s
heartland, heading toward yet another destination minutes or perhaps hours
away. By the beginning of WWII, the U.S. was well covered by a web of
airline routes that linked all major cities. Although still not commonplace for
the average citizen, air travel was becoming an essential part of American life,
and DC-3’s could be seen arriving and taking off from almost every city airport
across the country.
Already proven a commercial success on its
introduction in the late 1930s, the Douglas
transport was the backbone of the postwar airline industry. The value and
necessity of air transportation was proven during the war and people demanded
effective air service. Over 10,000 DC-3’s and its military equivalent,
the C-47 ("Gooney Bird"), were manufactured. After the war, many went
straight back to their original jobs moving passengers and cargo.
United Airlines inaugurated DC-3
service in 1937 to meet increasing competition from rival American Airlines.
Mainliner service carried passengers across the country for decades, building a
reputation for the highest standards of airline performance, standards the DC-3
helped to build.*
"Two Majesties" by John Young
Inspired by a recent visit to the Pacific
Northwest, John Young wanted to create a painting that would combine two
special images: Mount
Rainer, the area’s
majestic landmark, and the equally majestic Boeing Model 314. The release of
this print coincided with the 50th anniversary of this beautiful
airliner, first flown June 7th, 1938. Only twelve of the
triple-tailed 314’s were ever built. Designed to serve the long
over-water routes of Pan American Airways, the huge flying boats established a
new standard for passenger comfort. Nine of the aircraft flew as Pan American
"Clippers," and the remaining three were operated by British Overseas
Airways Corporation. During their few years of service, they flew over
12,500,000 miles and made over a thousand ocean crossings.* When traveling to
Casablanca in 1943 to meet with Winston Churchill, President Franklin D.
Roosevelt flew in a Boeing 314, the Dixie Clipper, for
overwater portions of his journey. This was the first-ever flight of a sitting
President, and his journey took 90 flying hours! (Because of Nazi subs in the
North Atlantic, they had to fly south to Brazil
and then across to Gambia in
West Africa.) The construction of paved
runways in all major cities during WWII made flying boats obsolete, and the
last 314 to fly sank in Baltimore
harbor in 1951.
