The Legacy of Flight
Images from the archives of the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum.
- By David Romanowski and Melissa Keiser
- AirSpaceMag.com, September 14, 2010
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The National Air Races were the Indy 500 of the air, the preeminent air racing event in the United States. The multiple-day extravaganza featured numerous aerial events and races, including the Pulitzer Trophy speed race, the main event during the 1920s. Banking around a pylon here at the 1931 Nationals is Johnny Livingston in his clipped-wing Monocoupe 110 Special, an airplane he made famous. One of the Golden Age’s winningest pilots, Livingston rarely placed less than second. He made a lasting impression on a fellow pilot from Iowa, Richard Bach, inspiring him to write the 1970s best-seller Jonathan Livingston Seagull.
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Comments (4)
Can some knowledgeable person comment upon why the
canopy of the distant (of the four) F-51 seems
different from the others. EDITORS' REPLY: According to Melissa Keiser and David Romanowski’s book, “The top three airplanes are P-51Ds, the first model with the distinctive bubble canopy, which improved the pilot’s view toward the rear. Suzy-C, by contrast, is a P51B with the earlier canopy design.”
Posted by J. P. Vetrano on October 30,2010 | 05:58 PM
The caption of photo 9 is not phrased well.
The thousands of men who serviced and flew the B-24 Liberator also deserve some acknowledgment as the "might" of the Mighty Eigth Air Force's daylight campaign.
Posted by Mark Breeding on February 10,2012 | 11:32 AM
Note the second P-51 aircraft has a revised tail.
Posted by James Williamson on April 18,2013 | 10:03 AM
Let me just make an inocuous comment; as an ex-86D driver, your stuff is the first I note each AM.
Posted by Gordon Caswell on April 18,2013 | 04:56 PM