Chapter 6 Golden Age 1927-1939
Dec 16, 2015
Chapter 6 Golden Age1927-1939
Golden Age of Flying Adventure Exploration Sport Airplanes
• Increased safety• Reliability• Frequency
Charles Lindbergh Early Life
• Worked on farm• Dropped out of U. of Wisconsin
Flying• Flying lessons – 1922• 8 hours of dual instruction• Wing-walking/parachuting• Bought Curtiss-Jenny – 1923• Continued barnstorming
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh Military aviation
• Cadet - 1924• Formation flying• Bombing and strafing• 104 cadets in class
18 graduated Lindberg finishes first 2nd lieutenant Released from active duty
Charles Lindbergh Robertson Aircraft Corporation
• Airmail pilot• St Louis to Chicago• Tested airplanes• Organized routes• Hired pilots• Arranged delivery trucks• 1st airmail run – 15 April 1925
5 roundtrip flights per week• Left in February 1927
Charles Lindbergh Orteig Prize
• $25,000 prize• First nonstop flight• Between New York and Paris• Either direction
Financial support• St Louis business community• $15,000 business loan
Spirit of St Louis Wanted monoplane
• Reduced drag• Single engine• Additional fuel tank• Periscope added
Ryan Aircraft• $10,580• Test flights – April 1927• Flew from
San Diego to St Louis St Louis to Roosevelt Field
Other Attempts Rene Fonck (21 Sep 1926)
• Crashed S-35 on takeoff• Survived – two died
Naval aviators (April 1927)• Died during test flight
French airmen (8 May 1927)• Nungesser & Colt• Never seen again
Clarence Chamberlin Richard Byrd
Atlantic Flight Coast-to-coast speed record
• 21 hours 20 minutes Packed for trip
• 4 sandwiches• 2 canteens of water• Army rations
Takeoff – 20 May 1927• 07:52 AM• 450 gallons of gas• 20 feet clearance of wires
Atlantic Flight Challenges
• Skimming over storm clouds• Flying as low as 10 feet• Icing• Flying blind in fog• Navigating by stars
Landing• Le Bourget Airport• 21 May 1927• 10:22 PM
Charles Lindbergh Won Orteig Prize Awarded Legion of Honor Chevalier of Royal Order Leopold Distinguished Flying Cross Promoted to Colonel Congressional Medal of Honor Time “Man of the Year” Brief flights in Europe Longines watch
Charles Lindbergh 1st Goodwill Tour
• Sell aviation• Promote commercial aviation• 20 July to 23 October
Visited all 48 states 82 cities 30 million people 22,000 miles Logged 260 hours 45 minutes 147 speeches 1,290 parade miles
Charles Lindbergh 1st Goodwill Tour
• Pilot applications tripled• Licenses aircraft quadrupled• Passengers
1927 – 5,782 1929 – 173,405 3,000% increase
Charles Lindbergh 2nd Goodwill Tours
• Nonstop Washington to Mexico City 26 hours 15 minutes
• 17 Latin America countries 9,000 miles
• Flew airplane to Washington Donated to Smithsonian 174 flights 489:28 hours logged
Charles Lindbergh “Crime of the Century” Move to Europe
• Return to U.S.• Temporary call-up to active duty
Dr. Alexis Carrell• Glass perfusion pump• Future heart surgeries possible
Travel to Germany• Report on German aviation• German award
Charles Lindbergh America First
• Proposed neutrality act with Germany• Resigned commission
Anti-Semetic• FBI investigates Lindberg• Future heart surgeries possible
United Aircraft• Tech representative - Pacific• Flew over 50 combat missions
Brigadier General appointment
ADVENTURE, EXPLORATION, AND SPORT
Dole’s Pacific Air Race• $35,000 prize• Nonstop flight• Oakland to Honolulu• 15 airplanes entered
3 crashed before race
Dole Derby 16 August 1927
• 8 participated 2 crashed on takeoff 2 went missing 1 returned for repairs
• Search for missing• Disappeared
• 2 planes completed race Wooloroc
• Art Goebel and Bill Davis Aloha
• Second prize - $10,000
Other Pacific Crossings Oakland to Sidney, Australia
• 31 May to 9 June 83 hours 38 minutes
Japan to Wenatchee, Washington Clyde Pangborn
• October 1931
Atlantic Crossings South Atlantic Ocean
• Italian Francesco de Pinedo Amelia Earhart
• 1932 Solo, nonstop transatlantic flight
James Mollison• First east-to-west solo crossing• England to Cape Town
Airship Graf Zeppelin• 18 crossings (S. Atlantic)
Round the World Graf Zeppelin
• Lakenhurst start/stop• 21 days, 5 hours, 31 minutes• 20,651 miles
Wiley Post• 1931
8 days 15 hours 51 minutes• 1933 – solo
7 days 18 hours 49 minutes• Monoplane “Winnie Mae” on both trips
Round the World Howard Hughes
• Lockheed Super Electra• 3 days, 19 hours
Polar Flights• Byrd
South Pole – November 1929• Russian crew
First nonstop great-circle flight Soviet Union to United States 63 hours 17 minutes
Italian Distance Flight Benito Mussolini
• Chicago World’s Fair - 1933• Squadron of airplanes (Flying Boats)• 25 airplanes
One lost enroute Flew in formation over Fair One lost on return flight
MacRobertson Air Race October 1934
• $75,000 prize• England to Melbourne
No limit to aircraft/power/crew size 5 compulsory stops Initial field - 60 Start of race – 20 9 finished race Scott and Black winners (Britain)
• 71 hours 0 minutes
ADVENTURE, EXPLORATION, AND SPORT
Dole’s Pacific Air Race Atlantic Crossing Round the World Polar Flights Italian Distance Flights MacRobertson Air Race
ALTITUDE FLIGHTS Altitude Flights Speed Flights French Raids Light Airplanes Autogiros Homebuilt Aircraft
• Flying Fleas • Homebuilt Movement
Gliding
ALTITUDE FLIGHTS Flight over Mt. Everest (29,030 ft)
• April 1933• PV.3 Torpedo Bomber• Lord Clydesdale/Dave McIntyre
Balloonists• 1934
Explorer I Captain Orvil Anderson More than 11 miles
• 1935 Explorer II 72,395 ft (13.7 miles)
SPEED FLIGHTS Absolute Record
• 278.481 (May 1927)• 297.817 (November 1927)• 318.624 (March 1928)• 407.001 (1931)• 440.678 (1934)• 463.921 (March 1939)• 469.224 (April 1939)
LIGHT AIRPLANES Popularity of airplanes
• Manufacturers produced small planes Private pilots High performance Competitive aviators
• De Havilland D.H. Moth 60 Bi-plane Two-seater Over 1,000 built (1925 – 1934)
• Taylor Aircraft Company• Piper Aircraft Corporation• Stinson• Waco
ADVENTURE, EXPLORATION, AND SPORT
Golden Age Autogiros
• Both rotor and propeller Rotor generates lift Propeller draws aircraft forward Competitive aviators Juan de La Cierva (Spain)
Homebuilt Aircraft• Standard feature of aircraft• Heath “Super Parasol” kit
Popular Mechanics• Pietenpol’s “Air Camper”
Modern Mechanix
Flying Fleas Henri Mignet
• Built own airplanes• Inspired homebuilding movement
“The Flea of the Sky”• “a kite with an auxiliary engine”
Did not have• Ailerons• Slots• Elevators• Cowling
Flea rally - 1935
ADVENTURE, EXPLORATION, AND SPORT
Gliding Germany
• Enrollments increased yearly 1930s – 10,000 members
• Investigated thermals Fly in front of storm Cloud to cloud City thermals
Commercial Airlines and Airliners Aéropostale
• Airmail service between France and S. America
• Strong government support• Competed with Lufthansa• Longest line of routes in world• Scandal in 1930s• Lost subsidy• Liquidation and bankruptcy
Commercial Airlines and Airliners French Aviation
• Merged 5 airlines into 1 (Air France) Air Orient Air Union CIDNA SGTA Aeropostale
Air France• National airline
Commercial Airlines and Airliners French Aviation
• 1930s – decline in aviation Poor domestic economy Government corruption Civil war in Spain Fasicm Military strength
• 1937 – produced 37 planes/month Custom craft techniques
Commercial Airlines and Airliners Deutsche Luft Hansa
• Installed radios on large transports• Instrument rating compulsory-1926• 1928 – refreshments for passengers• Large European network• Flew more miles • Transoceanic Routes
N. Atlantic Ship-to-land service Floatboat off passenger ship to New York S. Atlantic service - 1934
Commercial Airlines and Airliners Deutsche Luft Hansa
• International Cooperation Reduce competition along routes China service – 1930
Commercial Airlines and Airliners British Airlines
• Imperial Airways Neglected domestic routes Did not improve colonial routes
• Hillman• British Airways
British government• Divided international routes• Imperial – long Empire routes• British Airways – short Empire routes
Commercial Airlines and Airliners
United States • Air Mail Act of 1925
Stimulated formation of airlines• Air Mail Act of 1930
Premium to airlines Transported passengers and mail
Commercial Airlines and Airliners
Mergers• United Airlines ---- Boeing’s United
Aircraft and Transport Corporation• Eastern Airlines ---- Florida Airways
and Pitcairn Aviation• TWA ---- Transcontinental and
Western Air• American Airlines ---- 82 small
airlines
Commercial Airlines and Airliners
United States • Air Commerce Act
Bureau of Lighthouses• Airway development and maintenance• Light beacons, navigational aids
Bureau of Standards – government lab• Aeronautical research
Coast and Geodetic Survey• Mapping airways
Commerce Department• Air regulations• Administration of Aeronautics Branch
Commercial Airlines and Airliners
United States • Air Commerce Act
Test/license pilots Issue airworthiness certificates Make/enforce safety rules Establish airways Operate/maintain aids to air navigation Investigate accidents and incidents
Commercial Airlines and Airliners United States
• Jeppesen Airmail pilot – Elrey V. Jeppesen Recorded detailed notes in notebook Charted “letdown procedures for emergency
airfields along routes Other pilots requested info 1934 – published airway information
Commercial Airlines and Airliners United States
• Airmail Scandal 9 Feb 1934 Postmaster James A. Farley
• Cancelled airmail contracts within U.S.• Charged collusion• Congress investigates
FDR – directs Army Air Corps to fly mail 19 February to 1 June
• Not prepared• Fighter planes/trainers not appropriate• Many pilots had little experience
Commercial Airlines and Airliners United States
• Army Air Corps Suspended service - March 10 to 19 Reorganize for safer operations
• 14,745 hours• 1,707,559 miles flown• $3.76 million dollars
$2.21 per-mile cost Contract airlines - $0.54
• Failed test of readiness
Commercial Airlines and Airliners United States
• Air Mail Scandal Congress force separation of
• Airlines flying mail from• Companies that produced aviation
equipment DC-3 emerged
• Requirement Airlines carry passengers without
subsidy• Popular with passengers• Over 10,000 built in 1930s and 1940s
Commercial Airlines and Airliners United States
• Pan American Scheduled service in 1927 Juan Trippe Secured monopoly rights on routes Passenger service across Pacific Ocean
• 1936• Prepared routes• Constructed bases
Commercial Airlines and Airliners Airships
• British Airships R. 100
• German Airships Graf Zeppelin Hearst funds Hindenberg
Commercial Aviation
Aviation Radio and Military Aviation Early Radios
• “Radios must be improved a lot”• 775 of 8,000 civil airlines• Only 326 two-way capability
Four-Course Radios• Two directional signals “N” & “A”• Figure 8 pattern• On-course signal – steady dash• Morse Code
Aviation Radio and Military Aviation Accidents
• Lack of familiarity with radio navigation
• Faulty reception• Dec 1936 – Jan 1937
5 airline crashes Martin Johnson
Aviation Radio and Military Aviation Pacific Radios
• Pan Am• Long-range direction-finding
equipment• Amelia Earhart flight
Military Aviation
Chaco War Abyssinia Spanish Civil War Nazi Germany Sino-Japanese Conflict Military Expansion