California Wings - A History of Aviation in the Golden State

200 Pages·1984·32.99 MB·English

by  William A. Schoneberger

MARIN COUNTY FREE LIBRARY
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OF AVIATION THE PTOLDEN STATE
IN
In Night t-U^M Hw he goal,
perhn .^^PWr1"^ '* 's tne thing
done ti^Poelivem man from death." St.
Exup4jMB indomitable airman could be
speaking of the gifted men and women of
California aviation, for that same spirit
illuminates their great achievement from
the outset. This book tells the compelling
storyofhow theyturnedyesterday'shand- 64-sJ
made contraptions, dirt runways, and
garage shops into an astonishingly
sophisticated global enterprise.
On a sunny July morning in 1869 near
San Francisco, Frederick Marriott's jaunty
Avitor Hermes, Jr., became America's first
successful dirigible. Forty years later, t/PP£X 0£#r/1
t%///VA
geirfus and pluck rode with young Glenn
"Martin on the first powered flight of a
ler-than-airmachineinCalifornia,the
thirdintheUnitedStates. In 1910camethe
Dominguez Hills Air Meet, America's first
great international aero event, the
dazzlingly successful beginning ofCalifor-
nia's ongoing aero odyssey.
Since those zesty days of taut muslin,
varnished spruce^M^gflboking castor oil
vapor,California'^eronauticalchampions
have never looked back. And in between
'^S"ung Martin's bumpySanta Ana take-off
in 1909and Columbia'sd\<>arn\\n%\ysmooth
Edwards Air Force Base landing in 1981,
legendary reputations were launched too.
So along with epochal events, these pages
celebrate uncommon dreamers and
doers—Martin, Curtiss, Lockheed, Doug-
las, Northrop, Ryan, Vultee, Hughes, Fleet,
Heinemann, Kindelberger, Atwooti try,
Cochran, Goddard, Karman, Hanshue,
Friedkin, and many more.
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wings
California
"
"As the wingflewovertheflat land likeagreatbird, itseemed to me that
Iwas participating in the birth ofaviation all overagain.
Theodore Von Kdrmdn
A HISTORY OF AVIATION IN THE GOLDEN STATE
BY WILLIAM SCHONEBERGER
A.
WITH PAUL SONNENBURC
"PARTNERS IN INDUSTRY" BY CARTER BARBER
FOREWORD BY ROBERT SERLING
J.
PRODUCED IN COOPERATION WITH THE
CALIFORNIA STATE CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
WINDSOR PUBLICATIONS, INCORPORATED
WOODLAND
HILLS, CALIFORNIA
To the hostofaviation compatriots with whom Ihave had a rewarding
associationfor nearly30 years; toPaulSonnenburg, Windsor
Publications, whose aviation mania is almostas intense as myown;
and to Bill, Marion, andAndrew, whoIhope will treasure this tome in
the years ahead.
WindsorPublications,Inc.
HistoryBooksDivision
Publisher:JohnM.Phillips
EditorialDirector:LissaSanders
SeniorPictureEditor:TeriDavisGreenberg
EditorialDirector,CorporateBiographies:KarenStory
AssistantDirector,CorporateBiographies: PhyllisGray
MarketingDirector:EllenKettenbeil
DesignDirector: AlexanderD'Anca
ProductionManager: DeeCooper
TypesettingManager:E.BerylMyers
ProofreadingManager: DorisR.Malkin
StaffforCalifornia Wings
Editor: PaulSonnenburg
ProductionEditor: AnnetteIgra
PictureEditor:TeriDavisGreenberg
CorporateBiographiesEditor:JudithHunter
EditorialAssistants: KathyBrown,PatriciaBuzard,LonniePham,PatPittman
AssistantArtDirector:ChrisMcKibbin
ProductionArtist: BethBowman
Proofreaders: HenrietteHenderson,JeffLeckrone
Typographer: BarbaraNeiman
LibraryofCongressCataloginginPublicationData
Schoneberger,WilliamA., 1926-
Californiawings. Frontispiece:TheNorthropYB-49Flying
"ProducedincooperationwiththeCaliforniaState Wingisshownduringa 1948flightover
ChamberofCommerce." MurocDryLake. The172-foot-span
Bibliography: p. 182 airplanehadatakeoffweightcloseto
Includesindex. 200,000lbs,amaximumspeedof493mph,
1.Aeronautics—California-History. I.Sonnenburg, anda rangeof3,155miles. Twoofthese
Paul. II.Title. eight-jetvariantswereflown,conversions
TL522.C2S36 1984 387.7'09794 84-15166 frompropeller-driven YB-35s.Courtesy,
ISBN0-89781-078-3 EdwardsAirForceBaseHistoryOffice
(EAFBHO). Endsheetsreproducedfrom
®1984WindsorPublications 1936serviceblueprintsforDouglasDC-3/
APlrlinrtiegdhtisnrtehseerUvneidt.edStatesofAmerica DST.Courtesy,McDonnellDouglas
Corporation
FirstEdition
Contents
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
8
FOREWORD BY ROBERT SERLING 11
J.
INTRODUCTION: THE AGE OF AVIATION 13
PART ONE: BEGINNINGS
CHAPTER ONE: DIRIGIBLES AND GLIDERS 15
CHAPTER TWO: EARLY PIONEERS 20
CHAPTER THREE: GIANTS OF AVIATION'S GOLDEN AGE 30
PART TWO: BUILDERS
CHAPTER FOUR: AIRCRAFT MANUFACTURERS 43
CHAPTER FIVE: EDUCATION, RESEARCH, AND TESTING 80
PART THREE: OPERATORS
CHAPTER SIX: MILITARY AVIATION 93
CHAPTER SEVEN: AIRLINES 108
CHAPTER EIGHT: THE AVIATION COMMUNITY 132
CHAPTER NINE: EPILOGUE 154
PART FOUR: PARTNERS IN INDUSTRY, BY CARTER BARBER 160
BIBLIOGRAPHY 180
INDEX
183
DouglasEttridge's1983paintingcapturesa
dayattheDominguezHillsAirMeetof
January1910. In theforegroundGlenn
CurtisscheckstheflightofLouisPaulhan's
Farmanjustoffhisrightwing. Belowresta
fewoftheaeroplanesandlighter-than-air
craftthatdelightedhundredsofthousands
ofAngelenosandvisitorsfromaroundthe
world. Courtesyoftheartistandthe
CollectionofSiRobinandBettyBazar
Wi
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1 ft