Spirit of America Bookstore

A History of Aviation

color postcard of Boeing 314 flying boat over the Golden Gate Bridge & Marin County          short history

books on aviation history

pioneers

timeline

famous American sircraft

The Space Race

film festival
NEW movies, coming soon

links

some pungent quotation
— somebody


          h i s t o r y
          t e x t
          h e r e

Aviation Vintage Art category at AllPosters.com



Books on Aviation History
History of Aviation catalog at Amazon

"Before Amelia" by Eileen F. Lebow (Brassey)
"Mavericks of The Sky" re mail pilots
"Come Fly With Us" re stewardesses
CReeve "The Aviator" post-WW1 + book > SA/flight + maybe ML/WW1?
"After Sputnik"
"Space Odyssey: First Forty Years of Space Exploration" by Brunier
"Enola Gay" book by Thomas & Witts + atomic

"Whatever Happened To Curtiss-Wright?: The Story of How A Very Successful Aircraft Company
Took Itself Out of The Business, 1945-1953" [12/89] by Robert W. Fausel /0897450809/

"Legacy of Flight" photo book [] by Romanowski & Keiser

"Flight: The Complete History" [3/2007] by R.G. Grant
http://www.amazon.com/Flight-Complete-R-G-Grant/dp/0756619025/



Aviation Pioneers

folks who preceded Kittyhawk were
Lyman Gilmore of Colfax, California (steam-powered aeroplane, 1902)
Samuel Langley
Richard Pearce of New Zealand (uncontrolable flight)
Preston Watson of Scotland (glider)


The Wright Brothers
Orville Wright [1871–1948] & Wilbur Wright [1867–1912]
books • website • PBS 'Innovators' episode • Centennial Dec 2003 • PBS bio

Amazon's 'Celebration of Flight'


The Golden Age of Aviation
http://www.earlyaviators.com/ebanning.htm

aviatrix Pancho Barnes
"Pancho Barnes" [1988 TV movie] /tt0095816/ starring Nance Williamson

aviatrix Amelia Earhart
"Amelia Earhart" [1976 TV movie] /tt0074132/ starring Susan Clark
"Amelia Earhart: The Final Flight" [1994 TV movie] /tt0109096/ with Diane Keaton
"Amelia" [2009] with Hillary Swank {see below}

aviator Charles A. Lindbergh [1902-74] & Anne Morrow Lindbergh
"The Lives of Beryl Markham" by Errol Trzebinski (pb- Mar 1995) 0393312526
aviator Wiley Post [1898-1935]
aviatrix Louise M. Thaden



Aviation & Space Timeline

  • 1783 Sept 19: Jacques Etienne Montgolfier launched a hot-air balloon at Versailles in France with a duck, a sheep, and a rooster on board.
  • 1793 Jan 9: Frenchman Jean Pierre Blanchard flew a hot-air balloon between Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and Woodbury New Jersey (a distance of around ten miles}.
  • 1834 June: Albert Mason displayed a working model of his 'aerial steamboat' in Cincinnati, Ohio.
  • 1903 Kittyhawk
  • 1904 Wright Bros. made significant improvement to their flying machine
  • 1905 Wright Bros.s built the historically-official 'first practical heavier-than-air flying machine'
  • 1906 Brazilian ex-pat Alberto Santos-Dumont made the first FAI-certified flight in France (leading to chauvinistic claims that Wrights were not first)
  • 1906 May 22: The Wright Brothers received the patent for their flying machine.
  • 1908 Wright Bros. added a more powerful engine to their flying machine, allowing easier takeoffs and better maneuverability.
  • 1908 Wilbur Wright flew exhibitions in Europe, shattering all previous records for distance, duration and altitude
  • 1909 July 25: French aviator Louis Bleriot became the first person to fly an airplane across the English Channel, traveling from Calais, France to Dover, England in 37 minutes.
  • 1912 Wilbur Wright died of typhoid fever
  • 1915 Orville sold Wright Co., became almost recluse in Dayton (xx Hill)
  • 1927 May 19-20: Aviator Charles Lindbergh made the first successful solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean, traveling nonstop from Roosevelt Field in Long Island, New York to Paris, France in 33.5 hours.
  • 1927 June 13: Aviator Charles Lindberg was honored with a ticker-tape parade in New York City.
  • 1929 Nov 29: First airplane flight over the South Pole, with U.S. Navy Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd, pilot Bernt Balchen & photographer Ashley McKinney aboard.
  • 1930 May 15: Registered nurse Ellen Church flew as the first stewardess or flight attendant, aboard an Oakland-to-Chicago run by Boeing Air Transport (forerunner of United Airlines).
  • 1932: James Herman Banning was the first Afro-American to fly coast-to-coast, accompanied by mechanic Thomas Allen. The flight encompassed 42 hours aloft, but took 21 days because they needed to raise money for gasoline at each stop.
  • 1933 July 22: American aviator Wiley Post completed the first solo flight around the world in seven days and 18-3/4 hours.
  • 1948 Jan 27: Orville Wright died
  • 1971 Nov 24: Airplane hijacker D.B. Cooper escaped by parachute with a suitcase of cash over a forest in Washington State; he was never identified, the case is unsolved, he was never heard from again.
  • 2010 Oct 1: U.S. airlines United and Continental closed their deal to merge, creating the world's biggest airline; the combined company will be called United Airlines, with Continental's colors & globe logo on the tail.



Famous American Aircraft
http://www.amazon.com/Pan-American-Clippers-Golden-Flying/dp/1550464760/
AT-6 Texan trainer
B-25
Lockheed B-45 Tornado jet bomber + book by John C. Frederiksen
U.S. Navy F-4U Corsair
F-16 Thunderbird
H-4 / HK-1 'Hercules' Flying Boat [1947] aka the 'Spruce Goose'
P-51 Mustang
USAF SR-71 operational 12/64, halted 1990; did Mach 3 (approx 2,280 MPH) at 85.000 feet
U-2 / OL-20 reconnaisance plane



The Space Race

SPACE TRAVELERS Carlo Burton aka Charles Evans - 2009 - 80m
A documentary on legendary aerospace pioneer & designer Burt Rutan

Truth, Lies, and O-Rings / Inside the Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster
Allan J. McDonald & James R. Hansen http://booksxyz.com/profile3805018.php

rocket scientist Robert Goddard [1882-1945]
'father of rocketry'? --refer to Hermann Oberth in Germany?

BOOK on Apollo Pgm "For All Mankind" by Harry Hunt III

"Apollo 13" [1995]
full credits from IMDb

IMAX Space Collection DVD box set  "The IMAX Space Collection" DVD box set [2001]
Imax color DVD set [10/2001] 5 disks for $35.99
includes 37-min. "Hail Columbia!" [1982] narrated by James Whitmore; 37-min. "The Dream Is Alive" [1985] narrated by Walter Cronkite; 40-min. "Blue Planet" [1990]; 40-min. "Destiny In Space" [1994] narrated by Leonard Nimoy; and 40-min. "Mission To Mir" [1997] narrated by August Schellenberg


World War I German Luftwaffe Fokker triplane

Aviation Film Festival
{ in chronological order }

jump to NEW movies, coming soon

"Wings" [1927]: full credits at IMDb
Paramount restoration [DUE Jan 2012] on DVD & Blu-ray

"Hell's  Angels" [United Artists Nov 1930]
Produced & directed by Howard Hughes; starring Ben Lyon, James Hall,
Jean Harlow & John Darrow; Oscar nominated for Best Cinematography
full credits from IMDb

"Going Wild" [First National Pictures Dec 1930]
Starring Joe E. Brown, Lawrence Gray, Ona Munson and Walter Pidgeon • full credits at IMDb
http://www.amazon.com/Going-Wild-Joe-Brown/dp/B003QTUWAA

"The Lost Squadron" [R.K.O. Radio Pictures March 1932]
The Lost Squadron movie starring Richard Dix  Stroheim agreed to portray a parody of himself as a German film director making a silent World War I movie who is essentially a homocidal maniac. The plot begins with aerial heroism by Yankee Army pilots in France who then come home to unfaithful girlfriends and unemployment. Several drift to Hollywood where their daredevil flying skills are in demand for movies about The Great War.
Directed by George Archainbaud; screenplay by Wallace Smith, based on a story by Dick Grace; starring Richard Dix, Erich von Stroheim, Mary Astor, Robert Armstrong, Dorothy Jordan, Joel McCrea, Hugh Herbert & Ralph Ince
12"x16" poster available for $19.99 at AllPosters.com
VHS/DVD/Blu-ray not available • full credits at IMDb • movie entry at Wikipedia
The Lost Squadron photoplay book by Dick Grace  
"The Lost Squadron" photoplay [1932] by Dick Grace
Grosset & Dunlap hardcover [1932] out of print/used

"Flying Tigers" [1942]
Starring John Wayne; full credits at IMDb

"Flight For Freedom" [1943] /tt0035888/
with Rosalind Russell & Fred MacMurray

"The  Memphis  Belle:  A  Story  of  a  Flying  Fortress"
[Produced by F.M.P.U. of the U.S.A.A.F.; Paramount theatrical release April 1944]
Memphis Belle movie  Directed by William Wyler; cinematography by 1Lt. Harold J. Tannenbaum; listed by National Film Directory 2001
Platinum color DVD [11/2001] for $6.99
Timeless color VHS [3/2000] for $12.99
Tapeworm color VHS [12/99] out of stock/used
Tapeworm color VHS [11/90] out of stock/used
full credits at IMDb • movie fansite
Memphis Belle remake  1990 remake [Warner Bros.]
Directed by Michael Caton-Jones; script by Monte Merrick; starring Matthew Modine, Eric Stoltz, Tate Donovan, D.B. Sweeney, Harry Connick Jr., David Strathairn & John Lithgow
Warner color DVD [5/98] for $9.88
Warner color VHS [5/95] out of prodn/many used
Varese soundtrack CD [10/90] for $16.98
full credits at IMDb

Memphis Belle B-17 Flying Fortress official website
restored Liberty Belle B-17 Flying Fortress of Atlanta, Georgia

"Strategic Air Command" [1955]: full credits at IMDb
Directed by Anthony Mann; starring James Stewart & June Allyson

"Lafayette Escadrille" [1958]
Co-written & directed by William A. Wellman; starring Tab Hunter, David Janssen, Will Hutchins
& Clint Eastwood; full credits at IMDb

"The  Great  Waldo  Pepper"
[Universal March 1975]
The Great Waldo Pepper movie poster  Too young to fly in World War I, Waldo barnstorms across America with veterans of combat, then gets a chance to prove his skills in aerial dogfights for the movies. Co-produced, co-written & directed by George Roy Hill; co-written by William Goldman; cinematography by Robert Surtees; music by Henry Mancini; starring Robert Redford, Bo Svenson, Bo Brundin, Susan Sarandon, Geoffrey Lewis, Edward Herrmann, Philip Bruns & Margot Kidder
Goodtimes Home Video color DVD [7/98] out of prodn/used
Universal color VHS [4/92] out of prodn/many used
full credits from IMDb
11"x17" blue poster from Amazon for $9.99
11"x17" yellow poster (at left) from Amazon for $9.99
script with photographs, by William Goldman & George Roy Hill
Dell mass pb [3/75] out of print/used

"Airplane!" [1980 classic spoof]
by the Zucker Brothers

"The Right Stuff" [The Ladd Company 1983]
full credits from IMDb

"The Tuskegee Airmen" [1995 TV]
full credits from IMDb
http://www.amazon.com/Tuskegee-Airmen-Laurence-Fishburne/dp/B000053V7E/

"The Tuskegee Airmen" documentary [2002 TV]
full credits from IMDb

"The Aviator"
feature film [Miramax 17 Dec 2004]
The Aviator movie  Produced & directed by Martin Scorsese; written by John Logan {'inspired by' the book "Howard Hughes: The Untold Story" by Peter Harry Brown & Pat H. Broeske, as well as "Howard Hughes: The Secret Life" by Charles Higham}; starring Leonardo DiCaprio as the young Howard Hughes; cast includes Kate Beckinsale as Ava Gardner, Cate Blanchett as Katharine Hepburn, Gwen Stefani as Jean Harlow, and John C. Reilly as Noah Dietrich; with Ian Holm, Alan Alda, Alec Baldwin & Willem Dafoe; nominated for Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Script, Best Actor [LD], Best Supporting Actor [Alda], Best Sound; won Oscars for Best Supporting Actress [CB], Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Art Direction, Best Costumes; also won ACE/Eddy, 4 BAFTA Awards, SAG's Best Supporting Actress [CB], and others; nominated for DGA & WGA awards
Warner widescreen color Blu-ray [11/2007] for $9.99
Warner widescreen color DVD [5/2005] 2 disks for $6.99
Warner full-screen color DVD [5/2005] 2 disks for $11.99
Warner color VHS [5/2005] out of prodn/used
Sony soundtrack CD [12/2004] for $14.99
full credits from IMDb • FK's unofficial fansite movie page • studio's official website
screenplay by John Logan: Miramax 9x6 pb [12/2004] for $10.95

"Flyboys" [2006]: full credits at IMDb
Young Americans of the Lafayette Escadrille; directed by Tony Bill

"Red Tail Reborn" [2007]
Starring pilots and crew of the 332nd Fighter Group and those who tell their story
http://www.amazon.com/Reborn-Pilots-332nd-Fighter-Group/dp/B000O78THK/
http://www.amazon.com/Red-Tail-Reborn-Special-Blu-ray/dp/B0062NDNZS/

"Amelia" [Fox Searchlight Oct 2009]
2009 Amelia Earhart movie poster  Amelia Earhart followed her dream of flying, from the first woman to fly across the Atlantic to the first woman to fly around the world. Her tragic disappearance over the South Pacific in July 1937 cemented the legend that she wanted to become. Co-produced by Ronald Bass, Hilary Swank & others; directed by Mira Nair; written by Ronald Bass & Anna Hamilton Phelan, officially based on two books; starring Hilary Swank, Richard Gere, Ewan McGregor, Mia Wasikowska, Christopher Eccleston, Joe Anderson & Cherry Jones
Fox widescreen color Blu-ray [2/2010] 2 disks for $26.49
Fox widescreen color DVD [2/2010] for $17.49
full credits from IMDb • official movie site
Gabriel Yared soundtrack CD from Varese Records [11/2009] for $17.98
East to the Dawn biography of Amelia Earhart by Susan Butler  
"East To The Dawn: The Life of Amelia Earhart" [1997]
by Susan Butler

Da Capo Press 8¾x6 movie tie-in pb [8/2009] for $10.85
Da Capo Press 8¾x6 pb [5/99] for $17.95
Da Capo Press 8¾x6½ hardcover [10/97] out of print/used
Sound of Wings biography of Amelia Earhart by Mary S. Lovell   "The Sound of Wings: The Life of Amelia Earhart" [1989]
by Mary S. Lovell

St. Martin's Griffin 9x6 pb [9/2009] for $12.23
St. Martin's Griffin 8¾x5¾ pb [2/91] out of print/many used
St. Martins Press 8½x6 hardcover [10/89] out of print/many, many used

"Pearl" [DVD release Nov 2010]
Pearl biopic  The true story of Chickasaw Indian girl Eula Pearl Carter-Scott of Oklahoma who became the youngest licensed pilot in the U.S. in 1928. Directed by King Hollis; written by Thomas Bailey, Donna Carlton & Margaret Reynolds; starring Elijah DeJesus {as Pearl}, Andrew Sensenig, Angela Gair, Cameron Rostami, Paden Brown, Sean Cain, Isabel Archuleta, Tom Huston {as Wiley Post} & Robert S. Ball {as Will Rogers}; DVD includes feature film, commentaries & 3 featurettes
2-disk DVD available at Chickasaw Outpost for $15.00 + s/h
full credits at IMDb • official movie site

"Red Tails" [Lucasfilm/Fox Jan 2012]  
Red Tails 2012 movie about the Tuskegee airmen  The pilots and crew of the all-Negro 332nd Fighter Group of the U.S. Army Air Corps leave their training base at Tuskegee, Alabama proud to serve their country in the war against Hitler in Europe; but they chafe at their ground-attack assignments against trains and buildings, and their officers demand the chance to fight the Luftwaffe in the air. Directed by Anthony Hemingway; written by John Ridley & Aaron McGruder, based on a book by John B. Holway; starring Terrence Howard, Cuba Gooding Jr., David Oyelowo, Nate Parker, Tristan Wilds & Elijah Kelley
DVD/Blu-ray not yet available
full credits at IMDb • official movie site • movie entry at Wikipedia
Red Tails Oral History book by John B. Holway  "Red Tails: An Oral History of The Tuskegee Airmen"
by John B. Holway

Dover Publns 9¼x6 movie tie-in pb [1/2012] for $13.57
"Red Tails, Black Wings: The Men of America's Black Air Force" [1997]
by John B. Holway

Yucca Tree Press 9x6 pb [3/2000] out of print/used
Yucca Tree Press 9¼x6½ hardcover [2/97] out of print/used

untitled feature film is now 'under development' about aviation pioneer Louise M. Thaden
and the all-female transcontinental air race of 1929
based on her 1938 book “High, Wide and Frightened”
http://www.amazon.com/HIGH-WIDE-FRIGHTENED-Louise-Thaden/dp/155728766X/



L i n k s
Flight Path Learning Center & Museum at LAX = www.flightpath.US
NATL AVIATION HALL OF FAME >> hrh
http://www.nationalaviation.org/website/index.asp?webpageid={29B403C2-424A-40CE-9A74-0DB137828215}
http://www.earlyaviator.com/
http//www.firstflightcentennial.org/
http://www.flight100.org
http://www.MuseumOfFlight.org in Seattle WA
Fantasy of Flight Air Museum [est. 1985, moved 1992] in Polk, Florida



Online sales in association with  History of Aviation catalog at Amazon  and  Aviation Vintage Art category at AllPosters.com

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