Film showing early history of flight with many early unsuccessful flying machines. As Igor Sikorsky speaks, in the background, about such earlier failures, the first scene shows a early 1900s seven wing airplane, with its propeller turning, being pushed by several men. Suddenly the the entire thing collapses into a heap, as the men run to safety. They quickly return to check on the occupant. Next, an experimental four-rotor helicopter is seen lifting above the ground, successfully, but not otherwise controllable. Then a contraption (labeled "Sky Car") employs a pulsating umbrella. It jumps up and down but does not accomplish anything else. A tricycle gear contraption, using an array of sails, and displaying the number, 691, moves along under power, but does not ever leave the ground. A helicopter of sorts, with several different size rotors falls sideways, as the pilot is adjusting it. He steps away to safety. Another glimpse of the "Sky Car." A wing-flapping contraption that does nothing else. Aviation pioneer, Lawrence Sperry, moves his early biplane up to a gasoline pump to refuel. He holds the fuel hose to his gas tank while another man pumps the fuel. Next, his airplane taxis along a public road, followed by a motorcyclist. The aircraft takes off. Sperry piloting his small single-place bi-plane "Messenger" aircraft, is seen flying above the U.S. Capitol dome, on March 22, 1922. Next, he lands on the Capitol Plaza and quickly turns the aircraft so it actually ascends several Capitol steps, before rolling back to park. Sperry climbs from the cockpit and is greeted by policemen and officials who surround him and congratulate him. (Sperry perished flying across the English Channel in 1924.) View of the Great Dome on Building 10 at the campus of MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology). Dr. Jerome Hunsaker, pioneer aeronautical engineer and educator, is seen in a laboratory. He speaks of beginning the aeronautical engineering education program at MIT in 1913, with Donald Douglas as an assistant.
Early historic aviation footage focusing on French aviation pioneers like Gabriel Voisin and Alberto Santos-Dumont. An early French float plane taking off and landing. Multiwing box-like aircraft. Two early French monoplanes. Early aircraft that set performance records. 1919 picture of Raymonde de Laroche, Baroness de la Rouche, world's first woman flyer. Additional scenes of historical French aircraft and a scene with American pilot Glenn Curtiss.
Views of traffic on a city street around the turn of the 20th century. A mix of horse and buggies and motorcars and bicycles. People waiting for a trolley car. Reenactment of persons using an early telephone and of early filmmakers at work with camera on motion picture film. The Wright brothers home at 7 Hawthorne Street, West Dayton, Ohio. The Wrights' former housekeeper, Carrie Grumbach, recalls December 17, 1903, a telegram arriving about the Wright brothers successful first powered flight. Glimpse of Wright brothers machine shop. Charlie Taylor, who had worked in their shop, speaks of being pleased at their accomplishment. View of the Wrights flying gliders at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. Charlie Taylor describing how he machined and built the motor for the Wright brothers airplane. Glimpse of that motor or a facsimile. Men positioning the Wright brothers airplane for launching, and French citizens gathered to watch a demonstration of their airplane in France. French aviation pioneer, Henri Farman with two other men in his Voisin-Farman I airplane. They begin takeoff. Closeup of Brazilian aviation pioneer, Alberto Santos-Dumont. Other early aircraft in flight. A Wright Flyer passing over the Fort Myer drill ground in Virginia. An Army balloon in the background. Retired United States Air Force Brigadier General, Frank P. Lahm, walks across the tarmac on an airport and speaks for interviewer (unseen). He speaks about the difficulty the Wright brothers had in convincing the U.S. Army of the value of their airplane. He tells that in December, 1907, Wilbur Wright was finally granted an interview with the Board of Ordnance and Fortifications, which led to a contract, in 1908, with the Signal Corps. Moving imagesof Orville Wright and assistants bringing a Wright Flyer to Fort Myer, Virginia, to conduct flight trials for the Army. Views of the airplane being flown all around the area, watched by spectators. (This footage is a mix of 1909 footage where the aircraft shows two half-rounds of canvas in the front elevator, and 1908 footage, taking off and flying, where the aircraft has a single half-round of canvas in the front elevator.) After landing on the 9th of September, 1908, then, Lieutenant Lahm, accepts Orville Wright's offer to fly with him. Lahm climbs aboard the airplane, sits next to Orville Wright, and they are seen taking off and flying about for six minutes and forty seconds. (Lahm is the first. military officer to ever fly in an airplane.) The next scene shows the wreck of a Wright Flyer, in which Army Lieutenant Thomas Selfridge was killed and Orville Wright injured, on September 17, 1908.
Early flight and historic aviation: Henri Farman, winner of race conducted with hydro plane aircraft. Scenes of the Aviette (Bicycle with wings) in operation circa 1912 (like an ornithopter but no flapping wings).
Various stages of manned flight are seen during history of flight. First a balloon with a passenger basket suspended below. Then a man is seen making a long flight in a glider from a high hillside. Men maneuver a Wright flyer on the ground. It is a 1910 model B, displaying number NR 14333 on its wing. Men turn the propellers to start the engine. Closeup of the engine. The first occupant is already seated in the airplane as the second walks around the right wing checking things. Closeup of Orville Wright. A Wright flyer taking off. The distance of the first successful flight by the Wright Brothers is illustrated by an animated representation of it over the wing of a 1950 era B-36 bomber.
Shows several aviation "firsts" accomplished by U.S. Army Air Service aviators in the period from 1918 through 1924. A close formation of biplanes in flight. President and Mrs. Woodrow Wilson chat with Major Fleet, Officer in charge, on the occasion of the first air mail flight, inaugurated on May 15,1918 between Washington DC and New York.The mail is loaded into the Curtis JN-4 aircraft. Pilot in the cockpit. The aircraft takes off and in flight. Air Service. Mention of aviators helping spot forest fires. Smoke rising from forest fires and mountain ranges. In 1920, U.S. Army Captain St. Clair Streett is seen with some of his Squadron who flew four De Havilland DH-4 aircraft 9,000 miles, from New York City to Nome, Alaska. Two of the men play with pet dogs. Their itinerary is painted on the side of one of the aircraft, along with the names of pilot and mechanic (C.E. Crumline and J.E. Long). In 1923 the first non stop coast-to-coast flight was made in the Fokker T-2 aircraft. . A sign on the aircraft reads 'Army Air Service non stop coast to coast'.First Lieutenants Oakley O.Kelly and John A. Macready board the aircraft, at Roosevelt Field, Long Island, New York, on May 2, 1923. Their Fokker T-2 in flight. Their arrival at Rockwell Field, on Coronado Island (San Diego) California. In 1924, Lt. Russell Maughan is seen boarding his P-1 Hawk airplane at Mitchel Field, on Long Island, New York, and taking off , bound for Crissy Field at the Presidio, San Francisco, California. His goal is the first dawn-to-dusk, coast-to-coast flight. Views of his P-1 Hawk airplane flying over Manhattan, New York City.
Views of various historic early aircraft. The wright Brothers, assisted by ground crewmen, prepare a Wright Flyer for takeoff. The aircraft is placed into position on a catapult track. Men turn the propellers, and the engine is started. A large weight is dropped from a tower to provide thrust to the catapult, and the aircraft takes off and makes a low pass over the field. An early Bleriot flying machine, with box kite characteristics, takes off and flies over a field. A U.S. Army officer walks past two men working on a Wright Flyer (Wright Brother?). A Wright Flyer takes off and flies over a field. Theodore Roosevelt steps from a Wright plane after flying with Archibald Hoxsey at an airshow at Kinloch Field in St. Louis, Missouri on October 11, 1910. Roosevelt shakes hands with a man as several officials stand nearby. Views of two early airplanes in flight. Louis Bleriot in cockpit of his airplane, turns propeller by hand. The Bleriot XI airplane under full power, held back by ground helpers, and then let go for take off. An early monoplane in flight. An early airplane maneuvers and turns. An early seaplane lands on a body of water. A biplane plunging to earth and crashing.
Early history of flight footage: Hydro plane afloat on the Seine river, piloted by Collier in 1911. He stays airborne for several seconds. Takeoff of another hydroplane built by Gabriel Voison. Area where meeting was held of a group of engineers and pilots at Monaco in 1912. Takeoff of one of the aircraft via catapult into the Mediterranean Sea. Landing of another hydroplane and taxi up onto beach.
Shows Vought-Sikorsky VS-300 helicopter taking off vertically and in flight. Clip includes early helicopters, early Ornithopters, and Igor Sikorsky piloting VS-300 on May 6, 1941, setting a new record of one hour and thirty two minutes for suspension flight. Scene after Sikorsky helicopter flight shows some experimental aircraft designs, early in the history of flight, including a helicopter design in the 1920s that would not rise, a windmill type airplane, and an airplane design with concentric circle wings. Next is seen an aircraft ornithopter with flapping wings. Scene returns to more shots of Sikorsky in his record breaking helicopter flight.
Early model aircraft in Europe, early in the history of flight. Animated map depicts European commercial air routes. Passengers enter the cabin of a British Handley Page W8B transport aircraft. Cargo is loaded into an early single engine bi winged aircraft. Passengers get off an old touring car and board a Farman Goliath airliner. 'Grands Express Aeriens' is printed on the aircraft. A medium sized British bi winged transport aircraft taxis on an airfield. An early bi wing single engine aircraft in flight over an airfield. Aerial views of a European city. An early model single engine bi winged transport aircraft lands. People disembark from an early model passenger aircraft. Animated map of Europe depicts air routes from London to Paris, Manchester and Berlin. People near an early model bi plane. Passengers board and cargo is loaded into the aircraft. Comical scene as a pig is loaded into a Farman Goliath early model liner. A man and the pig look out of the windows of the aircraft. Animated airline routes over a map of Europe. Men load cargo in an early model Spad commercial bi plane.
The flight of small aircraft in Washington DC, relatively early in history of flight and early aircraft designs. A propeller starts. Pilots aboard 'Pusher aircraft'. The aircraft taxis and takes off. The United States Capitol building in the background. Pilot and men look at the 'Flying pancake" (Umbrella Aircraft). A pilot aboard the aircraft. The aircraft taxis and takes off.
Early history of flight with various ornithopters and flying contraptions. A bicycle-powered 8-winged airplane collapses in front of a hangar during takeoff attempt. Man wearing a set of wings, and a tail, tries to fly by running and also by jumping off a large rock. The so-called Pitt Sky Car in action. A car equipped with an umbrella-like rotor intended for vertical takeoff. It simply jumps up and down. A man riding a bicycle being propelled in part by a pack of rockets burning behind his seat. It gets too hot and he abandons the bicycle just before the rocket pack explodes. Animated discussion of Newton's 3rd law of motion and its relevance to the jet airplane engine. Diagrams and illustrations. A Lockheed F-80 Shooting Star aircraft taking off, and in flight, with its speed brake extended. View of General Electric jet engine, circa 1951, that delivers over 5800 pounds of thrust. These engines being produced in the GE plant at Lynn, Massachusetts and the new (1951) GE plant at Lockland Ohio.
An early mishap in the history of flight: An unusual triphibian aircraft attempting takeoff in Washington DC. U.S. Government building along the side of a street. The airplane, not an ornithopter like some early designs, instead looks like a car with a flying saucer on top. It is seen moving on the street during its test run. The U.S. Capitol in the background. The airplane quickly catches fire and burns. The pilot is taken out of the airplane before the fire has fully erupted. People stand near the wounded man. The wounded man lying in a hospital bed. Bandaged face of the man. A woman nursing his burns is sitting nearby.
Early historic aviation event: Air expedition from Moscow to Peking. The aircraft and aviators are welcomed in Mongolia and Peking. Russian fliers in pioneering flight from Moscow to Peking. They are welcomed in the sacred Mongol city of Urga, on their way to China, A Junkers commercial F.13 monoplane, of the expedition, taxis to left. Russian DH-4 support biplane , taxis to right. Officials pose in front of the DH-4. Pilot seen standing in rear cockpit in background. Mongolian red army band plays. A Mongolian giant seen standing in the crowd, with small children in front of him. Crowd of Mongolian people sits and watches the event. Idol bearers to bring good luck to the fliers. Mongolian lamas display small images of Buddha. Mongolian troubadour plays a morin khuur (two-stringed instrument). Four Mongolian children stand. Yurts in the background Mongolian women stand in full traditional dress. Mongolian men in stands with fancy hats with peak. Next sequence takes place in Peking, China, at the end of the 3,500 mile flight, where the aviators are feted with a reception. Crowd waves Chinese flags. One of the Junkers J.3 airplanes of the expedition taxis ahead. Russian crew steps from another Junkers J.3 of the expedition. Lev Mikhailovich Karakhan, Russian Ambassador to China, and Marshal Duan Qirui (AKA Tuan Ch'i-jui), Provisional Chief Executive of Republic of China, pose with five Russian aviators, on steps of Government house in Peking.
American aviation pioneer Glenn Hammond Curtiss sits at the controls of his first aircraft. Two mechanics assist in starting the engines. The first Curtiss aircraft takes off. Louis Bleriot, who was the first to fly across the English Channel, sits at the control of his aircraft in France. Lincoln Beachey, the first man to perform aerobatics in an airplane, dives his first aircraft which is a Curtiss model. Spectators are lined at a fence and watch him flying.
American aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss in Rheims, France in 1909. Curtiss sitting at the controls of his aircraft. Men assist in starting the engine of the aircraft. The aircraft taxis on a field.
Still pictures and comments about three pioneers who stimulated international thinking about rocketry. The first shown is German, Hermann Ganswindt (1856-1934), who proposed using high explosives to propel aircraft. Next is Russian, Konstantin Eduardovich Tsiolkovsky, AKA Ziolkowsky, (1857-1935), some of whose popular writings on the possiblilities of rocket propulsion are shown. Last is a picture and comments about Austro-Hungarian Hermann J Oberth (1894-1989) who developed the first theory of the liquid rocket. A copy of his original treatise is shown and then opened to its table of contents. Another of his books,"wege zur Raumschiffahrt" (Pathways to Space Travel) published in 1929, is shown and opened to its table of contents.
Scene of a symbol which demonstrates man's desire for flight. Painting of Leonardo da Vinci. Drawing of Leonardo da Vinci's flying machine. Views of drawings of the attempts of man to fly. Photo of Clement Ader. Drawing of Ader's plane. Still photo of the first powered Wright Brother's plane. Still photo of one of Ader's planes. Photo of Louis Blériot. Gabriel Voisin's photo. Picture of Robert Esnault-Pelterie. Two French designers. Robert Esnault-Pelterie making a test by mounting a glider atop a truck. Gabriel Voisin towing a glider with boats on the Seine River. He stayed airborne for several seconds. Photo of Alberto Santos-Dumont. The plane in which he made several flights. A plane made by Gabriel Voisin "La Bagatelle" which was flown by his brother Charles Voisin. Scene of this flight. Henry Farman seated in plane. Several views depicting the first attempt to fly the English Channel. Three competitors were Count Lambert in a Wright Plane at Wissant, Hubert Lathan in Antionette IV at Sangatte and Louis Bleriot (winner) flying a monoplane of his own design from Los Baraques to Dover. Single of Bleriot's plane. Observers of the flight. The English Channel. The wreckage being salvaged by French boat. Wreckage of plane as it is lifted out of the channel. Wreckage being pulled down streets. Louis Bleriot walking on crutches. Bleriot standing in cockpit of plane prior to, attempting to fly the English Channel at Les Baraques. The takeoff. Observers watching the landing at Dover, England. Two men standing on roof top waving a flag. Field, tent and personnel at Dover, England where the landing was made. English people examining plane after landing. Ship on which Bleriot returned to France. Reception committee greeting him. Street scenes of his reception in Paris.
Officials gathered to dedicate the Wright Memorial (1000 N Croatan Hwy, Kill Devil Hills, NC 27948) at Kill Devil Hills in North Carolina, United States. A wreath is handed up to two boys standing on a shelf around the memorial, paying tribute to the Wright brothers. A biplane flies past the memorial. Scene from an early flight of Wright Flyer II from approximately 1904, with Orville Wright at the controls. Some years later, a formation of United States Navy Martin PM-1 Navy Patrol Boat aircraft (biplane-style flying boats) in the skies over the American coast.
Views of World War 1 French Army and German Army forces in somewhat parallel activities; some presented in split screen. German soldiers on horses with guns in the field. French Cavalry on the move and German Artillery being moved by horses along a road. French troops attacking in battlefield. French and German artillery fire. French officers talk amongst themselves outside a telegraph station set up in a closed wagon in the field. Officers sit in the telegraph station. An aircraft being flown by aviation pioneer Hubert Latham, and another by French Lieutenant Rene Jost. French Lancers on horseback. People on the roadway.
Features notables in early aviation history. Early aviation pioneers attend the first International Aviation Meet held at Rheims. An early model French aircraft taxis. Colonel Courzi seated in the cockpit of an early model aircraft. Plane in flight. Wilbur Wright gives a flying demonstration at International meeting. Louis Paulhan gives a demonstration of flight on his aircraft. Two aircraft fly around pylon. One piloted by Glenn Curtiss. Men sit in a car. Hubert Latham flies an aircraft. Louis Breguet crashes. People rush to the crash scene and cameramen take photographs. Louis Breguet standing near a car. Louis Bleriot in an airplane on the airfield. Louis Blériot looks out from the cockpit. Henri Farman in an aircraft. People observe air show.
Aviation pioneer, Henri Farman, preparing to compete for the Deutsch-Archdeacon prize, by flying a closed one-kilometer course in one minute. He and his ground crew are seen going over his airplane carefully. The box-like tail section of his Voisin airplane, has the words: Henri Farmanni, displayed on it. Farman takes off in his airplane.
Celebration of the 38th anniversary of the U.S. Army Air Forces, dating back to establishment of the Aeronautical Section of the U.S. Army Signal Corps, in 1907. Airmen of the Army Air Forces march in formation on the flight line at Wright Field in Dayton,Ohio. Aviation pioneer, Orville Wright, is seen in the reviewing stand. A color guard marches past the the reviewing stand. A 4-engine German Junkers JU-290 transport aircraft is seen parked on the field. (It arrived on July 31, 1945, after being flown to Wright Field from Europe, by U.S. Air Forces Colonel Harold E. Watson and co-pilot Captain Fred McIntosh,who were delivering it to Air Technical Intelligence Headquarters.) The crew of the JU-290 (named "Alles Kaputt") pose in front of it. Colonel Watson, is seen holding a Dachshund dog. The JU-290 takes off on a demonstration flight. A new U.S. P-80 "Shooting Star" jet airplane (serial number 44-84995) is rolled out for all to see. It takes off in a demonstration flight. (Late in World War 2.)
Canadian De Havilland DH.98 Mosquito aircraft is shown to the public for the first time, in Canada, early in World War 2. Air Force officers stand near the aircraft. British test pilot Geoffrey Raoul de Havilland Jr., son of the famed British aviation pioneer and aircraft designer, pilots the airplane in a demonstration flight. The plane taxis for takeoff. De Havilland circles and buzzes the field several times to demonstrate its speed and maneuverability. At one point, he feathers the right engine and demonstrates its excellent single-engine flight characteristics. Complete change of scene, to Wayne, Michigan, in the United States and a snow-covered air field where a Stinson Model 76 observation aircraft (registered NX27772) demonstrates its extreme short takeoff and steep climb capability.. Aerial view of the airplane maneuvering aloft and then landing in the snow, whereupon, it spins about in a 180 degree turn and immediately takes off, again, in very short distance and a steep climb. (Note: NX27772 was the final prototype for the L-5 Sentinel airplane, as it was named, when delivered to the U.S. Army.)
American Musical Comedy Star Harry Richman and aviation pioneer Henry Tyndall Dick Merrill (Chief Pilot of Eastern Airlines) on a projected two day round trip fight to London from Floyd Bennett Field in New York. The pair prepare for a flight to dine in London and return to New York for Breakfast. Their Vultee V1-A aircraft [NC16099] being parked outside hangar at Floyd Bennett Field. People gather around the aircraft. Eastern Airlines President, Captain Edward "Eddie" Rickenbacker (U.S.World War One, Ace of Aces) shakes hands and gives best wishes to Richman and Merrill for the flight. The two men get into the monoplane named 'Lady Peace.' The aircraft taxis and takes off from the runway.
Part of a series of films about the history of aviation in the United States.Retired United States Air Force Brigadier General Frank P. Lahm is seen speaking about his aviation pioneering days, when Orville Wright taught him and Frederick E. Humphreys of Army Engineers (both Lieutenants at the time) how to fly the Wright Flyer airplane. Views of a Wright Flyer maneuvering in the air above Fort Myer, Virginia. Somewhat later, two are seen in flight at Fort Myer. An early Curtiss airplane.is maneuvered on the ground to face away from the camera. Russian, Igor Sikorsky in an early rear propeller airplane. Igor Sikorsky at a desk in a modern engineering office. Sketch of a helicopter on drawing board behind him. He talks about the early days of experimental flight in 1909 and 1910. View of Louis Bleriot sitting in the open cockpit of his airplane, and then of him flying overhead in his famous flight across the English Channel. Obeservers watching his progress through binoculars and a telescope. Sikorsky standing next to his first helicopter (which didn't fly).
Aviation pioneer, aircraft designer and builder, Glenn L. Martin, at his desk, stands behind a model of the Martin M-130 Clipper flying boat. He reads a 1910 postcard from the family doctor to his mother, warning that her son (Glenn) will kill himself if he persists in his aviation endeavors. Next, one of Martin's earliest employees and collaborators, Donald Douglas, Sr. is seen with his dog. He says his first memory of things in aviation, was seeing the first Wright airplane demonstrated for the Signal Corps in 1908, at Fort Myer. Period film shows the Wright Flyer airplane with twin rear propellers turning. Next view shows Orville Wright along with military officers and officials, standing near the launching tower (from which a propelling weight would drop). Orville Wright is seen climbing aboard the airplane, after the first flight demonstration, as Lieutenant Lahm joins him to be the first military officer to ever fly in an airplane. Next, the weight is seen falling from the launching tower, propelling the airplane along a single track to take off. It is seen flying above spectators at the Fort Myer drill field. View of a U.S. Army balloon in flight overhead. Scene shifts to pioneer Army balloonist, Roy Knabenshue, who was hired by the Wright Company in 1910. He holds a photograph of a balloon, and identifies Walter Brookins, in the photograph. (Brookins was taught to fly by the Wright brothers and became the first instructor for their Exhibition Team.) Knabenshue extols the skills of Brookins as a Wright Company pilot, along with Arch Hoxsey and Ralph Johnson. While Khabenshue is speaking, views of a Wright Flyer in the air at Fort Myer are seen.
U.S. aviation pioneer General James Harold 'Jimmy' Doolittle sets a new air record for flying a passenger airplane from Burbank, California to Newark, New Jersey in twelve hours. Doolittle and his wife seen looking at a map. They both board the waiting aircraft, American Airlines’ Vultee V-1A Special NC13770. 'Shell' oil company symbol written on the airplane. The airplane taxis and takes off from Union Air Terminal, Burbank, California. Aerial view of the airplane in flight over mountains. The airplane in flight over the clouds. The airplane lands at Newark Airport and taxis on a runway. Hangars and a building in the background. Doolittle exits the airplane with his wife at and greets people waiting. They pose for pictures beside the airplane.
A stratogyro during its maiden flight in Hollywood, California. Men load bags aboard the stratogyro contraption as they prepare for the maiden flight of the early flight design twin blade helicopter that looks like an early flight combination of an airplane and a helicopter. Pilot Newbauer is helped to put on his cylindrical helmet. He gets into the cockpit and looks out from the window. The pilot tries to take off the aircraft but fails. Men push the plane back in a shed.
Civilians and Servicemen watch the flying maneuvers of airplanes in the 11th All-America Air Maneuvers show. Early flight stunt Birdman Clem Sohn stages breathtaking exhibition wearing his 'Bat man' ornithopter suit of wings. He jumps from a plane, flies using his wingsuit, and lands with his parachute. Close up view of Clem Sohn on the ground.
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