Vintage Aircraft Highlight a Golden Age

John Morris

Not So Spartan

The art deco Spartan Executive 7W was designed as a luxury aircraft in the 1930s.  An unprecedented eight of them gathered at Oshkosh this year to celebrate the type’s 80th anniversary. From 1936 through 1940, 34 7Ws were produced. Today, 20 survive and many are rarely flown. One example is owned by the EAA AirVenture Museum and is permanently based at Oshkosh. 

A Speedy Thoroughbred

The Spartan Executive was advanced for its time in that it had an all-metal fuselage and a retractable landing gear. Powered by a 450-hp Pratt & Whitney Wasp Jr. engine, the aircraft was fast without skimping on comfort and luxury. The 7W has a cruising speed of 200 mph and a range of about 1,000 miles, which allowed it to take part in the 1939 Bendix Trophy Race. Arlene Davis raced from Los Angeles, California, to Cleveland, Ohio, taking fifth place with an average speed of 196.8 mph. 

Flying Cadets

About 320 Interstate Cadets were produced from 1941 in El Segundo, California. Some 130 of the training aircraft are still on the FAA register, and many of them gathered at EAA AirVenture to celebrate the type’s 75th anniversary.

Cadets Fall In

Interstate Cadets formed at least one long line at AirVenture. The two-seat, tandem aircraft never sold as well as its competitors; one reason was that it cost almost three times the amount of the comparable Piper J-3 Cub. 

Nearly Shot Down

At 7:48 a.m. on December 7, 1941, 23-year-old flight instructor Cornelia Fort was giving a flight lesson to a student in a small, high-wing Interstate Cadet (N37266, serial number 109) when she almost collided with one of the Japanese Zero carrier-based planes on its way to attack the U.S. Pacific Fleet in Pearl Harbor. She climbed steeply to avoid a mid-air collision, then descended quickly and landed at nearby John Rodgers civilian airport, where her plane was strafed on the runway. The first aerial “combat” between the U.S. and Japan in WWII is re-enacted here at Oshkosh with the very same Interstate Cadet.

Stearmen All in a Row

The Stearman is one of the most popular biplanes in America, winning an emotive role in people’s hearts and minds as the basic military training aircraft in World War II before being typecast as a cropduster and airshow performer in the decades since. Hundreds are restored and flying throughout the U.S. 

Polished to Perfection

This 1936 Ryan ST-A sporting aircraft was awarded Antique Grand Champion at this year’s AirVenture. Owned by Ted Teach of Ohio, it is powered by a Menasco Super Pirate D4B engine.

One and Only

If there aren’t any left, then somebody will probably build one! The Luscombe Model 10 single-seat aerobatic sport plane became extinct in 1948 when the prototype was destroyed for tax reasons. Bill Bradford, of Independence, Missouri, decided to resurrect it and flew this one-and-only for the first time last year.

Electric Moment

Last year saw an unprecedented gathering at EAA AirVenture of art deco Lockheed Electra aircraft similar to that chosen by Amelia Earhart for her ill-fated last flight around the world; This year just a couple turned up, including this immaculate Lockheed 12A from Vermont, built in 1940 and powered by a pair of Pratt & Whitney R-985 radials.

The Ultimate Bizliner

This must be the ultimate piston-powered executive transport: the Howard 500, converted by Dee Howard from a Lockheed WWII navy patrol and bomber aircaft. Lady of the Night marked the end of a bold era when World War II piston engine aircraft and their derivatives were the mainstays of the Fortune 500 fleet. It is the 12th of 17 Howard 500 aircraft produced and is, says Ryan Mohr, chief pilot for Phillippi Equipment Co. of Eagan, Minnesota, a challenge he never tires of flying. “It has the weight of a DC-3, but half the wing area and twice the horsepower,” he explains.

Is it nostalgia if you weren’t there? You would certainly think so just touring the vintage aircraft parked at EAA AirVenture. “My first ride was in one of those” or “I learned to fly in that!” From trainers to sportplanes for wealthy enthusiasts, from early executive transports to vintage airliners, they’re all there.

All Photos, unless stated otherwise, by Maureen Spuhler

John Morris

John has led Aviation Week's ShowNews, the best-read daily news magazine of aerospace trade shows, for nearly two decades. His background in business journalism before joining Aviation Week includes stints at Reuters, the American Banker daily banking newspaper and as business news editor at the Milwaukee Journal and the Cincinnati Enquirer.

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