Greg Boeser
1st Lieutenant
Post WW1, a lot of barn stormers made appearances at county fairs all over the United States. Every city that wanted to stay relevent built an airport.
why is the A6M Zero's lack of armor emphasized so heavily (1 Viewer)
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Shortround6
Lieutenant General
Even small towns.
In the 1930s it only took a small building and a few hundred yards of "runway", rolled dirt and mowed grass. Sometimes the "airports" were only 5-15 miles apart. Air taxis were a common way for some pilots to generate some revenue.
Much less common in Europe but back then airliners only flew at a few thousand feet.
IN the US there were a number of books for boys with aviation heroes, like
en.wikipedia.org
and a number of "pulp fiction" magazines like ""flying Aces"
I am sure that other nations had similar books/magazines.
But there is a huge difference between reading about flying (or even going for a 10 minute ride at a county fair) and learning how to shoot from one airplane to another.
My other Grandfather was actually a machine gun instructor in the Army in WW I. I am not sure if he ever flew. He taught enlisted men how to service the guns. Teardown, fix/repair, lubricate and reassemble. Mostly in Texas, he never left the US.
Air transport in the US was of considerable importance in the 1920s and 30s. Not in the number of passengers carried but just for the boost in communications in general. Like air mail.
It was possible to drive many places in the US. Key word he is "Possible" in 1927 of the 2321 miles of Rt 1 from Elsworth Maine to Key West Florida 203 miles were city streets, 1062 miles were hard surfaced, 683 miles were gravel or sand-clay and 348 miles were graded and drained earth. the small remainder was bridges and unimproved. Things improved a lot in the late 20s and 30s but this was RT 1, the major north/south road of the eastern United States.
The US did not have density of railroads that Britian and Western Europe did and distances were much longer. 3-8 passenger aircraft helped bridge some of the gaps.
In the 1930s it only took a small building and a few hundred yards of "runway", rolled dirt and mowed grass. Sometimes the "airports" were only 5-15 miles apart. Air taxis were a common way for some pilots to generate some revenue.
Much less common in Europe but back then airliners only flew at a few thousand feet.
IN the US there were a number of books for boys with aviation heroes, like
Ted Scott Flying Stories - Wikipedia
I am sure that other nations had similar books/magazines.
But there is a huge difference between reading about flying (or even going for a 10 minute ride at a county fair) and learning how to shoot from one airplane to another.
My other Grandfather was actually a machine gun instructor in the Army in WW I. I am not sure if he ever flew. He taught enlisted men how to service the guns. Teardown, fix/repair, lubricate and reassemble. Mostly in Texas, he never left the US.
Air transport in the US was of considerable importance in the 1920s and 30s. Not in the number of passengers carried but just for the boost in communications in general. Like air mail.
It was possible to drive many places in the US. Key word he is "Possible" in 1927 of the 2321 miles of Rt 1 from Elsworth Maine to Key West Florida 203 miles were city streets, 1062 miles were hard surfaced, 683 miles were gravel or sand-clay and 348 miles were graded and drained earth. the small remainder was bridges and unimproved. Things improved a lot in the late 20s and 30s but this was RT 1, the major north/south road of the eastern United States.
The US did not have density of railroads that Britian and Western Europe did and distances were much longer. 3-8 passenger aircraft helped bridge some of the gaps.
Hi
There are a number of books on inter-war flying in Britain and 'Empire' including the following by Colin Cruddas:
The coverage of Britain by Alan Cobham's 'Flying Circus' was quite extensive as a map from 'Those Fabulous Flying Years' shows:
There were internal airline routes in Britain during the inter-war period but it was quite hard to make any profit due to the extensive rail system.
Mike
There are a number of books on inter-war flying in Britain and 'Empire' including the following by Colin Cruddas:
The coverage of Britain by Alan Cobham's 'Flying Circus' was quite extensive as a map from 'Those Fabulous Flying Years' shows:
There were internal airline routes in Britain during the inter-war period but it was quite hard to make any profit due to the extensive rail system.
Mike
Hi
Orde-Hume covers commercial operators in his book:
This includes the following page showing air routes:
Later pages in 'Appendix 3' have a list of all Commercial Operators with some information on each. Among his many books he has a companion volume to the above:
Mike
Orde-Hume covers commercial operators in his book:
This includes the following page showing air routes:
Later pages in 'Appendix 3' have a list of all Commercial Operators with some information on each. Among his many books he has a companion volume to the above:
Mike
special ed
1st Lieutenant
- 7,036
- May 13, 2018
An incident told by an elderly lady in the late 1970s, was of her flight in a Ford trimotor in 1929. In a New Orleans newspaper flights were advertised at $5 on a certain weekend. The flights were to take place on a dairy farm off of what is now St. Charles Avenue. Her father took the family, consisting of her, her little brother, and her mother. After watching several flights along with the crowd of spectators, her father handed her $5 and asked if she wanted to go. As $5 was a very large amount then, she asked, "Why me?"
Her father's answer was, "Your brother is too young to remember, I and your mother are needed and at nine years old, you will remember this your whole life."
Her father's answer was, "Your brother is too young to remember, I and your mother are needed and at nine years old, you will remember this your whole life."
Steamed_Banana
Staff Sergeant
- 1,074
- Sep 29, 2025
New Orleans also got so obsessed with Amelia Earhardt they named a major boulevard after her. There was also this astonishing visit from Savoia Marchietti
This photo was taken in the Mississippi river right off of Poland avenue in 1927
And there is a very nice Art Deco lakefront airport from around the same time.
And yet, simultaneously, relatively few people from there travel or have passports, even to this day. Even (far) less in outlying areas or especially rural Louisiana.
This photo was taken in the Mississippi river right off of Poland avenue in 1927
And there is a very nice Art Deco lakefront airport from around the same time.
And yet, simultaneously, relatively few people from there travel or have passports, even to this day. Even (far) less in outlying areas or especially rural Louisiana.
special ed
1st Lieutenant
- 7,036
- May 13, 2018
In addition, elsewhere in the forum, I posted a newspaper pic of a Boeing 314 visit to Lake Ponchartrain. No purpose for the landing was in the caption.
SaparotRob
Unter Gemeine Geschwader Murmeltier XIII
Gravity?
