Walt’s Aircraft Picks

B-36 Peacemaker

One of the most ambitious undertakings in aviation history, the Consolidated Vultee (later Convair) B-36 proved its worth over the years by validating its name, "Peacemaker".

Martin B-10/B12

The Martin B-10/B-12 series of bombers was the first modern operational bomber in the Air Corps fleet, and set the stage for the later fleets of Fortresses and Liberators of World War II.  I can just see the pilot report on this accident running to something like "suddenly the brakes seized without my touching them, and we nosed over".  The look of the crewmembers says it all!

Ray Brooks in Jenny

My old friend Ray Brooks was a joy to be with.  An ace during World War I, Ray's Spad XIII is now in the National Air & Space Museum.  It was my privilege to invite Ray in to see it while it was being restored, and he regaled us with many a story about the airplane and the war.

Army Aeronautical Museum, Wright Field, 1940

This was the pride of Wright Field in 1940, with a de Havilland DH-4 in the front and the Bird of Paradise Fokker that made the first flight from the United States to Hawaii behind it.  It kills me, but I cannot positively identify the third complete aircraft-it has V struts like a Nieuport, and a rotary engine, but it seems to be too large to be a Nieuport 17 or 24.  Any ideas?  The sad story here is that all the airplanes and most of the material was pulled out of the Museum and destroyed when the exigencies of World War II demanded that the space be used for wartime purposes!