BGuthrie Photos: DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 102: America by Air

DC -- Natl Air and Space Museum -- Gallery 102: America by Air:

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Specific picture descriptions: Photos above with "i" icons next to the bracketed sequence numbers (e.g. "[1] ") are described as follows:
1. GAL102_120502_001.JPG: This gallery tells the story of air transportation in America in three intertwined stories: * How the federal government has shaped the airline industry and guided its development. * How improvements in technology have revolutionized travel by air. * How the flying experience has changed, for better and worse, over time.
2. GAL102_120502_023.JPG: The Early Years of Air Transportation (1914 - 1927) The first airlines began flying only 11 years after the Wright brothers' first flights in 1903. But that and other early airlines could not make enough money to stay in business. To help create an air transportation network, the U.S. government began flying the mail. Once reliable service was established, the Post Office turned over air mail delivery to private companies. By 1927, a commercial airline system had been born. Aviation technology was improving but still crude. A system of air routes was just starting to develop. The flying experience was exciting but uncomfortable and sometimes dangerous. And for the few passengers who flew, it was expensive.
3. GAL102_120502_035.JPG: Benoist XIV For its St Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line, St. Petersburg purchased a Model XIV from St. Louis aircraft manufacturer Thomas Benoist. The airplane could carry one passenger, who sat next to the pilot in the open cockpit. The Benoist was powered by a Roberts 75-horsepower 6-cylinder, water-cooled engine.
4. GAL102_120502_050.JPG: The World's First Scheduled Airline The St. Petersburg-Tampa Airboat Line began flying across Tampa Bay on January 1, 1914. It lasted only three months. The flight covered 29 kilometers (18 miles) and took 23 minutes-11 hours less than traveling between St. Petersburg and Tampa by rail. The Airboat Line safely transported 1,204 passengers across the bay. But without a continuing subsidy from St. Petersburg or steady income from tourist traffic, it could not survive. The airline closed at the end of March.
5. GAL102_120502_066.JPG: Grooved Concrete Runway Section: During the 1960s, NASA developed grooved runways to channel away water and improve traction for aircraft. By reducing the effects of hydroplaning, grooved runways minimize the chance of aircraft sliding off a wet runway during landing. This proved so successful that the technology has since been applied to highway design to improve safety. This section of concrete runway was used for testing by NASA's Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory.
6. GAL102_120502_076.JPG: The PATCO Strike In August 1981, 13,000 members of the Professional Air Traffic Controllers Organization (PATCO) called an illegal strike, demanding higher wages, shorter hours, and better retirement benefits. By paralyzing the air transportation system during a peak travel time, PATCO hoped the federal government would give in to their demands, as it had during previous "sick-outs." To PATCO's surprise, President Ronald Reagan fired the controllers, who, as federal workers, were not allowed to strike. The FAA replaced them with supervisors, military controllers, and controllers who did not strike. Airlines flew reduced schedules until enough controllers were on the job.
7. GAL102_120502_091.JPG: Flight Attendant Eastern Airlines, 1991 This is the last flight attendant uniform issued by Eastern Airlines before it went out of business. The Death of Eastern Airlines Eastern Airlines had risen to prominence in the East and South. After deregulation, and under Frank Borman, it expanded west but then had to scale back in the face of mounting economic losses. Frank Lorenzo, who had instituted controversial labor reforms to salvage Continental Airlines, acquired Eastern in 1986. Faced with huge losses, he tried to force concessions from Eastern's mechanics. This move provoked a bitter strike, which forced Eastern into extinction in January 1991.
8. GAL102_120502_102.JPG: Survival of the Fittest Deregulation gave airlines the freedom to compete, but they were now also free to fail-and many did. For two years after deregulation, airlines enjoyed widespread success. But when recession hit in the early 1980s, compounded by an air traffic controllers strike in 1981, the industry began to suffer losses. Many airlines had over-expanded and found themselves desperately fighting for a share of a decreasing market. Large, well-managed, well-financed airlines, such as American, United, and Delta, weathered the storm during the 1980s. But Braniff, Eastern, and many others could not and were forced into bankruptcy and extinction.
9. GAL102_120502_106.JPG: Cost-Cutting Measures: Struggling to survive, airlines cut wages and benefits, but this strategy resulted in strikes and lower productivity. Operations were streamlined and thousands of employees laid off. Some feared these efforts would compromise safety, especially if necessary maintenance was deferred to save money, but these fears proved groundless. The Demise of Pan American: Pan Am's level of service faltered in the 1970s, and the airline began to lose passengers. To gain a domestic network, it bought National Airlines in 1980, but the merger proved costly. The airline began selling its assets, including its lucrative Pacific routes and the famous Pan Am Building in New York. The bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, in 1988 dealt a further blow. America's leading international carrier since 1928, Pan American ceased flying in December 1991.
10. GAL102_120502_112.JPG: Southwest Airlines Southwest began as a small carrier flying between Houston and Dallas. Under Herb Kelleher's innovative management, it quickly grew into one of America's largest, most efficient, and most profitable airlines. Emphasizing "no frills" cabin service, and using only Boeing 737s to minimize costs, Southwest pioneered direct service between underserved downtown airports in large metropolitan areas and smaller cities. To sidestep competition, it moved into satellite airports of major cities. Southwest became a model for a new generation of airlines.
11. GAL102_120502_118.JPG: Captain Southwest Airlines, 2000 Symbolic of Southwest Airlines' casual efficiency, airline employees dress in comfortable clothes, a strategy meant to reduce fatigue, improve morale, and promote higher productivity. Southwest was the first airline to issue military-style leather flight jackets to its pilots.
12. GAL102_120502_126.JPG: Boarding Passes: One way Southwest cut costs was by issuing reusable plastic boarding passes and eliminating assigned seating. The passes were sequentially numbered; passengers boarded in groups in the order in which they checked in. This encouraged early arrivals and speeded up seating, thus allowing Southwest to return an aircraft to service quickly.
13. GAL102_120502_134.JPG: The Era of Wide-Body Airliners A new generation of huge, fuel-efficient airliners that could accommodate hundreds of passengers helped further drive down the cost of flying. Pan American and Boeing again opened a new era in commercial aviation when the first Boeing 747 entered service in January 1970. Powered by four efficient high-bypass turbofan engines, the huge aircraft could seat up to 400 passengers (later versions even more) and had lower operating costs than other airliners at the time. Other wide-body designs soon followed, such as the three-engine McDonnell Douglas DC-10 and Lockheed L-1011 TriStar and the twin-engine Airbus A300.
14. GAL102_120502_140.JPG: Supersonic Dead End The future of commercial aviation appeared to be the supersonic transport (SST), an airliner that could fly faster than sound. U.S. advocates hoped to build a larger and faster SST to compete with the British and French Concorde and the Soviet Tupolev Tu-144. But concerns about huge development and operational costs, high fuel consumption, drastically high fares, and sonic booms and other environmental issues proved insurmountable. U.S. airlines placed no orders for Boeing's 2707 SST, Congress withdrew support, and the project died. Concorde at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center Smithsonian Institution, National Air and Space Museum Introduced in 1976, the Concorde was the first and only operational supersonic transport. It could carry 100 passengers across the Atlantic in less than four hours, but its airfares were extremely expensive. All 14 Concordes that went into service were purchased by the British and French governments for their national airlines. Concordes stopped flying in 2003. Braniff Airways briefly flew the Concorde in 1979-80 by temporarily purchasing an aircraft from British Airways or Air France for the duration of each flight. But flying subsonically between Washington, D.C., and Dallas-Fort Worth by Concorde proved more expensive and no faster than by conventional jetliners. This photo is an artist's impression, as the Concorde never flew in Braniff colors.
15. GAL102_120502_145.JPG: Deregulation: A Watershed Event In 1978, Congress passed a law allowing airlines to set their own fares and routes, an event that transformed the industry and the passenger experience. Regulation by the federal government had enabled airlines to prosper, but it also kept fares high and prevented airlines from operating as efficiently as possible. Many thought the Civil Aeronautics Board, which regulated aviation, had outlived its usefulness. Congressional investigators compared fares of regulated airlines flying between states with fares of unregulated airlines flying within states. They found that unregulated airlines charged far lower fares. Sweeping change was needed, and Congress took action.
16. GAL102_120502_150.JPG: The Airline Deregulation Act of 1978 Passed with bipartisan support, the Airline Deregulation Act phased out the Civil Aeronautics Board and immediately lifted restrictions on fares and access to routes. Airlines could now fly where they wanted and charge what the market would bear. Established airlines rushed to gain or preserve access to the most lucrative routes. New airlines quickly formed. Fierce competition resulted and drove fares down. Passengers flocked to airports in record numbers. Most airlines strongly opposed deregulation and encouraged their employees to lobby against its passage. Their fears of a destabilized industry were well founded. President Jimmy Carter signed the Airline Deregulation Act into law on October 24, 1978, the first time in U.S. history that an industry was deregulated.
17. GAL102_120502_155.JPG: The Hub-and-Spoke System Deregulation lifted restrictions on where airlines could fly. To increase their efficiency, airlines adopted the hub-and-spoke system-using a few major airports as central connecting points. This strategy maximized aircraft use, increased passenger loads, and kept more aircraft flying. But it also increased airport and air traffic congestion and eliminated many convenient nonstop flights. And if one airline dominated a hub, the lack of competition often led to higher fares. Hub and Spokes: A "hub" is a central airport with flights [sic] paths radiating from it like spokes on a bicycle wheel. In a hub-and-spoke airline system, most flights connect through a few hub airports. How might a backup at one hub affect travelers all over the country?
18. GAL102_120502_158.JPG: The Flying Experience Today The wide-open competition among airlines made possible by deregulation, along with the computer revolution and stricter security measures, have transformed the flying experience. Since deregulation, travelers have benefited from low fares and more frequent service on heavily traveled routes; on other routes, fares have risen. But in exchange for low fares, passengers have had to sacrifice convenience and amenities. Computer technology, in particular the Internet, has revolutionized how people plan trips, buy tickets, and obtain boarding passes. Heightened security, especially since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has made the airport experience more restrictive and time-consuming. Home access to airline reservation systems via the Internet and the shift to electronic ticketing have increasingly made booking flights and checking in a do-it-yourself experience.
19. GAL102_120502_168.JPG: The Jet Age, 1958 -Today The jet engine revolutionized air travel. Powerful and durable, jets enabled aircraft manufacturers to build bigger, faster, and more productive airliners. Jet technology also enabled airlines to reduce their operating costs and their airfares. The jet age saw the end of airline regulation by the federal government, an act that transformed the industry and produced much upheaval. Passengers benefited from falling fares-almost anyone who wanted to could now fly. The effects of deregulation, along with the computer revolution and heightened security measures, especially following the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, have profoundly changed the nature of the air travel experience.
20. GAL102_120502_172.JPG: The Era of Mass Air Travel Begins As flying became more popular and commonplace, the nature of the air travel experience began to change. By the end of the 1950s, America's airlines were bringing a new level of speed, comfort, and efficiency to the traveling public. But as flying became commonplace and jet aircraft began to replace piston-engine airliners, the air travel experience began to change. With the steady increase in passenger traffic, the level of personal service decreased. The stresses of air travel began to replace the thrill. Flying was no longer a novelty or an adventure; it was becoming a necessity.
21. GAL102_120502_193.JPG: Air Travel and Segregation "All of these incidents I witnessed with my own eyes." -- Charles C. Diggs Jr. African Americans could choose to fly, but few did. Many airport facilities were segregated and discrimination was widespread. Few members of minority groups flew before World War II. But as the economy rapidly expanded and the number of minority-owned businesses increased, more people of color began to fly. In doing so they often encountered discrimination. While the airlines were not legally segregated, airports often were. Throughout the South, inferior airport accommodations discouraged African Americans from flying. Until the Civil Rights movement began to bring about change, air travel remained mostly for whites.
22. GAL102_120502_200.JPG: Flight Insurance Vending Machine: Although air travel had become quite safe, nervous flyers were given the option of buying additional travel insurance. Flight insurance became so popular that vending machines were installed in airports around the country to dispense insurance policies.
23. GAL102_120502_253.JPG: The Heyday of Propeller Airliners (1941-1958) Air transportation changed dramatically during and after World War II. New technology led to advanced piston-engine aircraft and new solutions to the problems of navigation and air traffic control. Regulated by the federal government, a few large airlines continued to dominate. Air traffic grew steadily, as declines in travel time and fares made air travel available to an increasing number of people, and the flying experience continued to improve. In 1955, for the first time, more people in the United States traveled by air than by train. By 1957 airliners had replaced ocean liners as the preferred means of crossing the Atlantic.
24. GAL102_120502_266.JPG: Pan American Airways Led by Juan T. Trippe, Pan American became the dominant U.S. international airline. Its famous "Clippers" flew to Latin America and crossed the Atlantic and Pacific. Founded in 1927, Pan American opened regular commercial service throughout Latin America using both flying boats and landplanes. In 1935, Juan T. Trippe introduced the first regularly scheduled transpacific service with the famous Martin M-130 China Clipper. He opened regular transatlantic service in 1939 with the Boeing 314 flying boat. Pan American was barred from domestic routes in return for exclusive rights to international routes. Its overseas monopoly lasted until World War II, and its domestic restriction until 1978. Pan Am Sikorsky S-40 with passengers boarding National Air and Space Museum Archives With 38 seats and a crew of six, the Sikorsky S-40 flying boat was the largest U.S. airliner of its time. Only three were built, but they left a lasting mark as the first "Clippers," a name affixed to all subsequent Pan American aircraft. Ships of the Air: Pan Am's "Clippers" were named in tribute to the clipper ships of the China tea trade in the 1850s, the fastest sailing ships of their day.
25. GAL102_120502_271.JPG: Juan T. Trippe For over 40 years, Pan American was the embodiment of its dynamic founder, Juan T. Trippe. During the 1930s, he inspired the famous "Clipper" series of Sikorsky, Martin, and Boeing flying boats. In the 1940s, he bought the pressurized Boeing 307 and Lockheed Constellation and opened the first around-the-world service. In the 1950s, Trippe introduced the jetliner to America, sponsoring both the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8. In the 1970s, he again set the pace with the wide-body Boeing 747. Pan Am struggled after Trippe retired and the industry was deregulated. It ceased operations in 1991.
26. GAL102_120502_280.JPG: Juan Trippe's Globe: From his office in New York City, Pan American president Juan T. Trippe used this globe to plan his airline's expansion around the world. Trippe often would stretch a string between two points on the globe and calculate the distance and time it would take for his airliners to fly between them. Made in the late 1800s, this globe was featured prominently in many publicity photos of Trippe, and it became part of Pan Am's and Trippe's public image.
27. GAL102_120502_292.JPG: L. Welch Pogue At the Chicago Conference in 1944, the Allies drew up plans for postwar civil aviation. They established the "Five Freedoms of the Air," permitting reciprocal flyover and landing rights to international airlines, and created the International Civil Aviation Organization as part of the United Nations to regulate safety and set standards for international air travel. L. Welch Pogue, chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board, played an instrumental role in drafting these agreements. He also helped shape the Bermuda Agreement of 1946, which detailed routes, rates, and air rights between the United States and Great Britain. After retiring from his law practice, Pogue served as a docent at the Museum until his death in 2003 at the age of 103.
28. GAL102_120502_297.JPG: World War II and the Airlines Airlines worked closely with the military during World War II, furthering the war effort by transporting people and material. The airlines were well prepared to play their part in the war effort. Plans for their wartime mobilization had been drafted in 1937 by Edgar Gorrell of the industry's Air Transport Association. When the United States entered World War II four years later, the plan was smoothly put into action, and the airlines immediately began working closely with the military. The Air Transport Command (ATC) was formed in 1942 to coordinate the transport of aircraft, cargo, and personnel throughout the country and around the world.
29. GAL102_120502_301.JPG: First President to Fly Franklin Roosevelt was the first president to fly while in office. He flew to the 1943 Casablanca Conference in Morocco to plan the Allies' European strategy in World War II. The threat from submarines made air travel the preferred mode of transportation.
30. GAL102_120502_305.JPG: Post-War Revival and Regulation "The airplane will have a far greater role in the affairs of a world at peace than it already has in the stern business of a world at war." -- William A. Patterson, president of United Air Lines After World War II, passenger travel surged to new levels. The federal government reorganized its regulatory agencies to manage the rapidly growing airline industry. When wartime travel restrictions ended, airlines were overwhelmed with passengers. New carriers emerged, and new technology began to revolutionize civil aviation. Through the new Civil Aeronautics Board and later the Federal Aviation Agency, the U.S. government remained a guiding force, working to ensure safety and fair competition. With revenues on the rise and new, more efficient airliners in the air, airlines no longer needed economic support. In 1952 the government ended its decades-old subsidy for flying the mail. While air mail remained a valuable source of income, airlines no longer needed it to survive. CAB Flag and Seal The Civil Aeronautics Board Created in 1940 from the Civil Aeronautics Authority, the Civil Aeronautics Board (C.A.B.) merged the regulatory functions of the Interstate Commerce Commission, Post Office, and Commerce Department. It would set airline fares and routes for four decades. The C.A.B. continued to favor a system anchored by a few large, well-financed airlines-United, American, Eastern, and TWA-with several regional airlines flying north-south routes. Limited competition ensured stability and allowed the C.A.B. to control the young industry's growth. The Federal Aviation Agency A series of airliner accidents and rapid increases in aircraft performance and airport congestion spurred the federal government to again reorganize its regulatory powers. Created on January 1, 1959, the Federal Aviation Agency (FAA) quickly moved to improve the management and safety of the nation's airways, while the C.A.B. continued to set airline routes and fares. When the Department of Transportation was created in 1967, the FAA became the Federal Aviation Administration. The Civil Aeronautics Administration became the Federal Aviation Agency on January 1, 1959. Workmen exchange signs on the new FAA headquarters at 17th Street and Constitution Avenue in Washington, now the site of Constitution Gardens.
31. GAL102_120502_310.JPG: Flag and Seal: The five-member Civil Aeronautics Board rendered hteir decisions under this flag and seal. The Museum acquired these items when the CAB closed its doors in 1985 after the airline industry was regulated.
32. GAL102_120502_322.JPG: The First "Fare Wars" New airlines operating on a nonscheduled basis began offering the first discount fares, undermining the government's regulated airfare system. The Civil Aeronautics Board's efforts to limit competition on transcontinental routes were seriously challenged by scores of new airlines that emerged after World War II. These nonscheduled airlines, or "non-skeds," carried cargo and passengers on irregular or charter services. By combining their resources, some non-skeds were able to offer transcontinental service at discount fares, which other airlines were forced to match. This brief episode fore–shadowed the turbulent competition to come in the late 1970s, when the government deregulated the airline industry.
33. GAL102_120502_330.JPG: Traveling by Coach American Airlines Air Coach Service Brochure A "coach" was originally a horse-drawn vehicle designed for carrying more than one passenger. The word comes from the Hungarian town of Kocs (pronounced "kotch"), known as a place where well-designed coaches were built. When railroads adapted coaches for use on tracks, the term stayed in use. The airlines borrowed the term to use for coach class, the least expensive seats. With the widespread availability of surplus Douglas C-47 transports (military versions of the DC-3) after World War II, many freight service airlines arose and prospered. Returning veterans eager to continue flying formed such airlines as Flying Tigers, Slick, Airlift, and Seaboard World. Reacting to competition from nonscheduled airlines, Capital Airlines in 1948 introduced the first coach fares. Although approved reluctantly by the C.A.B., these lower fares immediately became popular and introduced air travel to a much broader passenger market.
34. GAL102_120502_334.JPG: A New Generation of Airliners Aircraft manufacturers introduced a new generation of large, four-engine airliners that soon dominated U.S. and international air travel and helped lower fares. The new airliners introduced after World War II were built with the profitable transcontinental air routes in mind. They enabled airlines to carry far more people at greater speeds, while providing unprecedented comfort for passengers and unprecedented profits for airlines. As a result, competition increased and fares fell, thus opening up air travel to even more people.
35. GAL102_120502_340.JPG: The NACA Looks Beyond Propellers While propeller-driven airliners were enjoying their "golden age," the NACA was doing research that would help create a new generation of high-speed passenger planes. As the Cold War took hold after World War II, the United States anxiously stepped up aeronautical research to enhance the nation's security in an uncertain world. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) began to focus on the challenges of transonic and supersonic flight. Although intended primarily for military purposes, the results of the NACA's research greatly benefited the future development of high-speed airliners. As proof of its pioneering work during this time, the NACA won the coveted Collier Trophy four times.
36. GAL102_120502_344.JPG: Air Traffic Control Comes of Age The dramatic increase in air travel during the 1950s created a need for better airports and air traffic control. Just as new aircraft technology produced a new generation of aircraft, new electronic technology produced answers to the growing problems of communications and managing air traffic. By the end of the 1950s, the aviation infrastructure in the United States had grown intricate and highly advanced.
37. GAL102_120502_347.JPG: Radar and Precision Landing Systems Radar-"radio detecting and ranging"-was developed by the British in the 1930s and widely used during World War II. By war's end, two precision landing systems were available for civil use: Ground Controlled Approach (GCA), which used radar, and Instrument Landing System (ILS), which used radio transmissions. The first U.S. civilian control tower equipped with radar began operating at Indianapolis Airport in 1946. By 1951 the use of radar had begun to supercede pilot-reported positions by radio.
38. GAL102_120502_352.JPG: "Operation Vittles" The U.S. Air Force's codename for the Berlin Airlift was "Operation Vittles." In addition to food, more than 2.3 million pounds of coal were delivered to keep Berlin residents warm. That's equal to the weight of more than 143 school buses! Improved air traffic control techniques, particularly GCA, were critical to the success of the Berlin Airlift in 1948-49. For almost a year, a continuous relay of military and civilian transports landed in the Soviet-blockaded East German city every three minutes around the clock and in all weather, and kept the city's 2 million people fed.
39. GAL102_120502_355.JPG: Growing Pains and Growing Concerns Despite steadily improving air traffic control, a series of airliner accidents over five months in 1951-52 aroused public concern. Although not related to air traffic control, the accidents led to an accelerated program of technical development and promoted new discussions on safety and traffic control. Air traffic growth in the 1950s led to severe airport congestion and delays. In 1956 two airliners collided over the Grand Canyon. Two more midair collisions occurred in 1958 and another in 1960. These events prompted legislation that enabled aviation authorities to take corrective measures. Radar Departure Control made its debut at Washington's National Airport in 1952. Until then, radar had been used only to confirm a pilot's reported position. With the new system, controllers could provide better and safer traffic flow into and out of airports.
40. GAL102_120502_359.JPG: "Fly Now!" Airline Poster Advertising Even though airlines spent most of their marketing budgets on newspaper and magazine advertisements by the 1950s, posters still played a role in selling air travel. Dramatic and colorful airline posters appeared in department and specialty store displays, on city airline ticket counters, and on the walls of travel agents' offices throughout the 1950s. Competing with train and ocean liner advertisements, airline posters in this era usually included at least a small iconic representation of the airplane servicing the route advertised. As air travel became increasingly safe and air travelers increasingly savvy, however, advertisers began focusing less on passengers, timetables, airplanes, and flying itself, and more on airline destinations.
41. GAL102_120502_363.JPG: Flying Stars Air travel was popular with Hollywood celebrities, but their employers did not consider it safe. The film studios often put clauses in actors' contracts prohibiting them from flying, especially while filming a movie. But by the mid-1930s, the studios realized this rule was impossible to enforce, and they began to recognize the economic value of flying stars around the country to promote their movies. Airlines benefited as well when celebrities flew. It was no coincidence that an airline's name was featured in the photo when a celebrity's arrival was captured on film.
42. GAL102_120502_367.JPG: "If any celebrities get on the plane, will you tell me, Miss?"
43. GAL102_120502_375.JPG: These were the celebrities in the previous cartoon
44. GAL102_120502_381.JPG: Early Pilot and Flight Attendant Uniforms Boeing S-307 Stratoliner Pilots National Air and Space Museum Archives By the early 1930s, airlines were introducing distinctive uniforms for their employees, and women were entering the ranks of flight attendants. Pilots were given military-style uniforms to reflect their status. Pan American emulated luxurious ocean liner service by calling its flying boats "Clippers" and its pilots "Captains," and attiring its crews in naval-style uniforms with white hats and navy-blue, double-breasted jackets and rank insignia on the sleeve cuffs. Other airlines followed suit. Many of these customs continue today. While Pan Am and other airlines employed men as stewards, Boeing Air Transport introduced the first female stewards. Ships of the Air Pan American was the first airline to use nautical terms. Words like "captain" and "stewards" attracted customers used to luxury ship travel.
45. GAL102_120502_387.JPG: The First Stewardess A nurse from Iowa, Ellen Church wanted to become an airline pilot but realized that was not possible for a woman in her day. So in 1930, she approached Steve Simpson at Boeing Air Transport with the novel idea of placing nurses aboard airliners. She convinced him that the presence of women nurses would help relieve the traveling public's fear of flying. Church developed the job description and training program for the first stewardesses. Church first flew as a stewardess between Oakland and Chicago. She had only served for 18 months when an automobile accident grounded her. After her recovery, she completed her college degree and returned to nursing.
46. GAL102_120502_390.JPG: Who Flew? Flying was very expensive. Only business travelers and the wealthy could afford to fly. America's airline industry expanded rapidly, from carrying only 6,000 passengers in 1930 to more than 450,000 by 1934, to 1.2 million by 1938. Still, only a tiny fraction of the traveling public flew. Most people still rode trains or buses for intercity travel because flying was so expensive. A coast-to-coast round trip cost around $260, about half of the price of a new automobile.
47. GAL102_120502_393.JPG: Flying Politicians As air travel became more common in the 1930s, more politicians took to the air. In 1932, New York Governor Franklin D. Roosevelt flew an American Airways Ford Tri-Motor from Albany to Chicago, where he accepted the Democratic Party's nomination for president and delivered his "New Deal" speech. During World War II, President Roosevelt flew overseas to meet Allied leaders at Casablanca and Yalta. First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt often flew around the country on the president's behalf. Commercial air travel still had risks. On May 6, 1935, New Mexico Senator Bronson M. Cutting died in a crash of a T.W.A. Douglas DC-2. Nevertheless, flying grew increasingly popular with politicians, as the advantages of fast travel outweighed the real and perceived hazards.
48. GAL102_120502_402.JPG: The Creation of the Modern Airport As the nation's air transportation system grew, so did the need for better aviation facilities. By 1940 the modern airport had come into being. Aerodrome, landing field, air field: all described places an airplane could take off or land more than once. But open fields and parade grounds were unsuitable for commercial aviation. Without a network of adequate airports, an air transportation system was not possible. As aircraft became bigger and passenger numbers rose, airports evolved to keep up. Air fields grew larger, grass gave way to pavement, and terminal buildings evolved from simple structures to architectural statements of modernity.
49. GAL102_120502_405.JPG: The NACA and the Modern Airliner Roscoe Turner Airplane The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics was largely responsible for developing many technologies that led to the creation of modern airliners. A revolutionary new generation of airliners began appearing in the early 1930s. Fast and efficient, they featured all-metal, monocoque and stressed-skin construction, cantilevered wings, retractable landing gear, cowled air-cooled engines, and variable-pitch propellers-technologies developed by the NACA, the military, and private industry. The first of these modern airliners was the Boeing 247, one of which hangs in the America by Air exhibition. High-pressure tunnel. Opened in 1939, this tunnel was the first to combine large size and high pressure in one facility. Engineers used it to develop a new generation of high-performance military aircraft.
50. GAL102_120502_409.JPG: Research: NACA Wind Tunnels Wind tunnels were the primary research tools of aeronautical engineers. The NACA built four innovative tunnels at their Langley Aeronautical Laboratory in Virginia from 1927 to 1939 that led to breakthroughs in aircraft design. John K. "Jack" Northrop left Lockheed Aircraft in 1928 to start a company for producing metal aircraft. His first design was the Northrop Alpha, which blended a strong, lightweight, cantilevered stressed-skin wing with a metal monococque fuselage. The Alpha so impressed William Boeing that he bought Northrop's Company. Jack Northrop's fervent advocacy of all-metal monocoque aircraft had a lasting impact on U.S. aircraft designs. Propeller research tunnel. With a throat 6 meters (20 feet) across, this tunnel enabled engineers to test full-size aircraft fuselages with their propellers attached. They discovered that fixed landing gear and exposed engine cylinders caused enormous amounts of drag, and that aircraft performed better when their engines were positioned directly in front of the wing. Full-scale tunnel. The testing space within this huge wind tunnel was the size of a small two story house, allowing engineers to test full-size aircraft. They found that external struts, scoops, and antennas impaired performance. Nearly every high-performance U.S. aircraft used during World War II was tested in this tunnel. High-speed wind tunnel. This tunnel could produce air speeds of 925 kilometers (575 miles) per hour. Although most aircraft flew only about a third of that speed, their propeller tips approached the speed of sound. The tunnel demonstrated that rivet heads and other surface irregularities produced significant drag.
51. GAL102_120502_416.JPG: Results: NACA Contributions Cowlings. The NACA's most important contribution to the modern airliner was the engine cowl. Enveloping the front of an engine, it increased aircraft speed by smoothing the airflow over the cylinders, while allowing for better engine cooling. For producing the first practical full-cowl design (shown here), the NACA received the prestigious Collier Trophy. Engine placement. NACA research showed that locating engines directly in front of the wing, with the propellers far in front of the leading edge, reduced drag and enhanced lift and engine efficiency. The gains proved so great that aircraft designers could eliminate nose-mounted engines. Airfoils. NACA engineers developed many new families of airfoils (wing cross sections), which were used to design most American and many foreign aircraft. Research on high-speed airfoils also reshaped the design of aircraft propellers.
52. GAL102_120502_431.JPG: Yesterday's Airports of Tomorrow
53. GAL102_120502_434.JPG: Yesterday's Airports of Tomorrow Today's airports are basically similar, but over the years airport designers have had some interesting ideas when planning for the future of air travel. From underground airports to floating fields in the ocean, these are some of their most radical ideas.
54. GAL102_120502_436.JPG: Why Don't Airports Look Like This? This is a 1935 model for an underground air terminal. After landing, aircraft would go underground to various levels for passengers, maintenance, and cargo loading. Connections to ground transportation are at the lowest level.
55. GAL102_120502_439.JPG: What Challenges Would Pilots Face Trying to Land Here? This was an entry in an airport design competition sponsored by the Lehigh Portland Cement Company in 1930. The idea was for an airport close to the city center; however, newer and heavier airplanes needed longer runways.
56. GAL102_120502_445.JPG: Could This Plan Work Today? This landing platform was proposed in 1929 for the Pennsylvania Railroad station in New York City. The downtown location was convenient, but why do you think it would not have worked? Compare this design to the more recent one.
57. GAL102_120502_447.JPG: How Is This Similar to an Aircraft Carrier? This 1933 design would have given landplanes a place to make emergency or refueling stops while crossing the ocean. As on an aircraft carrier, touching down during bad weather would have been challenging. As aircraft fuel efficiency, speed, and range increased, the idea became obsolete.
58. GAL102_120502_452.JPG: What Kinds of Airplanes Could Use This Airport? In 1939 this airport was built on Treasure Island in San Francisco Bay. It was later used as a base for transcontinental flights and Pan American's trans-Pacific service.
59. GAL102_120502_457.JPG: How Can This Runway Be So Short? New technologies are making older designs for small inner-city airports relevant again. Can you tell why this idea from 1994 might work? (Notice the airplanes.)
60. GAL102_120502_462.JPG: The Triumph of Technology Improvements in aircraft and aviation technology played a key role in revitalizing the struggling airline industry. The mid-1930s were a difficult time for airlines. The federal government had broken up the large companies that had dominated the aviation industry and had cut its subsidies to airlines. Air transportation regulation was in a state of confusion. To survive in these challenging times, airlines needed bigger, better, and faster airplanes that could profitably fly passengers as well as mail. New navigation and communications equipment was also required to enhance safety and efficiency. The aviation industry responded. By the late 1930s, the first modern, high-performance airliners were taking to the air. The government provided bonuses to airlines if their aircraft could fly at night or had multiple engines, two-way radios, and other equipment that promoted safety and speed. The first aircraft produced under these terms was the Boeing 247 in 1933, the world's first modern airliner. It could carry 10 passengers, fly 50 percent faster than the Ford Tri-Motor, and cross the country in less than 20 hours.
61. GAL102_120502_466.JPG: T.W.A. needed an airplane to compete with United's new Boeing 247s. Douglas Aircraft responded with the DC-1, which was faster and more comfortable and could carry 12 passengers. Stretched to seat 14 and redesignated the DC-2, it easily surpassed its competition. Douglas went on to dominate airliner production until the jet age.
62. GAL102_120502_470.JPG: The government provided bonuses to airlines if their aircraft could fly at night or had multiple engines, two-way radios, and other equipment that promoted safety and speed. The first aircraft produced under these terms was the Boeing 247 in 1933, the world's first modern airliner. It could carry 10 passengers, fly 50 percent faster than the Ford Tri-Motor, and cross the country in less than 20 hours.
63. GAL102_120502_475.JPG: At the request of American Airlines, Douglas created a larger version of the DC-2 with sleeping berths, the Douglas Sleeper Transport. The daytime version became the famous DC-3. The 21-passenger DC-3 became the first airliner that could make a profit without subsidy, and it helped airlines survive cutbacks in government assistance. The remarkable aircraft took less than 16 hours to fly from Los Angeles to New York, and its sleeping accommodations made the flight quite bearable. Even with sleeper service, ticket prices remained fixed at $160 one way and $288 round trip.
64. GAL102_120502_480.JPG: What Does "Above the Weather" Mean? When an airplane flies "above the weather," it is flying over storms and clouds, where the airstream is smoother. Flying "under the weather" is bumpier and more uncomfortable.
65. GAL102_120502_484.JPG: The Boeing 307 Stratoliner was the world's first pressurized airliner. While other airliners flew no higher than about 3,000 meters (10,000 feet), the Stratoliner could cruise at 7,500 meters (25,000 feet). By ascending "above the weather," it could fly faster and more efficiently and provide its 33 passengers a smoother and quieter ride.
66. GAL102_120502_488.JPG: The Beginning of Air Traffic Control As the popularity of air travel grew, so did the need for better air traffic control along the nation's air routes and especially around airports. Airlines first developed systems to control their own air traffic. However, a series of highly publicized accidents in the mid-1930s, including the crash of a DC-2 in which New Mexico Senator Bronson Cutting was killed, highlighted the critical need for a national system. The federal government stepped in, and in 1936 the Commerce Department accepted nationwide responsibility for air traffic control.
67. GAL102_120502_492.JPG: Navigation by Radio New navigation techniques were needed to allow aircraft to fly reliably and safely at night and in bad weather. In the 1920s the first low-frequency radio range beacon experiments were conducted along National Air Transport's New York-Chicago route. By February 1931, the entire New York to San Francisco route was equipped with radio range stations.
68. GAL102_120502_496.JPG: Automatic Direction Finder Developed by the Sperry Gyroscope Company, automatic direction finders (ADF) were first installed on aircraft in the mid-1930s. They replaced the existing four-course radio range system. Displayed here are the control unit and indicator and the loop antenna in its streamlined housing. The ADF locates known stationary radio transmitters and displays the radio's location relative to the aircraft. This was a much more flexible and accurate system, as aircraft no longer had to fly in one of four radio courses. It also led to instrument approaches for landing, which helped pilots locate runways at night and in bad weather. Most aircraft built in the late 1930s and 1940s, including the Douglas DC-3 above, were equipped with ADF, with its distinctive "football" antenna housing.
69. GAL102_120502_504.JPG: The China Clipper The name China Clipper evokes a romantic age of luxurious air travel, when the rich and adventurous flew across the Pacific to the Orient. The China Clipper was the name of one of three Martin M-130 flying boats built for Pan American Airways. The others were the Hawaii Clipper and the Philippine Clipper. The Martin M-130 was the first airliner that could fly nonstop the 3,840-kilometer (2,400-mile) distance between San Francisco and Honolulu, Hawaii-the longest major route in the world without and emergency intermediate landing field. The China Clipper and its sister ships demonstrated that there were no technological barriers to transoceanic travel.
70. GAL102_120502_510.JPG: Why Flying Boats? Flying boats became popular in the 1930s because they did not have to contend with the rough state of early airfields. They could also alight on water in emergencies, thus allaying fears of passengers flying long distances over oceans. And they could be made larger and heavier than other airliners, because they were not restricted by the short length of airfields. Most of Pan American's Latin American destinations were along coasts, so flying boats were a logical choice. [Pan Am president Juan Trippe ordered the Boeing 314 flying boat in 1936 specifically for the planned transatlantic route. The aircraft had a maximum range of 5,700 kilometers (3,500 miles), and on shorter flights it could carry up to 74 passengers and a crew of 10.] On November 22, 1935, the Martin M-130 China Clipper opened the first regularly scheduled air mail service across the Pacific, from San Francisco to Manila. Here, it flies over the unfinished Golden Gate Bridge. A year later, the China Clipper began the first trans-Pacific passenger service.
71. GAL102_120502_520.JPG: The Need for Reform By the end of the 1920s, private airlines were flying an expanding system of air mail routes. Passenger service, however, remained almost nonexistent. While airlines often prospered flying the mail, the system had problems. The Post Office's bidding process for air routes resulted in an unfair payment system, and short-term contracts discouraged airlines from investing in long-term development. Airlines that carried only mail favored small, single-engine airplanes. Larger multi-engine aircraft were needed to carry passengers, but such airplanes were too costly to operate. Reform was needed for the airline system to grow.
72. GAL102_120502_525.JPG: Cross-Country by Air and Rail Coast to Coast Reprinted courtesy American Airlines, Inc. In 1929, Transcontinental Air Transport (T.A.T.) began providing passenger service between New York and Los Angeles using airplanes by day and trains by night. Night flying was hazardous, so passengers rode the Pennsylvania Railroad's night train from New York to Port Columbus, Ohio. There they boarded a Ford Tri-Motor and flew to Waynoka, Oklahoma, where they transferred to a Santa Fe Railway night train. At Clovis, New Mexico, they boarded another Tri-Motor for the final leg to Los Angeles. T.A.T. air-rail service took a day less than by train alone, but a one-way ticket cost a whopping $338. Fly or Drive? In 1929 a one-way ticket across the country cost $338, more than half the price of a new car. A Ford Model A cost $525; a Chevrolet Coach cost $595. T.A.T. did not have an air mail contract; it depended strictly on revenues from carrying passengers. Although well run, the company was soon in desperate financial shape.
73. GAL102_120502_527.JPG: Transcontinental Air Transport hired Charles Lindbergh as a technical advisor. Lindbergh selected the aircraft, chose and planned T.A.T.'s cross-country route, and oversaw the creation of all the necessary airfields and installations. T.A.T. and its successor, Transcontinental and Western Air (T.W.A.), became popularly known as "The Lindbergh Line."
74. GAL102_120502_535.JPG: Who Was Lindbergh? Charles Lindbergh gained instant celebrity when he became the first person to fly alone nonstop from New York to Paris in 1927 in his Ryan NYP Spirit of St. Louis (on display in the Milestones of Flight gallery). He was the hero of the day-every child in the country knew his name. The "Lindbergh boom" in aviation followed: aircraft industry stocks rose in value, and interest in flying skyrocketed. Lindbergh's subsequent U.S. publicity tour demonstrated the airplane's potential as a safe, reliable form of transportation. Lindbergh used his fame to promote the expansion of commercial aviation. Transcontinental Air Transport hired him to help select T.A.T.'s aircraft, routes, systems, and equipment. He also advised Pan American Airways and was instrumental in its expansion.
75. GAL102_120502_538.JPG: Aviation Becomes Big Business Charles Lindbergh's historic 1927 transatlantic flight and a stock market boom spurred investor interest in aviation. An intense period of industry-wide mergers and consolidation followed. Four large aviation holding companies soon arose. William Boeing and Frederick Rentschler of Pratt & Whitney formed the first and the largest, United Aircraft and Transport Corporation. Clement Keys formed North American Aviation and the Curtiss-Wright Corporation. Aerial photography pioneer Sherman Fairchild, Averill Harriman, and Robert Lehman created The Aviation Corporation (AVCO). While these consolidations promised greater efficiency, airlines remained unprofitable without government help.
76. GAL102_120502_543.JPG: The Air Mail "Scandal" Charges of corruption in the air mail system led President Roosevelt to cancel all air mail contracts. The Army resumed carrying the mail. Federal reforms enacted in 1930 gave most routes and air mail contracts to big airline holding companies. Small, independent airlines complained this was unfair, even though most had sold their own contracts and some did not even exist when the law was passed. The independents fought to break the holding companies' power. Their efforts led to congressional hearings and unfounded charges of corruption and conspiracy to monopolize the air mail. Responding to political pressure, President Franklin Roosevelt canceled all domestic air mail contracts on February 9, 1934. The Army Air Corps was again called upon to carry the mail.
77. GAL102_120502_549.JPG: Roosevelt's "Forgotten Man" -- 12 of them -- DEAD -- the air mail pilots In February 1934, the Air Corps again began carrying the mail. Flying in the worst winter in decades, in ill-equipped aircraft, Air Corps pilots suffered a series of well-publicized accidents, mostly during training. Several pilots died. Public outcry caused President Roosevelt to suspend the Air Corps' mail service until improvements could be made.
78. GAL102_120502_555.JPG: The Air Mail Act of 1934 Four months after the air mail crisis began, Congress passed the Air Mail Act. It cut payment rates to airlines, returned most air mail routes to the major airlines, and gave some routes to smaller airlines. It divided regulation among the Post Office, Commerce Department, and Interstate Commerce Commission. Aviation holding companies were dissolved and airlines separated from aircraft manufacturers. Previous air mail contractors had to change their names or restructure. American Airways became American Airlines. Eastern Air Transport became Eastern Air Lines. War hero and American Airways vice president Eddie Rickenbacker condemned the air mail crisis as "legalized murder" after several Air Corps pilots died while flying the mail. Charles Lindbergh, testifying before Congress, criticized President Roosevelt for hastily canceling the air mail contracts and punishing the airlines without due process.
79. GAL102_120502_561.JPG: Punished Without a Trial The Air Mail Act of 1934 broke up the large airline holding companies and forced the firing of airline executives wrongfully accused of conspiring to monopolize the air mail. One victim was Philip G. Johnson of United Air Lines. Like many others, Johnson had attended Walter Brown's operators conferences in 1930, in which air mail contracts and routes had been legally awarded. Ironically, United received no contracts during these so-called "Spoils Conferences." Nevertheless, Johnson and many others were wrongfully-and unconstitutionally-barred from the airline industry without the benefit of a trial.
80. GAL102_120502_566.JPG: What Was It Like to Fly? What was it like to fly? National Air and Space Museum Archives Despite the airlines' cheerful advertising, early air travel was far from comfortable. It was expensive too. Flying was loud, cold, and unsettling. Airliners were not pressurized, so they flew at low altitudes and were often bounced about by wind and weather. Air sickness was common. Airlines provided many amenities to ease passenger stress, but air travel remained a rigorous adventure well into the 1940s. Flying was also something only business travelers or the wealthy could afford. But despite the expense and discomforts, each year commercial aviation attracted thousands of new passengers willing to sample the advantages and adventure of flight.
81. GAL102_120502_575.JPG: Wild Bill Wild Bill flew the mail for eight years in the 1920s. He earned his nickname by breaking speed records and damaging airplanes. He was popular with other pilots but regularly scolded by his supervisors! He died in 1928 when his airplane crashed on the New York to Chicago route. He was carrying a thousand pounds of mail, including a large shipment of diamonds. Only 10 pounds of mail were saved from the plane's wreckage, but the diamonds disappeared.
82. GAL102_120502_584.JPG: America By Air: "Unlike the boundaries of the sea by the shorelines, the 'ocean of air' laps at the border of every state, city, town and home throughout the world." -- L. Welch Pogue, former chairman of the Civil Aeronautics Board
83. GAL102_120502_589.JPG: What Was It Like To Fly? Novel and exciting; loud and uncomfortable-an experience few people ever got to relish or regret. In the early years of flight, pilots and the occasional passenger sat in open cockpits exposed to wind and weather. Even in Europe, where large transports carried passengers in comparative luxury, the ride was harsh, loud, and uncomfortable. An Air Mail Pilot's Wings Air mail pilots wore heavy flight suits instead of uniforms, but they were issued badges or wings for identification, as in this photo of pilot Wilfred A. "Tony" Yackey. Northwest Airlines still issues similar wings to its pilots.
84. GAL102_120502_593.JPG: Air Mail Pilot's Knee Board and Map Joseph L. Mortensen navigated the air mail route from Salt Lake City, Utah, to Reno, Nevada, in 1920 using this scrolling map and knee board. Did You Know? This object is called a "knee board" because a pilot would strap it to his leg. He would turn the knobs to scroll the map as he flew his route. Why would this be more useful than a folding map?
85. GAL102_120502_602.JPG: "I always considered it a very safe airplane, because the carburetor would vibrate the airplane so badly that it would shake the ice off the wings." -- Pilot Earnest M. Allison on the Jenny
86. GAL102_120502_606.JPG: Flying the Main at Night To speed up air mail service, the Post Office turned to flying the mail throughout the night -- a dangerous undertaking for air mail pilots. Night flying presented special hazards, especially getting lost. Initially, bonfires set along air routes were used to help guide pilots through the darkness. In the 1920s, the Post Office established a system of lighted airways marked by powerful rotating beacons. Airplanes making the night runs were equipped with flares, lighted instruments, and navigation and landing lights.
87. GAL102_120502_610.JPG: Beacons Replace Bonfires The Post Office, Army, and Commerce Department worked together to develop better navigation technologies, especially a system of lighted airways. By the summer of 1923, air mail pilots could fly from Chicago to Cheyenne, Wyoming, guided by 289 beacons and 39 lighted landing fields. The lighting of the New York-San Francisco route was completed in 1925, and the system was soon extended to other routes.
88. GAL102_120502_614.JPG: A Daring Demonstration On February 22, 1921, four air mail flights set out to prove the mail could be flown coast to coast in record time by flying day and night. The going proved rough. One pilot died in a crash. Treacherous weather stopped others. But the fourth flight got through, making it from San Francisco to New York in 33 hours and 20 minutes-a distance that took 4� days by train and 3 days by air/rail (flown by day and shipped by train at night). Within three years, mail was being flown across the country by day and night in only 29 hours.
89. GAL102_120502_618.JPG: Knight's Telegram This is the telegram Jack Knight sent to the Post Office relating his experience. How would you describe his flight based on his description? Knight had not flown this route before. What tools did he use to stay on course
90. GAL102_120502_622.JPG: Airlines Take Over Carrying the Mail Once the Post Office had established a reliable and practical air mail system, it turned over air mail delivery to private airlines. Having established a strong economic foundation for commercial aviation, in 1925 the Post Office began contracting with private airlines to carry the mail. By the summer of 1927, an effective commercial airline system was providing reliable air mail service. The federal government continued to shape the new industry by regulating the airways, guiding aviation's growth, and promoting safety and technology.
91. GAL102_120502_626.JPG: The Legislative Foundation The Contract Air Mail Act of 1925 allowed the Post Office to pay private airlines to deliver the mail. Payments were based on the weight of the mail carried. The Post Office later added a subsidy to help offset airline operating losses, until more efficient aircraft could be developed. To guide the development of this new industry, Congress in 1926 passed the Air Commerce Act, which established the Aeronautics Branch of the Commerce Department, the predecessor of today's Federal Aviation Administration.
92. GAL102_120502_630.JPG: Air Mail Service Takes Root The new U.S. Air Mail Service proved successful. It soon extended its routes across the continent and its flights around the clock. Despite some early setbacks, the Air Mail Service completed about 90 percent of its flights. A few months after service began in 1918, the Army withdrew from flying the mail and left the Post Office in charge with its own pilots and aircraft. By 1920 transcontinental air mail service had begun. By 1924 mail was also being flown at night, thanks to lighted airways the Post Office was creating across the nation.
93. GAL102_120502_633.JPG: Service Extends from Coast to Coast Air mail service opened between New York and Chicago in September 1919. Service reached Omaha, Nebraska, the following May. In September 1920 it reached San Francisco. Compared to moving the mail by train, flying cut coast-to-coast delivery time by about a day. When regular overnight air mail service began in 1924, it slashed delivery time to 29 hours-almost three days faster than by rail.
94. GAL102_120502_636.JPG: Air Transportation Pioneer M. Clyde Kelly Representative M. Clyde Kelly guided the Contract Air Mail Act through Congress in 1925. A progressive republican from western Pennsylvania, Kelly felt that the Post Office had accomplished its goals and that it was time to let more efficient private enterprise fly the mail. The legislation became popularly known as the "Kelly Act."
95. GAL102_120502_642.JPG: Air Transportation Pioneer William P. MacCracken Jr. Aviation legal expert William P. MacCracken Jr. crafted the Air Commerce Act, which gave aviation a sound legal foundation. Under his leadership as the first Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, the Commerce Department pioneered safety regulation, required the licensing of pilots and the certification of aircraft, and encouraged the development of navigation aids.
96. GAL102_120502_653.JPG: Air Transportation Pioneer Capt. Benjamin Lipsner Capt. Benjamin Lipsner helped guide the Air Mail Service during its early days. Under Lipsner, it acquired new Standard biplanes and shifted its Washington base of operations to College Park Airport in nearby Maryland, the oldest airport in the world. The service became a proving ground for civil aviation.
97. GAL102_120502_656.JPG: Air Transportation Pioneer Col. Paul Henderson As Second Assistant Postmaster General, Col. Paul Henderson helped establish overnight air mail service. Under his direction, powerful rotating beacons were placed along the transcontinental route to guide pilots in the dark. He modeled the system after an experimental lighted airway the Army had created between Dayton and Columbus, Ohio.
98. GAL102_120502_660.JPG: Early Aircraft Technology Aircraft performance improved rapidly between 1911 and 1927, but aviation technology was still fairly primitive. To boost aeronautical research, the U.S. government created the NACA. The airplane was only 15 years old when air mail service began in 1918. Airplanes were still essentially wood and cloth machines that performed inefficiently. Most were biplanes. Concerned that the United States was rapidly falling behind Europe in aeronautical technology, Congress formed the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) in 1915 to supervise and direct American aeronautical research. By the end of the 1920s, the NACA's efforts were bearing fruit.
99. GAL102_120502_663.JPG: Europeans led the world in aeronautics after World War I. They developed monococque ("single shell") construction-the aircraft's skin carried most of the aerodynamic load, reducing structural weight. In Germany, Hugo Junkers patented the internally braced cantilevered wing. Adolf Rohrbach built a series of advanced all-metal aircraft, including this Zeppelin E.4/20.
100. GAL102_120502_666.JPG: The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics Spurred by Smithsonian Secretary Charles D. Walcott, the NACA soon became the nation's preeminent aeronautical research organization and attracted some of the nation's most creative engineers. Pioneering research by the NACA and its successor, the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA), solved many of flight's most difficult problems and greatly improved the performance and safety of all aircraft. The NACA/NASA developed some of the most important technological innovations in air transportation. This critical research continues today.
101. GAL102_120502_670.JPG: Early Airlines After World War I, many people began to operate commercial airlines. But every one of these early efforts failed because of high operating costs. Airlines could not make enough money carrying passengers or cargo. They needed financial help-subsidies-until technological and organizational improvements could enable them to become self-sufficient and profitable.
102. GAL102_120502_674.JPG: Aeromarine Airways For four years starting in 1920, Aeromarine Airways carried wealthy passengers from Miami to Nassau in the Bahamas and Havana, Cuba, aboard flying boats. The overseas flights were a popular way for many to drink legally during the Prohibition era. During the off-season, Aeromarine flew between Cleveland and Detroit. Despite its initial success, the airline eventually ran out of money. It ceased flying in 1924 after safely carrying 17,000 passengers.
103. GAL102_120502_677.JPG: Regularly Scheduled Air Mail Service Begins The Post Office began flying the mail from New York to Washington, D.C., via Philadelphia in 1918. The service got off to an awkward start. On the morning of May 15, 1918, two air mail pilots in Curtiss Jennys took off within minutes of each other, one from Washington, D.C., the other from Long Island, New York. At Philadelphia, they would exchange mailbags and fly on, thus opening up two-way Washington-Philadelphia-New York air mail service. At least that was the plan....
104. GAL102_120502_680.JPG: President Woodrow Wilson presided over the opening ceremonies at West Potomac Park in Washington. Here he speaks with Maj. Reuben H. Fleet, who organized the initial air mail service by assembling the necessary aircraft and pilots from the Army Air Service.
105. GAL102_120502_685.JPG: Which Way to Philly? The first day of regularly scheduled air mail service did not quite go as planned. One pilot, Lt. Torrey Webb, left Belmont Race Track on Long Island and reached Philadelphia an hour later. Another, Lt. George Boyle, headed for Philadelphia from Washington, but he quickly lost his way. Navigating by a road map and a faulty compass, Boyle tried to follow railroad tracks, then landed in Waldorf, Maryland, south of Washington, to seek directions. On landing he flipped and damaged his airplane and could not continue. After news of his mishap reached Philadelphia, the connecting flight to New York left and arrived on time-but without the mail from Washington.
106. GAL102_120502_690.JPG: The Post Office Begins Flying the Mail The U.S. Post Office began using airplanes to move the mail in order to help establish an air transportation system. The new field of air transportation was risky business. Early airlines proved unprofitable-they flew and then folded. The airline industry could not get off the ground. So as it had with stagecoaches, steamships, and railroads, the federal government stepped in to foster a new transportation system. It authorized the U.S. Post Office to begin flying the mail. In 1918 the vision of Postmaster General Albert Burleson and Second Assistant Postmaster General Otto Praeger became a reality with the creation of the U.S. Air Mail Service.
107. GAL102_120502_695.JPG: The First Carrying of Air Mail To demonstrate the potential of transporting mail by air, the Post Office approved a special air mail flight as part of the festivities at an international air meet on September 23, 1911, on Long Island, New York. With a full mail bag squeezed between his legs, pilot Earle Ovington took off and flew to Mineola, a few miles away. He banked his airplane and pushed the bag overboard. It fell to the ground and was retrieved by the local postmaster.
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Description of Subject Matter: America by Air
November 17, 2007 – January 2, 2019
How did the first commercial airline companies get off the ground? How has the experience of air travel changed over the past century? How will the politics of today affect the way we fly tomorrow? These are some of the issues in the development of commercial air transport this gallery explores, while expanding on the history of air transportation from only a few years after the invention of powered flight to the commercial challenges and technical sophistication of the 21st-century jet age. Featuring seven complete airplanes, engines, and other objects, this exhibition focuses on the following time periods:
* The Early Years, 1914-1927
* Airline Expansion and Innovation, 1927-1941, featuring a Ford Tri-Motor and a Douglas DC-3, the most successful airliner of the 1930s.
* The Heyday of Propeller Airliners, 1941-1958, featuring a Douglas DC-7, the first airliner to provide nonstop coast-to-coast service.
* The Jet Age, 1958-Today, featuring the forward fuselage section of a Boeing 747 jumbo jet. Note: Visitors can enter from the second floor to view the cockpit.
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Same Subject: Click on this link to see coverage of items having the same subject: [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Everything)] [(Smithsonian) Air and Space Museum (Non-Events)] [Museums (History)]
2012 photos: Equipment this year: My mainstays were the Fuji S100fs, Nikon D7000, and the new Fuji X-S1. I also used an underwater Fuji XP50 and a Nikon D600. The first three cameras all broke this year and had to be repaired. Trips this year: three Civil War Trust conferences (Shepherdstown, WV, Richmond, VA, and Williamsburg, VA), a week-long family reunion cruise of the Caribbean, another week-long family reunion in the Wisconsin Dells (with lots of in-transit time in Ohio and Indiana), and my 7th consecutive San Diego Comic-Con trip (including side trips to Zion, Bryce, the Grand Canyon, etc). Ego strokes: I had a picture of Miss DC, Ashley Boalch, published in the Washington Post. I had a photograph of the George Segal San Francisco Holocaust memorial used as the cover of Quebec Francais (issue 165). Not being able to read French, I'm not entirely sure what the article is about but, hey! And I guess what could be considered to be a positive thing, my site is now established enough that spammers have noticed it and I had to block 17,000 file description postings for Viagra and whatever else.. Number of photos taken this year: just below 410,000.
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