Jack Northrop's Metal Miracle-The Alpha 4A
Updated as the Stearman-Northrop Alpha Model 4A, with all windows blocked out except for one on each side of the fuselage, NC 11Y had a payload capacity of 1,250 lbs. Other refinements, such as deicer boots, were aimed at all - weather around the clock flying. TWA's money-maker was mail and cargo.
U.S. Naval Aviation
NAVAL AIR STATION Pensacola, FL, was the U.S. Navy's first air station, and was tabbed the "Annapolis of the Air." Today, the home of naval aviation is also the home of a magnificent aviation establishment, the United States Naval Aviation Museum. Immense naval aviator's "Wings of Gold" mark the main entrance to the gleaming white structure, and the lobby features famous American artists' naval aviation paintings, plus a bountifully supplied gift and book store. As one progresses to the museum's main interior exhibit hall, and views the displays and memorabilia from atop the lobby steps, it is realized that a
Piper PA-8 Skycycle
AIRPLANE MANUFACTURERS during 1944 were still being pressed to capacity with the war effort, but to many aviation companies, a WW II Allied victory was evident. With this in mind, plans were already being formulated for a futuristic civilian airplane market. At Piper Aircraft Corporation, Lock Haven, PA, the topic of the airplane as a postwar commodity had often been the subject of discussion at brown bag lunches and unofficial office get-togethers. By mid-June 1944, the scheduled weekly Piper executive conference was in session, and this theme was part of the official agenda. Chairing the conference was Piper's president, William T. Piper, Sr. (1881-1970), who was one of the outstanding pioneers of aviation in America. Bill Piper was often referred to as "The Henry Ford of Aviation," a label which underscored his efforts to bring the airplane within financial reach of a world interested in private flying.
The Soplata Collection
It is mind-boggling to stumble across this collection almost secreted away in the woods of Ohio, but it is even more astounding when you realize it was accumulated by one man and his wife through Herculean efforts and a desire to preserve these wings of history.
