This temperamental British World War 1 fighter was flown by such distinguished pilots as Lt. Col R. Collishaw, Major D. R. MacLaren and the most famous of all, Capt. Roy Brown. Capt. Roy Brown engaged in the dogfight that resulted in the death of Germany's ace of aces, Manfred Von Richthofen popularly known as the "Red Baron". The Camel had great agility in combat due to the fantastic torque of its rotary engine and the fact that engine, pilot and guns were all located on the first seven feet of the wooden airframe.

Claimed by its maker the Cessna Aircraft Co. of Wichita, Kansas to be the best selling single engine airplane in the world, the Skyhawk can take four adults and their baggage at 134 M.P.H. for 450 non-stop miles and still have 45 minutes of reserve fuel. Over 17,000 of these aircraft are in service around the world. Model 172 specifications: wing span, 35’-10”; wing area, 175.5 square feet; length, 26’-11”; height, 8’-9 ½”; service ceiling 13,100 feet; power, 4 cylinder engine 150 rated H.P. at 2700 R.P.M.; speed, at sea level, 139 M.P.H.

The majority of U.S. pilots of World War 2 received their primary flight training in the famous Stearman Trainer. This excellent 2-place biplane was known as the PT-17 when delivered to Army flight training centers. The Navy designations were N2S-1 and N2S-4. Nearly 3,000 were built in the 1940-43 period and, in the post war era and up to modern times, the Stearman Trainer has been successfully used as a stunt plane and crop duster.

Considered to be the single most important aircraft in the history of air transportation, the DC-3 first flew in 1935. Douglas Aircraft built it as a replacement for the smaller DC-2. Its 180 MPH cruising speed made it the fastest of its day, and carried 11 more passengers than the Boeing 247. By 1938, 80 percent of all American commercial airline traffic was carried on DC-3’s. During World War 2, the military conversion of the DC-3, the C-47 was used by the thousands in every theatre of the war. After the war, many of the surplus C-47’s were converted back to civilian service.

The B-25 Mitchell was one of the most outstanding medium bombers of World War 2. Conceived in mid-1939, the first production model flew in August 1940 and the first operational success was scored on December 24, 1941 with the destruction of the Japanese submarine. In April 1942, 16 B-25’s made a historic raid on Tokyo operating from the aircraft carrier USS Hornet under the command of General Doolittle- a raid that did little damage, but gave the U.S. a psychological lift during the early days of the Pacific Ocean hostilities. During the war years, the RAF, the Soviet Union, China Union, Brazil and the Netherlands also used the B-25. The “H” version with 16 guns and a 75mm cannon was the most lethal twin-engine bomber of World War 2.

The Spirit of St. Louis, piloted by Charles A. Lindbergh, made the first non-stop flight between New York and Paris on May 20-21, 1927. Time airborne-33 hours and 30 minutes. Lindbergh took off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, NY on May 20th with but little sleep the previous night. His aircraft, 1,000 pounds overweight, barely lifted off at the end of the runway missing a telephone pole by a mere 20 feet. Fighting exhaustion most of the time, Lindbergh struggled to keep from falling asleep and at intervals, stuck his head out the window of his plane to refresh himself in the wind-stream. At the end of 28 hours, he sighted the cost of Ireland and for the first time realized that he was on target for his goal, the airfield of Paris, France. While still miles away he sighted the glowing night-lights of Paris. Shortly after, he landed at Le Bourget Airfield to the acclaim of thousands awaiting him on the runway. At that moment, Lindbergh and the Spirit of St. Louis entered aviation’s hall of fame.