CollectAir is a real "brick and mortar", traditional aviation art gallery chock full of original art, prints, sculpture, vintage display models, new American-made and foreign-made hand-crafted models, ephemera, vintage model airplane exhibits with old kits and engines for sale, books and aeronautical artifacts. A few items are for display only but most are for sale. A Friend or Foe? museum of recognition training aids is an adjunct to the gallery. CollectAir is not a cyberspace or magazine ad/POB gallery pretending to be the real article. Because the number of aviation enthusiasts who are also serious collectors is rather limited in any one geographic area, I want to share the collection with aeronautical buffs throughout the world and the internet is the only attractive venue for a small business. This site represents an extension of the gallery and museum located in the downtown historic art district of Santa Barbara, California. Please browse this "alcove" often as exhibits change; feel free to buy something!. Included is an overview of the gallery and the Museum of Aircraft Recognition, occasional articles of aviation interest, and pictures and descriptions of a limited number of selected items offered for sale. The on-line "catalogue" will be frequently changed so visit CollectAir often to catch the newest offerings. Drop by and have an aeronautical treat the next time you are in the Santa Barbara area. Call ahead for an appointment; I do want to visit with you.

Click on the logo above to review accommodations and the multitude of activities surrounding Santa Barbara.

Be advised that this is NOT a collection of hundreds of aviation prints but is a thinking man's website. Our goal is to provide the aviation enthusiast with an eclectic "zine" spanning many eras and containing both text and graphics. Conventional wisdom is that viewers will not read - that's O.K. because if you're really interested in, and possibly would like to buy, aviation art, ephemera, books, collectibles etc., then our textual content and graphics will be of value to you. This is not a comic book.

Check out the list of "department links", and it's growing. SEE THE PAGE LINKS AT LEFT FOR PAGES ON THIS WEBSITE; A VARIETY OF SUBJECTS AND ITEMS FOR SALE AND DON'T MISS THE "ARTICLES" PAGE AS NEW DISCUSSIONS WILL BE POSTED THERE. Ordering information is given at the bottom of each catalog page and complete credit card and ordering information is located on the PRODUCTS page link.

CollectAir is a division of Progressive Aviation Ltd., a California corporation established in 1965. Progressive was heavily involved in all aspects of the general aviation business in San Jose, California for many years and the CollectAir gallery was created in 1987 to add aviation art to the existing business entities. The gallery and museum operation was relocated to Santa Barbara in 1999 and the San Jose facility sold in 2000; since then, the gallery has been Progressive's sole business. Steve Remington is the proprietor and sole employee. The gallery's address is 1324 De La Vina St., Santa Barbara, CA 93101, (805) 560-1323 or always available at cell (408) 828-2810. Premises generally OPEN to visitors in the afternoons, Tuesday through Saturday by appointment or chance, but feel free to call for times. Appointments available at other hours and are encouraged. I realize that revealing one's self is a risky business as you may take one look and decide that this guy is going to scare the horses. And as you can easily judge, it's not an ego thing! However, I do want to differentiate CollectAir from the faceless enterprises which we all encounter every day on the internet or in catalogs. The real estate crowd, doctors, lawyers and car dealers frequently picture themselves in that "See, you can trust me" mode although I'm coming from a different angle - I want you to see who that guy is on the other end of the telephone or computer and who the person is that is responsible for anything that goes on at CollectAir. Darts or bouquets get thrown at the fellow you see below, Steve Remington. I don't have a fulfillment center in Nebraska nor a telephone bank in Calcutta.

CollectAir has a classy "Gate Guard"; a Korean War vintage Corsair, in 1:6 scale model form, mounted (daytime) in our front yard as seen in the picture below, courtesy of photographer Harris Berkowitz. This all-weather model is in the markings of Marine Squadron VMA-312 (VMF-312 in 1950-51), the "Checkerboard Squadron", as of March 1953 when operating from the carrier USS Bataan off of Korea. A currently flying F4U-5 Corsair is in this same marking (#5). The Corsair is important to Santa Barbara history as Marine squadrons flew and trained from the Santa Barbara Airport during WWII; the Blacksheep Squadron, VMF-214, reformed and trained in Santa Barbara in Corsairs.

F4U-5 of the "Checkerboarders", owned by Jim Read when this photo was taken in September 2002. Photo courtesy of Michael O'Leary, Associate Publisher and Editor of "Air Classics". Correspondent Tom Sanders has informed me that this Corsair has been subsequently sold in 2009.

Now for a quick tour of the gallery as viewed from the entrance. The first picture below shows the view north and the second scene the south view; the Friend or Foe? Museum is located within the "barracks" building on the left of the second photo.

The F4U-5N Corsair at the top of this page is a painting, "Annie Mo", by aviation and automotive artist Larry Lapadura. This painting is acrylic on stretched canvas, 15" x 30", and depicts BuNo 24453 flown by night fighter ace Guy Bordelon, VC-3, Korea June/July 1953. Cdr. Bordelon, USN (Ret.)passed away in December, 2002 at the age of 80. Framed by the artist, this fine painting is available by contacting Larry directly - see the XP-38 on the Original Art page for information.

All of the material in this website is copyrighted. All images of prints or paintings displayed herein are copyrighted and any use for any purpose, without the specific written approval of the publisher or artist, is an infringement of the copyright. CollectAir represents each of the publishers and living artists displayed; paintings and prints shown are located at our "terrestrial", "brick and mortar" gallery in Santa Barbara. Each print or painting is owned by CollectAir or is under a consignment agreement affiliation with the artist or his/her representative. Articles located at this website and which are attributed to CollectAir may be copied or reused for non-commercial purposes provided attribution to CollectAir is boldly displayed along with the article. Contact CollectAir for commercial applications. Photos of collectibles, gallery, museum etc. may be reused with permission of CollectAir. Note that material from this website is frequently used for commercial purposes, such as eBay descriptions etc., mostly without my permission or without any attribution. Wikipedia is particularly guilty of infringement and plagerism - much of my writing has been hijacked without attribution.

The Creative Commons Attribution Guidelines License governs the use of this website material when not otherwise stated. Click here to view the license.

First a few words about this website which I maintain. It's designed for you - no image advertising banners, pop-ups, flash, java traps, and glitzy motion; note that some advertising may appear on your screen. Photos are low res for loading speed. The material is mostly black ink on white paper, just like virtually everything you read daily. Pages are viewed by scrolling - not necessary to hunt and peck all over the screen to view the contents although I do throw in a few links and PDF files for detail. I admit unabashedly that this site has commercial content and I invite your business, yet more space is devoted to fun stuff than commercial and more interesting articles are in the hopper.

CollectAir visited the HAI Heli-Expo 2009 in Anaheim; photos of this exhibit may be viewed at the Shutterfly website by clicking on the photo of the Sikorsky S-92 shown below. This queen of Sikorsky's fleet was flown to the Expo by my friend Tony Burson who is the chief pilot for UTC.

The CollectAir digital camera has visited the Seattle Museum of Flight and the Evergreen Aviation Museum during June 2008; photos from these visits are now posted on Shutterfly. Previous visits to the Patuxent River Naval Air Station and the NASM Hazy at Dulles resulted in many photos, a few of which are posted on this website. All are on shutterfly.com now - go to Articles page for a direct link to CollectAir photos or click on the Sikorsky S-92 above..

A B-17G Flying Fortress high over Berlin, 1944? Returning to England? No, it's the "Fuddy Duddy" flying over CollectAir on May Day, 2005. What a beautiful sight and sound! During their stopover in Santa Barbara, the B-17 flew rides for three mornings, each time flying right up State Street and over the gallery. What it must have been like to live in England during WWII with thousands of bombers and countless fighters. The "Fuddy Duddy" was purchased by General Lyon (Martin Aviation) and is based at John Wayne Airport in the new Lyon Air Museum. Click here to visit the museum.

Now, for another subject - Art. I wrote the following discussion several years ago with the intention of running it for a month or two and then changing to another subject. The subject, however, is one that hasn't changed and one that I feel needs a continued expression of viewpoint.

George Santayana wrote in his Life of Reason IV that, "Nothing is so poor and melancholy as art that is interested in itself and not in its subject." We're inundated with aviation scenes these days in the form of prints which have taken on the sobriquet of "aviation art", usurping the definition of art from the timeless description of a skilled human involving himself with some form of media to form an emotional visual bond between himself and his audience. I know that this is a mine field with more booby traps than can be estimated, yet each of us is entitled to an opinionated definition which is highly unlikely to be shared by one's neighbor. A photo-mechanical lithographic print (same as books and magazines) is a representation of a piece of art, not a work created by a skilled artist with his own tools. The printing press made that "art" not an artist. In fact, a photograph, digital or film, of any size, is probably a closer representation of the original art piece than a lithograph which is made from a photograph. I'm trapped into use of "aviation art" to describe prints even though I strongly feel that "art" should be confined to the original work created by the effort of an artist. Lithographic prints have become the benchmark by which many of the audience judge "quality" or literal faithfulness. The perfectly flat, lifeless ink dots on fragile paper and a reduced and constricted size when compared to the original work have convinced many that that is what "art" is supposed to look like - none of that messy brush work or canvas weave. I blame the artists and the publishers for this commercialized misrepresentation, not the audience.

I respect aviation lithographic prints for what they are: a means of enjoying a wide array of aviation scenes on a budget - whether it's a coffee table book or a limited edition. The fact that few enthusiasts look beyond printed media to real art is proof that the audience has become unable to distinguish the true value of artistic creation and the human involvement. The audience will cherish (and pay for) the reality of pencil lead in an autograph created by the celebrity pilot yet not consider the artist's brush nor chalk to have the same degree of authority or cachet. Modern technology is guilty of a further debasement of the term "art" in that the line between skilled writing of software for computers and the use of that software to form images is sliding off into a blurred definition of "computer art". The computer artist is forming images based on millions of lines of code written by someone else, or many corporate others, whereas the old version of an artist finds him creating from unique code only contained in his head. To be fair, the head code is based on many varied, even infinite or cosmic sources, but it is shared by no other artist. Some terms that I've seen being used recently probably more aptly describe the different "art" forms: digital art as differentiated from traditional art.

Aviation art has gently tilted toward representationalism that has taken the artist way beyond what was once considered literal description. Recreating an airplane structure in perfect form with accurate rivet spacing, color chips to match paint, markings to perfection, and the attempt to satisfy time lines to the hour, have had the effect of celebrating photographic detail to the detriment of joy. Emotions associated with flight are stifled by excesses of excruciating minutia. There is no turning back this tidal wave of detail. But when that one superb example of an emotional aviation work comes along now and then, the audience will react and revel in the discovery of art. A stationary airplane, sitting on a ramp, is a ripe subject for minute detail by the artist-observer who is also static. But, aircraft locked in combat, with an expansive skyscape, defy close examination by the brush and paint wielder.

Just for fun, let's look at a couple of pieces of miltary aviation illustrations from the past and compare them to works of today. Neither has a surfeit of detail and both are typical of their period. The first is from World War I, an undated cover illustration for a French publication (thanks to my friend Georges Grod of Royan, France); suggestive of a B-17 waist gunner - really not much difference. The second is entitled "Torpedo Squadron 8" and was painted by James M. Sessions for the June 1944 issue of Aviation. I suggest that you can thoroughly enjoy both of these illustrations sans rivets. So you say, "What's the point of all this?" Heck, I don't know - but you have to admit that Ensign George Gay looks like he's in a hell of a lot of trouble out there so the artist has accomplished his intent. You and I have seen artwork depicting this event by dozens of artists over the years, yet, for me, this scene, with all its technical faults, gives me a profound sense of what went on that fateful day for George Gay.

Mystery of the aviation art world. Why did 1930s artists, such as Joe Kotula, portray spinning propellers in a realistic manner, yet the majority of successful modern artists persist in picturing spinning props as globs of black paint stopped as in a high speed photo? The PA-33 below is from the cover of the August 1935 issue of Model Airplane News; compare it to a Robert Taylor Spitfire prop in the popular painting, Eagles Prey. I've noted that more recently a few artists have forgone the glob method and have elected to portray propellers as we humans actually see them.

Maybe it's just me - however, I find that the harsh depiction of props is distracting and takes away from the beauty and impact of aviation paintings. Here are two recent (10/09) examples of otherwise pleasing paintings by Robert Taylor and Gerald Coulson (no, I'm not picking on British artists; there are plenty of U.S. examples as well) that fail for me because of the propellers. I believe that a simple, mostly transparent prop disc with perhaps sun reflection would be much more appropriate than the "stump" that sticks out of the spinner extending to the tip. I would like to hear from viewers about this subject - do you agree or disagree, and why? Contact CollectAir with the Feedback link.

As items, articles or information are added to this site, I'll try to list the latest changes here. When the list gets too long, I'll erase and restart. Done on 01/01/10.

01/02/2010 add to Woodason (Heston), edit, 01/03/10 add to Vintage Kits page, Vintage Kits Annex 5 page, Strombecker Part Two page, 01/04 add Pelican Sloop to StromBecKer Two, edit, 01/07 add to Kit Annex 2, edit, 01/10 edit several pages.1/25 add Cleveland P-61 IT to Kit Annex 4, edit.1/27 add recognition models to Display Model Page, edit, add to Cessna Helicopter, 1/28 add XB-70A drawing to Model Annex 2 02/01/10 add Topping semi to Display Models Annex 4, edit, 02/02 add Elf single photo to Vintage Engines page. 02/03 add Solid B-29 kit to Vintage Model Kits page. 02/04 Change X-15 on Display Models Annex 3 page. 02/08 Edit intage Toys, 2/11 edit, 2/12 add doll furniture to StromBecKer Page Two, edit. 2/17 edit Prints, 2/25 add Megow Skua kit to Kit Annex 2, edit, Megow "Fw-198" kit to Vintage Kits. 2/27 edit home page, 3/1 edit, 3/5 edit, add Kix B-29 to Display Models page, 3/11 add P-51D sculpture to Original Art page, edit, 3/16 add to Friend or Foe? Museum, 3/19 add Skybirds toy Heston Hangar to Woodason page, 3/20 Revised Jimmie Angel painting, Ephemera, edit Woodason, 3/22 add more Skybirds hangars, edit 3/30 add Thomas Morse S4C Scout display model page, edit, 3/31 edit sold items, 4/1 edit, 4/4 add Cleveland P-38 to Kit Annex 4, Verkuyl F105 to Model Annex3, 4/5 add J2F-4 Duck parts photos to Good Stuff, O&R 60 Custom to Vintage Engines, United award plaque to Good Stuff, 4/8 add photos to Friend or Foe? 4/11 edit, 4/16 edit model kit pages and add Miles Magister plan. 4/19 add to XB-70 Model Annex 2, Strombecker 2, edit 4/20 add book ref. to Moisant, edit. 4/21 add to Plastic Kits page, edit, add Cleveland REP kit to Annex 5 4/26 edit homepage, add pic to Vintage Engines, 4/28 add Solbrig info to Moisant, Plastic Kits, edit, 4/29 Berryloid ad to Articles page., 5/6 add Cleveland REP kits to Kit Annex 5, photos to Good Stuff J2F-4, edit 5/13 add Pelican Sloop kits photos to StromBecKer Part 2, edit, 5/16 add to Moisant, edit, 5/23 add to Museum, edit, Vintage Engines, 5/31 add to Woodason page. 6/1 add to Museum, 6/3 add TWA to Ephemera, SBD to Ephemera, 6/5 Douglas magazine to Ephemera, 6/18 add to Cessna Helicopter, Home page ASAA, Vintage Engines, SromBecKer 6/20 edit X-51A on Missiles & Space page, add Lunar Module pic, 6/21 Update credit card info on Catalog Page, Products Page, 6/23 add pics to Vintage Model Airplanes, edit, 6/28 add to StromBecKer One, 6/29 edit, add pics 6/30 add Cleveland B-29 to Vintage Kits, 7/1 add to Matilde Moisant, edit, add Hughes 500E to Helicopter page. 7/5 add to XC-142A model, add to Ephemera, 7/7 add new book to Submarines page, 7/9 edit 7/14 add photos WWII, Model Annex 3 7/15 add Megow kit to Kit Annex 6, 7/16 add old solid model to Articles page, 7/17-19 add to StromBecKer One and Two (DC-6), 7/23 Plastic Kits page photo, 7/28 add images, edit, 7/30 edit Cessna page, add photo 8/1 add to Moisant, 8/2 edit, 8/3 add to Cessna, Helicopter Annex. 8/6 add to StromBecKer Two, edit, add to Helicopter Annex, Cessna Helicopter, 8/13 pics on Plastic Kits page, 8/15 VJ DAY - August 15, 1945 8/20 edit, 8/22 add Elgin WW2 stopwatch to Good Stuff page, 8/25 add to Ephemera, edit 8/29 add to Moisant, edit

Thank you for your interest and your business!

Visit the Art Prints page link to see the scenic William Phillips' print, "Give Us This Day." The B-17G shown here is a detail from the reverential scene, perfect for your home.

Visit the website of pen and ink artist Jean Luc Beghin for one of the more interesting home pages; his XS-1 print is available on the Art Prints page and you can experience his web greeting by clicking here. Be sure to mouse over the drawing!

This exciting new bronze sculpture of a P-51D by Canadian Aviation Artist Jeff Krete is the first of a series of famous WW2 aircraft to be offered in a limited edition. Details of this piece, along with the biography of Jeff, are shown on the Original Artwork page. Use the page link on the upper left or click here.

As you can tell from the F4U-5N heading this page, and the Corsair "Gate Guard", that CollectAir likes to feature the Corsair whenever possible. In looking for markings info for the model, I ran across a superb website, www.vought.com, which is run by the Vought Heritage Museum, a group of retired Vought people. The picture of the Vought VE-7 at left is described as, "The airplane that got a company off the ground," delivered to the Army in February 1918. The personal history of Chance Vought and the company that has changed ownership 18 times is covered along with many excellent drawings and photos.

A new page has been added to celebrate the history of the Woodason Aircraft Models company of Heston, England and it's founder, V.J.G. Woodason. Victor Woodason created scale display models, from the 1930s through the 50s, as used by airlines, aircraft companies, movies, recognition films and manuals, exhibitions and collectors. His 1943 book, Scale Model Aircraft, has become a cherished reference for wood model builders. The Woodason Aircraft Models History is a tribute to this master modeler.

PIECES OF HISTORY

This Grumman J2F-4 Duck, s/n 1649, was at NAS Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941, operating with the First Utility Squadron VJ-1. At Ford Island during the Japanese attack, this Duck not only survived unscathed, but is thought to have been one of the first to be used to seek the Japanese fleet. Active throughout WW2, this Duck was sold on the surplus market and operated until sinking in a Bahamas lake in 1955. The airplane was salvaged in the 1990s and fully restored to flying status by Wichita Air Services and now owned by Charles Greenhill. Click here to see a photo of the beautifully restored Duck, s/n 1649. Another excellent photo of the restored J2F-4 can be seen by clicking here. In cooperation with Wichita Air Services, CollectAir has several salvaged parts from this historic airplane on exhibit; although significantly corroded, the wing ribs, an aileron, engine parts and several instruments are all elegant reminders of Pearl Harbor. Go to the Good Stuff Page to view the Duck parts by clicking here.

The "Air Classics" magazine, Volume 41 Number 9, has a twelve page spread devoted to the restoration of the "Pearl Harbor Warrior" J2F-4, s/n 1649, written and photographed by Michael O'Leary.

An incredibly detailed Thomas-Morse S4c Scout display model in 1:5 scale is offered on the Thomas Morse S4C Scout page which you can access by clicking here.

Hal Forrest's Tailspin Tommy comic strip is explored on the Tailspin Tommy page link. The first aviation daily comic strip, this aerial adventure series made its entrance in 1928. Some interesting sidelights to the strip are presented. Frames from a Tailspin Tommy movie, Tailspin Tommy Danger Flight, are shown, featuring model airplanes. Panels from the early 1930s through 1940 strips are shown and original strips from 1939 are offered. Not many visitors opt to go this page but I find the old comic strip history as being entertaining and just plain fun. Try it! Learn what the link is between the Douglas AD-1 and Tailspin Tommy.

CollectAir is selling a limited selection of the fine, hand-crafted, limited-edition, painted pewter models from Diverse Images Historic Aviation Collection. These exquisite models are made in England. Check out our Page Link, DIVERSE IMAGES English Pewter Models (see Page Links at left). Don't miss out on the B-17G Diorama which is now in our stock - a limited edition of only 100 (preview below). These are the only Diverse-Images examples on commercial display in the U.S. that I know of. These models make wonderful and unique gifts that can't be found elsewhere and are an excellent trophy or award. Also magnificent, a three P-51 D-Day diorama in a signed edition of only 50 is now in stock - check it out on the Diverse Images page; this diorama has been sold out by Diverse. Models limited to stock on hand.

Charles A. Lindbergh collectors are asked to take a look at a Wright Aeronautical Corporation item from 1927 at the bottom of the "Good Stuff" page link.

Douglas DC-2, NC13711 - N1934D, was flown from Van Nuys to the Museum of Flight in Seattle and is on outdoor display at the museum. Many photos of this venerable airplane, along with its history, are available by clicking here. Also, CollectAir photos of the DC-2 can be viewed at CollectAir's Shutterfly posting which can be accessed on the Articles page.

A special page has been added for helicopter buffs. The obscure Cessna CH-1 Skyhook record setting helicopter, designed well over 50 years ago, is chronicled from a personal involvement aspect. More information is available on this page than any book, magazine article or internet site has ever provided. Photos are included which have never been published. Check out the Cessna Helicopter page.

Helicopter and VTOL manufacturer display models are now presented on a separate page(s), Helicopter/VTOL Display Models - Vintage. In addition, some helicopter miscellany such as brochures, pins, manuals - anything helicopter - are also offered on the page. Some items, as they're sold, are not deleted because of historical or collector interest.

To digress for a moment to a non-aviation subject. A maverick American artist, Harry Jackson of Wyoming, born in 1924 and a decorated Marine in WWII, has experimented with art forms ranging from abstract expressionism to cowboy realism, in painting and sculpture, and can switch from one to the other with equal adroitness. The University of Wyoming said of Jackson in 1988, "This outlaw of the art world, rejecting dead rules, and living by the timeless ones, steadily emerges as one of this century's most powerful artists." I mention Jackson, whom I admire greatly and treasure the few conversations I've had with him, because Santa Barbara has one of his monumental, outdoor sculptures on exhibit at the Chase Bank, just two blocks from the CollectAir gallery.

Jackson created the sculpture, Sacagewea, in 1980 on commission from Great Western Savings which later merged with Washington Mutual (now Chase). Sacajewea was a Lemhi-Shoshone Indian guide on part of the famous Lewis and Clark Expedition; she was married to the expedition's interpretor. Around the same time, Jackson also created a 21-foot bronze of John Wayne, The Horseman, for Great Western; this monumental work is located in Beverly Hills at Wilshire and La Cienega boulevards.

The city of Santa Barbara, with its liberal political peculiarities and college setting (and I'm sure you've encountered the mind-set of those folks when it comes to "art"), has not seen fit to promote Sacagewea as one of the more artistic creations in the area (for other great sculpture, visit La Arcada nearby). Therefore, I invite you to view this statue of a courageous lady whose trek with Lewis and Clark has been peppered with fictitious myth and legends, but yet when her life is simmered down to plain truth, she is truly a majestic figure in American history. The next time you're in Santa Barbara, visit this heroic lady at the corner of State St. and Victoria.

Isn't that a wonderful patriotic cover on the September 1940 issue of Flying Aces? The painting of the Curtiss XP-40 was done by August Schonburg; the airplane pictured, although done in mid-1940, is the very first XP-40, sporting the radiator under the rear fuselage, which first flew in October 1938.

The radiator was relocated to the nose very early in the test program but pictures in magazines persisted showing the XP-40 as pictured during its first flights. Even the German Luftwaffe Wiking recognition model of the P-40 in 1:200 scale is configured with the radiator in the aft fuselage position! Flying Aces and Model Airplane News, with its Jo Kotula covers, both frequently used odd but bright airplane color schemes to emphasize the magazine on the newstands of the era. CollectAir has many vintage model airplane kits and magazines for sale from the 1930s and 1940s; also see the "Articles" page for a briefing on old, solid model kits.

A new webpage, StromBecKer History, has been added to cover the history of the Strombeck-Becker Manufacturing Co., maker of the popular StromBecKer solid, pre-carved pinewood models of the 1930s, 40s, and 50s. The story of J.F. Strombeck, R.D. Becker and their Moline, Illinois woodworking factory is a study in American family corporations and the influence of European immigrants in American commerce in the 19th and 20th centuries. Use StromBecKer link in left column or click here.

PLASTIC KIT OF THE MONTH (or so) CollectAir will periodically offer a "special" on a vintage plastic kit. A Monogram kit will be presented this month. Monogram was started by Jack Besser and Bob Reder (formerly with Comet) in 1945 - their initial kits were stick and tissue and solid balsa but soon began introducing plastic into their kits with the successful Superkits and the popular Speedee-Bilt kits, along with some Build 'N Fly, the last Monogram kits to have balsa (1960). The earliest kit numbers for Monogram's all-plastic kits began with a "P", later with "PA". Mattel bought out Monogram in 1970 and kit numbers were changed to 4-digits. Box art was changed to a white background with a photo of the model in 1973 - action scenes returned by the late 1970s.

This month's kit is the Lockheed L1049 Constellation TWA in 1:131 scale - kit number P19-98, issued pre-1970. A "four Star Plastikit" with the designation of "Lockheed Super-G Constellation." The copyright date is given as 1957 on the instructions; the decal sheet is in excellent condition. A miniature Monogram catalog is included. Listed on the Plastic Kits of the 1950s and 60s web page for $250.00, this P19 Constellation is specially priced at $195.00.

The Howard Hughes epic, The Aviator, received a lot of press when it was released, but nothing in that movie equals the magnificent job that the late Jim Wright did on his Hughes Racer reproduction that he completed and flew in 2002 following 35,000 man-hours of building effort by Jim and his team of expert craftsmen including Steve Wolf who built the Gee Bee for Delmar Benjamin. All the aviation world has mourned the loss of Jim and his Racer, but this re-creation of the most beautiful of all airplanes will live on in photos, memories and, of course, the non-flying, static display of Howard's original H-1 in the NASM ("H-1" is NASM's description. However, John Underwood points out that technically, Howard Hughes' logbook reflects the designation of "Hughes Special 1B" for the long-wing, transcontinental Racer). Yet, the sight and sound of that polished aluminum speedster will be greatly missed by aviation buffs now, and by future enthusiasts who will be deprived of it's graceful aerial beauty. As a tribute to Jim Wright and his Racer, a photo selection is presented on the Articles page.

RESEARCHER'S NIGHTMARE - Don't believe everything you read. I certainly don't claim to be error free; I'm always open to corrections and additions. Many of us depend upon qualified sources to provide valid historical information, but incorrect information does creep in, even at the gold standard sources such as the National Air and Space Museum with their impressive staff of college trained historians. I've been working on the background for a painting of the "first" U.S. Air Mail delivery by Earl Ovington on September 23, 1911 in Mineola, Long Island. This series of flights is well documented by contemporary text and photographs. Ovington's wife, Adelaide, wrote of the flight in her 1920 book, An Aviator's Wife. A recent (2009), massive volume, Reminiscences of a Birdman, by Robert D. Campbell, carries a significant amount of historical background for the inventor and pioneer aviator, Earl Ovington. The airmail story is well told in this book with documentation and photos. Earl Ovington learned to fly in France and purchased a special, beefed up Bleriot XI while there; the airplane was shipped back to the U.S. and Ovington used the machine, along with a Curtiss, for his barnstorming and competition flights - his name for the ship was "Drangonfly." He used this original Bleriot XI for his September airmail flight without question - it is documented with verifiable and incontrovertible evidence. Even his wife's book settles the issue of what airplane he used for the flight. The problem arises because many sources wrongly declare that Ovington flew a U.S.-made Bleriot copy built by Queen Aeroplane Company for the inaugural airmail flight - this anomaly has been caused by shoddy research and a successful PR campaign by Queen at the time. After the week long airmail flights, Ovington secured a contract to carry airmail across the U.S.(rather audacious!); his French-made Bleriot XI would require a huge amount of spares for the flight which he didn't have. The Queen outfit stepped up with a Queen Bleriot copy offer that Ovington couldn't refuse. In doing so, Queen painted up one of their monoplanes with Ovington's number 13 on the rudder and a billboard side which claimed to be the "U.S. Mail Aeroplane No.1" - modern authors and researchers have been duped into believing that the Queen was the airplane used for the September 23 flights - proof that unscrupulous promoters and public relations hacks have been with us for a long time, although we have to admit that Ovington must have gone along with the gag. Queen advertising in magazines (October 1911) ballyhooed Ovington as a flyer of Queen Monoplanes. Who has fallen for this switch? The Smithsonian book, Bleriot XI - The Story of a Classic Aircraft, perpetuates the Queen myth on pages 64 and 111 and the NASM website, America by Air, captions a photo of the Queen as being the one Ovington used on "his brief airmail flight in 1911." Check out this photo by clicking here. Many other reputable sources have fallen prey to this ploy. In fact, the Queen, with its Gnome engine copy by Indian, was unsatisfactory, barely able to fly, and Ovington went through several in attempts to fly the trans-continental mail with no success, wrecking each that he used. He was very critical of the Queen machines and it is sadly inappropriate that the Queen has been given any credit.

Visit the Aviation Books link for a selection of aeronautical titles, from vintage to new. The book at left, Dave Dashaway The Young Aviator, is typical of the adventure stories aimed at youth in the pre-WWI era. This novel of aerial exploits of young Dave was printed in 1913 (the fifth of the series) and was penned by "Roy Rockwood" which is a pseudonym of Edward Statemeyer who wrote the famous Hardy Boys series. "Rockwood" also wrote the Speedwell Boys series featuring submarines, motorcycles, racing autos etc. The action novels of the period covered mysteries, sports, boating, jungle boy, ranching, even West Point and Boy Scouts - these series are ripe for collecting and can be found in book sales and used bookdealers at reasonable prices. The youth novels of the 1920s and 1930s became more military oriented with WWI aviation stories and flying adventure tales involving "modern" aircraft and villains.

This new book by H.L. "Herm" Schreiner, Aviation's Great Recruiter - Cleveland's Ed Packard, is a great read for any model kit collector, scale model hobbyist, follower of modeling history or the industry, or just interested in the development of family businesses in years past. A full 322-pages of sheer pleasure for the modeling buff. More info on this new Cleveland book is available on the Vintage Model Airplane Kits page and on the Books page. Now available. I have received nothing but rave reviews from purchasers of this book. A book for every modeler's shelf. You will find Cleveland kits for sale on most of the Vintage Kits pages; a selection of early Cleveland kits is shown for historical purposes at Vintage Kit Annex 5, Vintage Kit Annex 6 and others may be viewed at Vintage Kit Annex 4.

CollectAir photos taken at the NASM Steven F Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport may be accessed on the Articles page link. Over 300 photos taken of the artifacts, arranged in an album. This photo of the Turner RT-14 Meteor racer is an example.

After you've browsed this CollectAir site or it's new additions, try www.gava.org.uk for some more great original aviation artwork which can take you several hours to peruse. The British Guild of Aviation Artists has hundreds of paintings from their Exhibitions on their website - a heck of a lot to look at - over a thousand! Available on CD. Send me your vote for "Best of Show." Speaking of British, check out Michael Rondot's website whose name we share - his address is www.collectair.co.uk. His art is outstanding; some of his prints are offered on the Art Prints page. The American Society of Aviation Artists (ASAA) displays a number of outstanding aviation paintings on their website, www.asaa-avart.org. All of the exhibit paintings and the award winning paintings from the 2010 ASAA Forum show at the San Diego Air & Space Museum are currently on exhibit along with previous exhibits. You can view this 2010 exhibition by clicking here for ASAA artwork and here for award winners from the 2010 show. The exhibit will remain at the San Diego Air & SWpace Museum through September 10, 2010. Some ASAA folks, Andy Whyte and Charlie and Ann Cooper have a second edition of their book, "How to Draw Aircraft Like a Pro," now on the market. An excellent work that everyone can learn from; even if you do no artwork at all, this book will alert you to good practices which you will be able to spot in your review of new prints and illustrations. Check with on-line booksellers.

Vintage model airplane kits, engines and accessories are featured for sale on the Vintage Model Airplane Kits page and it's new Annex, Annex 2, Annex 3, Annex 4, Annex 5 and Annex 6, along with the Vintage Model Engines page. Flying model and solid kits from 40 to 75 years old are shown including contents and description. The 1945 Topping "100" all-aluminum Control-Line model, shown at left, appears on the Vintage Kit Annex Page. A nostalgia trip for anyone interested in vintage modeling and wood kits. Also, visit the Vintage Model Engines page for some of the classics of the ignition model engines such as this Brown Junior Motors "D", the McCoy race engines, Ohlsson Custom 60, and others of the 1930s and 40s. A Plastic Kits page, featuring the rarer 1950s and 60s kits, is a new feature. Begin your tour of vintage model airplane kits here.

Vintage display models of many kinds are available from CollectAir. These manufacturer's models were, for the most part, not sold to the public but were used by companies for promotional purposes - today, these models are museum pieces, displayed in aviation museums throughout the country. You can own a museum piece - just use the page links in the left column or click on any of the following for a selection of models: Missiles and Spacecraft, or Display Models, or Display Model Annex, or Display Model Annex 2, or Display Model Annex 3, Display Model Annex 4, or Helicopter Models.

Ah, aviation advertising was different then! This young lady was featured in a 1943 full page ad in a popular aeronautical magazine. To check out the identity of the unlikely corporation that sponsored this ad, and see a larger photo of this WW2 era lass, you'll have to go to the "Good Stuff" page.

I highly recommend Hannan's Runway, POB 210, Magalia, CA 95954, as an excellent source for model aviation and aircraft history books, some published and edited by Bill Hannan. Access Bill by www.hrunway.com.

Quick! Test your recognition skill. What airplanes are those flying overhead? Check the Friend or Foe? museum link and you'll not only find out but you'll also learn who made those models and what scale they are. Click here.

All students of American aviation history should be members of the American Aviation Historical Society; to join, send your $39 to AAHS, 2333 Otis St., Santa Ana, CA 92704-4818.

Doug Emmons creates magnificent wood "sculptures" of airplane subjects, each a one-of-a-kind masterpiece. A Doug Emmons WWII Typhoon, created in the "bread and butter" technique based on an old kit, is shown on the "Articles" page. Doug has a delightful website DOXAERIE which showcases his incredible models and philosophy.

Artist Michael Boss, some of whose work is displayed in the Original Art page, has an Amelia Earhart scene featured on page 44 of The Artist's Magazine for February 2004 along with a discussion of his use of casein. This painting, Earhart and the Little Red Bus: Breaking Out of Bad Weather on Her Solo Transatlantic Flight, was in the juried ASAA show held in Wichita, Kansas. You can view Mike's website by clicking here.

I assume that most visitors to this website are some sort of aviation collectors, yet only 15% (improving) of visitors browse the "Collectibles Info" page. Interesting? Nothing there for sale, just my blather about collecting stuff. Before you venture further into this website, I highly recommend that you pay a visit to the COLLECTIBLES INFO page. During 2009, I have been amazed at the large number of very significant toy auctions in the U.S. and Europe; some huge collections of very expensive toys have gone on the block and have brought tremendous prices. Many more significant auctions are coming up in 2010.

Did you know that the USS Enterprise was the only U.S. Navy operational aircraft carrier in the South Pacific on November 12, 1942? Read about Admiral Martin Doan "Red" Carmody's SBD adventures in the World War II Stories Page Link at left.

The photo below purportedly represents the Lockheed XP-38 in flight; this picture taken from a Lockheed advertisement. Do you think it's real? Checkout the XP-38 story on the Original Art page for the answer.

The cover photo, shown below, from the July/August 1964 issue of American Modeler magazine shows four of the world's greatest pleasures - what else does a man need?!

Come visit me at my very personal page link at left. I fly high and tell some very cool stories. What's my age? I'd love to take you flying with me but if you'll read my story you'll learn why I probably won't. I'd enjoy spending some time with you, so let's get together - just click my link. I promise that I won't try to sell you anything - but I do hope that my enthusiasm for early aviation history is contagious, particularly after we celebrated the 100th anniversary of heavier-than-air flight! Come visit with me at the busiest aviation center on the continent. I've added some new pictures to my story, so check them out soon.

Advertisement from the October 1932 issue of "Aviation", "The Oldest American Aeronautical Magazine," which today is still around as "Aviation Week." Note that Stearman, in August 1929, was purchased by United Aircraft and Transport Corp. which at that time also included Boeing Airplane Company, Chance Vought Corporation, Hamilton Aero and Hamilton Metalplane, Pratt & Whitney Aircraft and the Pacific Air Transport Company and, not long after that, they bought National Air Transport, Varney Air Lines, and some others which eventually became United Air Lines. United Aircraft also had an investment in Jack Northrop's company. At the time of the October 1932 ad above, deep into the depression, Stearman was experiencing difficult times and came close to shutting its doors. The United conglomerate was broken up in 1934 by the feds and Boeing became the owner of Stearman in September 1934 but the company continued in Wichita under the name of Stearman until 1941. At that time, the "Stearman Division" was renamed the "Wichita Division" and preparations made to also build bombers. A 1941 advertisement can be viewed by clicking here. The popular WWII PT-17 Kaydet trainer is well known; 8,584 were built in Wichita.

The geneology of the Wichita aircraft companies is complicated; Lloyd Stearman originally worked as chief engineer for Swallow which was formed from the E.M. Laird Airplane Co. Stearman then quickly formed Travel Air Manufacturing Company with fellow Swallow employee, Walter Beech, in 1924 with Clyde Cessna as V.P. Lloyd Stearman departed Travel Air in 1926 to form his own company in Venice, California but then returned in 1927 to form another, the Stearman Aircraft Co., Inc. He left the company shortly after its takeover by United in 1929 so, in 1932, there was no Lloyd Stearman in the Stearman Aircraft Company. The Kaydet was designed in 1934. Lloyd Stearman became president of Lockheed in the mid-1930s and then became associated with the Stearman-Hammond safety airplane project in San Francisco until it folded in 1938.

Portions of a General Mills ad from May 1946 are shown below; the Kix cereal airplane premiums were 1:432 scale models made from the wartime Cruver recognition model molds - see Friend or Foe? Museum page or Display Model page for more information. Presented here just for fun.

And, while we're on the subject of breakfast cereal, the box back from Quaker Puffed Wheat Sparkies, "Shot From Guns," is presented below. From around 1939/40, The "Home Defense Series," with Captain Sparks, Commander, of airplane pictures is typical of cereal box pictures of that era. This scene of a PBY-5 was enough to excite any young lad and it says to "save them all," which translates to "eat more Sparkies." This terrific old box is significant to me as the bottom flap says, "Mills: Akron, Ohio - Cedar Rapids, Iowa - St. Joseph, Missouri." St. Joseph was my home town and, as a grade school student, we were taken to the local Quaker Oats plant to watch these Sparkies being shot from guns - I can still smell that delicious aroma of toasting wheat.

The Library of Congress has some outstanding color photos from WWII. The following scenes taken in 1942 show the indefatigable spirit of the American homefront as women became major players in the construction of the arsenal of democracy.

A delightful scene of a YB-17 at Langley in 1942. This remarkable color photograph (transparency)is from the Library of Congress "American Memory" series WW2 section available on their website.

Korean vintage F4U-5 from Sterling Models 1964 ad for a rubber-powered, balsa kit A-14. What a superb graphic!