Virginia AviationVirginia has one of the oldest and richest aeronautical legacies in the country. Beginning with the use of balloons in the Civil War, the commonwealth was at the forefront of aerospace innovation, particularly in military aviation. Langley Field and Quantico were key development centers in the maturation of aerial warfare for the Army Air Service, its successors, and the Marine Corps. Norfolk witnessed the birth of the American carrier force and was on the front line in the Battle of the Atlantic. The state is also home to a legacy of civil and commercial activity. The National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) laboratory at Langley Field established numerous foundational principles of modern aerodynamics, supported the development of many of the most significant aircraft of the 20th century, and paved the way for travel beyond Earth. Commercial airfields, including Richmond, Roanoke, and Washingtons Hoover and National, were at the cutting edge of modern air travel and played host to aviations elite. These images from local, state, and national archivesnearly all previously unpublisheddepict a rich technological heritage. |
Contents
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| 7 | |
| 9 | |
| 15 | |
Feast and Famine in the Interwar Years | 25 |
On the Front Lines in World War II | 51 |
The Cold War and the Jet Age | 65 |
Aerospace Innovation with the NACA and NASA | 73 |
Famous Fliers in the Commonwealth | 91 |
General Aviation and the Private Pilot | 99 |
Commerce on the Airways | 109 |
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aerodynamic Air and Space Air Station Hampton Air Station Norfolk airfields Airlines airmail airplane airship American antisubmarine Army Air Forces Army Air Service Atlantic Coast Aeronautical autogiro balloon battleship Boeing bomber Brown Field Byrd Flying Field Caproni Ca.46 carrier Center in Chantilly Charles Lindbergh Coast Aeronautical Station crew demonstrations Douglas Douglas DC-3 engine evaluation fighters flew flight flying boat Full-Scale Tunnel Hampton Roads helicopter Hoover Field Institution National Air Institution Steven F interwar jet age Keystone LB-7 landing Langley Field late launch Lowe’s Marine Corps Martin NBS-1 military NARA NASA NASM National Airport Naval Air Station Navy Navy’s Nieuport 17 Northern Virginia November obsolete patrol photograph pilot Pitcairn plane pose Quantico Richmond runways Ryan Brougham Schneider Trophy seen Signal Corps significant Smithsonian Institution Steven Space Museum Station Hampton Roads takeoff testing transonic U-boat USS Langley CV-1 VAHS Vought wartime Washington Airport Washington-Hoover Airport wing World Wright