“Air speed record to Los Angeles broken” was a headline in the Oakland (California) Tribune on Jan. 28, 1932. The story reported that a new coastal speed record for tri-motored planes was made on the Oakland-Los Angeles airway when a... Continue Reading →

The Curtiss Jenny, particularly the JN-4, is one of America’s most famous airplanes. Jenny was ubiquitous — everybody had a Jenny, along with bailing wire, a five-gallon gas can and the grease gun needed to keep her going. The Jenny,... Continue Reading →

Flight & Flyers By DENNIS PARKS During the two years following Lindbergh’s success across the Atlantic, the United States saw the swift transition of aviation from an experimental posture to a recognized part of the world of transportation and commerce.... Continue Reading →

William Luckey, a test pilot and exhibition aviator for the Curtiss Company, came to aviation late in life. Best known as the winner of The New York Times race around Manhattan Island on Oct. 13, 1913, Luckey was nearing 50... Continue Reading →

In the beginning was the word, and the world was Flyer — Wright Flyer, that is. When one creates a new product and starts to sell it, the product needs a name. Before the Wrights began to build airplanes, they... Continue Reading →

The Spanish Civil War, which began in July 1936, was the most significant of the conflicts that foreshadowed World War II. The war forced the world to take sides. Russia contributed military assistance to the cause of the newly elected... Continue Reading →