Vintage Aircraft Boosters Club

The "Supercruiser" The Vintage Aircraft Boosters Club Southern California Historical Aviation Foundation Western Museum of Flight Newsletter 12016 Prairie Avenue, Hawthorne, California 90250 Phone: (310) 332-6228 * * * FAX: (310) 644-6778 * * * Internet: www.wmof.com

Southern California Historical Aviation Foundation

elcome to the highlights of the May/June issue of the "Supercruiser," the Vintage Aircraft Boosters Club, Southern California Historical Aviation Foundation, Western Museum of Flight’s  newsletter.
 

Amidst the serene and tranquil setting of the Jack Broome Ranch near Point Mugu, close friends and family members gathered in late March for a private eulogy and tribute to Max Stanley.Museum members and friends were well represented among the two hundred or so guests invited by Judie Stanley.  Cindy Macha-Skjonsby, representing our museum’s delegation, was among the speakers paying tribute to this remarkable and humble man, whose career accomplishments and contributions have made a significant impact on aviation history.  Later in life, he became and ardent supporter of the Western Museum of Flight and a frequent guest-speaker at the monthly meetings of the Northrop Vintage Aircraft Boosters Club.
In attendance among the guests were fellow test pilots and Northrop retirees including Roy and Ethel Wolford, John Myers, Bob Elder, Bruce Hinds, Bob Cardenas, Jack Valenti, Hugo Pink, E.P. Hetzel, Welko Gasich, Jack Mannion, Milt Kuska,  Fred Erb and Chedo and Mary Chuckovich.  Master of Ceremonies Bill Schoneberger noted that two of Max’s teammates on the Flying Wing program, Fred Bretcher and Chuck Tucker, were unfortunately unable to attend.
As late afternoon approached, the anticipated Memorial Flight of vintage planes had all the guests on their feet, searching the sky.  Led by the restored N-9M from Chino flown by Ron Hackworth, the flight roared by overhead with the planes in succession: Chuck Went-worth in his F4U Corsair, Gary Bar-ber in his F8F Bearcat and Steve Barber in a Yak-3M.
On its final pass, as family members and friends stood gazing skyward, the N-9M flew gracefully over us at treetop height and gently dipped its wings.  I had the distinct feeling that Max was watching us and smiled his usual modest smile with a nod of approval.
 
 

The Ira Chart Library at the museum has thousands of magazines, some dating back to the pioneering days of aviation.  Add to this the current crop of periodicals being sold on today’s newsstands and you have a pretty good historical background of man and his quest for flight.
A sampling of titles from the 1920’s include Aero Digest, Aviation and Flying & Glider; from the 1930’s, Air Trails, Pilot Magazine and Popular Aviation; from the 1940s, Aeronautics, Air Progress, Flying & Popular Aviation, Model Airplane News and Skyways; and from the 1950’s, American Aviation Historical Society Journal, Air Pictorial, American Modeler, Koku Fan, Space Aeronautics and Sport Aviation.
Hardly anyone in aerospace does not know of Aviation Week and Space Technology magazine.  It is the aviation equivalent of Newsweek and Time containing the latest information and news from around the world exclusively on atmospheric travel.  The library contains almost a continuous record of "Av Week" from 1955 to the present.
Recently, another magazine in the library caught my eye.  It is called Aerial Age Weekly.  It is, possibly, the predecessor of Aviation Week.  The earliest Aerial Age magazine in the museum collection is from 1920.  Although only a few are here, one can definitely see the influence this magazine could have had on future periodicals.  Sections include The News of the Week, Aircraft Trade Review,   Naval and  Military Aeronautics,  Foreign News,  Aeroplane Superchargers and even a humorous section called Aeronitis. And then there are the advertisements.  One cannot help but be fascinated by the products of the time. Some, of course, would become successful and still known today while others are long forgotten until they show up in a museum such as ours.

Above – 1921 cover and a subscription offer that would
be hard to beat today.  A full-sized propeller and two-years
of Aerial Age Weekly for $10.
 

All of the magazines (and books for that matter) in the Ira Chart Research Library were donated by many, many people.  Volunteers are constantly having to organize, record and squeeze in as much as possible the increasing amount of papers and publications in a very limited space.  If you are interested in using or helping the library, please call for an appointment.

Left – "The Ruggles Orientor", a precursor to the Link Trainer?
Center – You can’t go wrong with 1920’s Flight Instructors like these!