Curtis-Wright Wiley Post Hangar Fly-In
Help support the reconstruction of this
Historic Hangar
405-943-9732 or
www.skymail@taxi-strip.com
October 7
- In April 1927, the world was stunned by the news that the “Lone
Eagle”, Charles Lindbergh had been able to accomplish a solo flight
across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to Paris, in a single engine
monoplane, without mishap or misfortune.
Suddenly, the American public became “air-minded”, the future was here
and it was now. Nation wide, municipalities began a rush to build
airports, hoping that transient flyers would use their new facilities to
confirm that their city was part of the future.
Aviation was on the brink of becoming a new
religion: one that would bring people closer together and solve many of
society’s problems. A world in which mankind would bask in awe of the
majesty of flight. The Curtiss-Wright Corporation, who at that time was
the largest manufacturer of airplanes and aircraft engines in the world,
began a search for cities, who in their judgment were “air-minded”,
progressive, and who understood the practical impact that a well
developed aviation industry could have on a community.
In 1928, the Curtiss-Wright Corp., invested
$115,000 for an airport on the north side of Oklahoma City. The 160
acre airport was heralded as “Oklahoma City’s model airport,” complete
with a beautiful art-deco hangar and a fleet of Curtiss-Wright
airplanes. The purpose of the new facility was to promote and support
the development of general aviation in Oklahoma, and to provide an
outlet for the sale and maintenance of Curtiss-Wright products.
Oklahoma’s, world famous aviator Wiley Post, used the hangar
extensively, from 1929 to 1934 to design and modify airplanes he used on
several intercontinental and two around the-world flights. As one of
the most distinguished pioneers in aviation history, his achievements
comprised some of the greatest accomplishments in aviation.
In 1931, Post flew around the world in a record
time of 8 days, 15 hours and 51 minutes. In 1933, he becomes the first
person to make a solo around the world flight. It was on this flight
that he used a new automatic pilot system which steered the airplane
while he rested. Much of the development and testing of the auto pilot
took place at the Curtiss-Wright hangar. Wiley Post discovered the
jet-stream while setting a new altitude record of 50,000’ in his
Lockheed Vega. Post is considered the first “astronaut” because the
high altitude pressurized flight suit he developed is a forerunner of
the equipment worn by present-day astronauts.
Charles Lindbergh, Amelia Earhart, Will Rogers and other notables of the
day, were regular visitors at the hangar to visit with their mentor and
friend, Wiley Post. Upon completion of Wiley’s solo around the world
flight, he received the largest ticker tape parade ever, in New York
City.
The “Winnie Mae, Post’s famous Lockheed Vega, was
based at the Curtiss-Wright Hangar until his untimely death in 1935.
The “Winnie Mae” was then taken to the Smithsonian where it resides
today.
From 1932 to 1937 hangar was home to Braniff
Airlines. The origins of Braniff Airlines, all flights and all
maintenance of the airplanes were conducted at the Curtiss-Wright hangar
during the airlines early days. The Wiley Post Biplane was produced in
the same hangar during the early ‘30’s. The hangar was sold to John
Burke in 1940 and was used to train Army and Navy pilots till the end of
WWII. Burke closed the airport in 1955 and developed the area into a
residential addition. In 1960 the hangar was surrounded with an
exterior structure creating first a shopping center and then later a
church.
Auto dealer Jackie Cooper purchased the land and
the hangar for his adjacent dealership. Fearing that the hangar had
become a fire hazard, Cooper planned to demolish the building when a
group of Oklahoma City pilots prevailed on Mr. Cooper to have the
building taken down and stored until a suitable organization could be
found to reconstruct the hangar at an airport. Mr. Cooper donated the
hangar to Oklahoma City University, who in turn awarded the hangar to
A.S.T.E.C. (Aerospace Science and Technology Education Center) an
Oklahoma charter school in Oklahoma City. The
hangar was to become part of an education center.
Requirements for their new campus changed, and
AeroSpace Space America became the recipient of the Curtiss-Wright/Wiley
Post legacy. With the support of the aviation community, corporate
interest, local and state support, the hangar is to be reconstructed at
the present day Wiley Post Airport. The current Wiley Post Airport is
known as one of the best general aviation airports in the country.
The reconstructed hangar is not to be a relic of the past, but a
pro-active facility for public education and promotion and support of
general aviation, providing a link to the past and a bridge to the
future.
The Curtiss-Wright/Wiley Post Hangar will be a
convenient facility for “type” organizations to hold their conventions;
staging for the Civil Air Patrol operations, aviation field trips for
schools, EAA and AAA projects. The hangar, to be located in the
southwest area of Wiley Post Airport, will be an anchor for other
organizations to build related facilities. Along with the construction
of an adjacent 3600’ turf runway, the hangar is to be built in a manner
that is historically correct and at the same
time compliant with modern building codes.
No aviation structure in Oklahoma is more
historically significant than the Curtiss Wright/Wiley Post
hangar. Dreams of world wide air travel were born under the steel
trusses of that hangar...dreams that sprung from the minds of Wiley Post
and Tom Braniff. Unlike the railroads, or the old cattle trails that
criss-cross Oklahoma, the passage of an airplane leaves no mark on the
earth. Any tribute to Oklahoma’s aerial pioneers must be made through
the preservation and continuance of their dreams and those facilities
which supported them.
Reconstruction of the Curtiss-Wright/Wiley Post
Hangar has been approved as an Oklahoma Centennial Project by the
Oklahoma Centennial Commission.
Source:
www.taxi-strip.com
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