Preserving aviation history
There was a lot of enthusiasm with the Flight Journal team around the creation of this issue as we had quite a compelling range of features that includes very diverse aircraft. We are in the history preservation business as so many of the stories, pilots, and aircraft we feature have clearly impacted the direction and advancement of aviation and need to be told!
At the dawn of the Second World War, quick-witted and charming
Billy Drake was like many other young RAF pilots during that period who went into combat with little practical experience, blissfully unaware of how much they needed to learn about flying fighters and surviving. What was even more challenging was the rapid transition from biplanes—like the lumbering and obsolete Gloster Gladiator—to the cockpit of the newly operational, fast and sleek Hawker Hurricane. Few instructors had even flown one! Billy survived his trial by fire and went on to great success, scoring 18 plus kills to become an ace over a long and storied career. In his usual spectacular fashion, photographer John Dibbs captured a beautifully restored Hurricane of the same type that Billy flew over the stunning White Cliffs of Dover and English countryside almost eight decades ago.
And just prior to WW II, there was no airplane that embodied the Golden Age of Flight and engineering beauty more than the Beechcraft D17S Staggerwing that first appeared in 1937. Considered to be the finest and most luxurious aircraft of the period, it was expensive, fast, complex, and appealed to wealthy businessmen of the time. A true Packard of the skies! The story of Jim Britton’s restored Staggerwing is truly remarkable as this airplane has defied all the odds and is flying today. Before its restoration, its last flight was in 1956. This month’s article is a testament to men like Jim, who are committed to the preservation of these magnificent flying machines.
These stories represent very unique periods and aircraft, but they contribute to the epic story we call aviation.