Highlights from Aviation History

Curtiss Robin 1929

The sleek 1929 Curtiss Robin monoplane was designed by the Curtiss Robertson company as a three seat commercial monoplane. It had two passenger seats side by side behind the pilot and a 170-hp Curtiss Challenger engine that could reach maximum speed of 120 m.p.h., a cruising speed of 96 m.p.h., a service ceiling of 13,000 ft., and a cruising range of 514 miles.

Bugatti Racer

With its two Bugatti T50B auto racing engines, forward swept wings, self-adjusting split trailing-edge flaps, and ultra sleek fuselage, the Bugatti Racer was meant to compete and win the 1938 Deutsche de la Muerthe Cup by reaching speeds of 805-885 km/h. Designed by Ettore Bugatti and aeronautical engineer Louis D.de Monge, the Bugatti was built in 1937 in Paris' furniture factory. However, it never had a chance to fly. With the onset of World War II the airplane was hidden in the French countryside.

Chuck Yeager

Chuck Yeager was the first human to travel faster than the speed of sound when, on October 14, 1947, he reached the speed of Mach 1.06 (700 mph). Yeager was flying the Bell X-1 rocket research plane, considered to be probably the strongest airframe in the world in 1947.

Charles Lindbergh

Lindbergh was an American aviator and one of the best-known figures in aeronautical history. He is remembered for the first nonstop solo flight across the Atlantic, from New York to Paris, on May 20-21, 1927."Lindbergh, Charles A(ugustus)"

A Bugatti Racer was restored by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) Aviation Foundation and is on permanent display at the EAA Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

The United States Postal Service issued a 50th anniversary commemorative stamp (.13 ¢) to honor Charles A. Lindbergh's historic solo transatlantic flight made in 1927. Stamp on display courtesy of Urszula Kerkhoven.