A Museum Tour Through Aviation History

Golden Age of Flight (Gallery 105)

The 1920s and 1930s was a period in which the technological advancements in aviation that occurred during World War I were put to civilian use. This was the period of the barmstormers, the great air races, and the long distance records. Some of the great achievements of this period have already been discussed in our tour of the Pioneers of Flight gallery, and now we take a look at several others that are highlighted in the "Golden Age of Flight" gallery.

Curtiss Robin J-1 Deluxe "Ole Miss"
(1928)

The Curtiss Robin J-1 was built, beginning in 1928, for the civilian market and by 1930 more than 750 had been constructed. In July 1938, a Curtiss Robin left New York on a cross country flight to California. Some 28 hours later, Douglas "Wrong Way" Corrigan landed his Robin in Ireland, claiming that he had misread his compass and flown the wrong way -- across the Atlantic. Three years earlier, on June 4, 1935, brothers Fred and Alegne Key took off from Meridian, Mississippi in the Curtiss Robin J-1 Deluxe "Ole Miss" and landed there 27 days later after having set a world record for sustained, nonstop flight. During the arduous flight, the brothers' "Ole Miss" was refueled and resupplied in mid-air some 430 times by another Curtiss Robin. The flight's ground track was 52,320 miles, or more than enough for two around-the-world flights.

Wittman "Buster" Racer
(1931)

Perhaps the longest career in air racing history belongs to the Wittman "Buster" Racer, which began life as the "Chief Oshkosh" in 1931. It was a homebuilt of racer Steve Wittman and took third place in the 1931 National Air Races. Wittman took second at the 1932 Glenn Curtiss Trophy Races in Miami and, in 1933, finally won the National Air Races. Wittman continued to race until he crashed in 1938 and the plane was set aside until 1947, when it was rebuilt and renamed "Buster." Pilot Bill Brennand, a protege of Wittman, raced "Buster" to victory in the 1947, fourth in the 1948 Goodyear, and victory in the 1949 Goodyear Trophy Races. "Buster" was raced successfully in each succeeding year until its last race, to a third place finish, in the 1954 races at Danville, New York -- thus completing a successful 23-year racing career.

Beechcraft 17 Staggerwing
(1934)

In 1934, the Beechcraft 17 Staggerwing became the first aircraft produced by Beech Aircraft of Wichita, Kansas. It's unusual biplane configuration with the top wing staggered further back than the bottom wing, gave the model its nickname "Staggerwing." The Staggerwing became, not only a successful corporate aircraft, but a race winner, having won the 1936 Bendix Trophy piloted by Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes. In 1937, female aviation pioneer Jacqueline Cochran set a 1,000 kilometer speed record of over 320 kph (200 mph) in a Staggerwing. The Museum's aircraft is a Model C17L variant that was built in 1936 and was owned by E.E. Aldrin (father of astronaut Buzz Aldrin) who was with the Standard Oil Company of New York City at the time. During World War II, the aircraft was used for Civil Air Patrol missions along the U.S. East Coast.

Hughes H-1 Racer
(1935)

Howard Hughes designed the Hughes H-1 Racer to be the fastest land plane in the world and, on September 13, 1935, he achieved a world speed record of 352 mph over an instrumented course near Santa Ana, California. Although the plane was never actually raced, it incorporated many aeronautical design advances, such as an enclosed engine cowling, flush-mounted rivets, and an aerodynamic enclosed cockpit, that were later used on fighter aircraft of World War II.

Northrop Gamma 2B "Polar Star"
(1935)

In 1934, Lincoln Ellsworth, who in 1929 had been part of the first transpolar flight in history -- from Norway to Alaska -- by Norwegian polar explorer Roald Amundsen in the dirigible "Norge," began his own quest to be the first to complete a flight across the Antarctic continent. After unsuccessful attempts in January and September 1934 and in January 1935, on November 23, 1935, Ellsworth and pilot Herbert Hollick-Kenyon took off in the Northrop Gamma 2B "Polar Star" from Dundee Islands, Antarctica and headed across the continent to the base at Little Antarctica. The explorers made four landings during their trip and, on December 5th, fuel exhaustion forced them to end their voyage just 25 miles short of Little Antarctica. They walked for six days to reach their final destination, which was the base camp earlier abandoned by Richard Byrd. Nevertheless they had accomplished their goal of the first trans-Antarctica flight of some 2,400 miles.

Turner RT-14 Meteor
(1937)

[Museum photo from the National Air and Space Museum]

In 1936, colorful air racer Roscoe Turner, who had won the 1934 Thompson Trophy Race, contracted with the Lawrence Brown Aircraft Company of California to build a new racing airplane of his own design. The airplane, the Turner RT-14 Meteor, first competed in the 1937 Thompson Trophy Race, during which Turner missed a turn while leading and ended up in third position. But Turner and his Meteor returned to claim victory in the 1938 and 1939 Thompson Trophy Races, after which Roscoe Turner retired from racing. The Meteor hung in Turner's own museum in Indianapolis until it was donated to the National Air and Space Museum in 1972. [Note: The Turner RT-14 Meteor was on display at the Museum's Paul E. Garber Resoration Facility in suburban Maryland, and a museum photo was not available.]

Pitts S-1 Special
(1943)

In 1943, Curtis Pitts of Florida built the first of a series of aerobatic aircraft that, more than 50 years later, is still the standard for aerobatic teams. Originally, a few Pitts S-1 Special aircraft were constructed by Pitts himself, but in the early 1960s, he produced detailed construction drawings of the airplane, which he sold to interested amateurs around the world. By 1991, about 250 Pitts Specials were flying. The Pitts Special was first used for aerobatics in the 1965 U.S. National Aerobatic Championship and its first victory came to Bob Herendeen in the 1966 championship. Pitts Specials were also used by two of the three members of the U.S. Aerobatics Team as they took the 1970 World Aerobatics Championship and by all three members of the 1972 team. From 1969 through at least 1991, every Men's U.S. National Champion flew a Pitts Special and from 1967 through at least 1991, every Women's U.S. National Champion also flew a Pitts Special. The Museum's Pitts Special was part of the 1973 U.S. Aerobatics Team, which won the World Championship that year. [Note: The museum photo above of the Pitts S-1 Special was taken in 1976. The aircraft has since been removed to storage.]

The 1920s and 1930s also saw the early development of aviation as a reliable means of public transportation, and these developments are in our next stop, the Air Transportation gallery.

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Last Updated: May 10, 2003