Formatted Dissertation with Biblio & Title
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© COPYRIGHT by Robert Verbsky 2013 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED To Aunt Marilyn For guiding me to this path SELLING AVIATION: THE MEANING OF AIR SHOWS IN AMERICA BY Robert Verbsky ABSTRACT This dissertation is a social and cultural history of air shows in the United States between the end of World War II and 2012. Many people, both scholars and the general public, consider air shows during this period to serve primarily as entertainment, and dangerous entertainment at that. This study suggests that air show organizers, performers, and community boosters employed air shows to educate spectators and the larger world about their perceived benefits of aviation and the host communities. From the invention of aviation in 1903 until 1939, the primary purpose of air shows and public air demonstrations was to prove the existence of powered flight to the American public. As Americans acclimated to this concept, air show participants used the programs to demonstrate technical advancements or to excite crowds with increasingly complex aerobatic maneuvers. Both demonstrations increased the risk of injury and death for participants and spectators as pilots flew their aircraft closer to the edge of aerodynamic failure. By the start of World War II, the air show as a viable marketing technique was largely discredited. World War II and the postwar growth of commercial aviation seemed to further negate the need for air shows to demonstrate aviation’s value. This study demonstrates there were at least four distinct goals present in most air shows organized since the end of World War II. First, military officials and military supporters used air shows to demonstrate their success at developing equipment and techniques to defend the nation in an economically responsible way. Second, civilian aviation officials utilized air shows to exhibit the products of corporate America and to build brand recognition for individual aerospace brands. Third, community leaders and ii boosters employed air shows to foster community socialization and to market community assets to tourists, business officials, and government representatives. Finally, participants used historic and replica aircraft to teach a version of aviation and American history to spectators. iii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The seeds of this dissertation started back in elementary school when my aunt gave me a set of Time-Life’s Epic of Flight series. Over the years, I read and re-read those books many times as I generally became more engrossed in the study of history. The next step on this journey came in college when I interned at the American Airpower Museum. I took the position to explore my career options in history and found a whole new world of history outside the printed page. Having the opportunity to work on operational World War II aircraft and with veterans of many eras, inspired me to preserve and disseminate history. The fact that major funding for the museum came from air show participation introduced me to the behind-the-scenes world of air shows that stuck in my head as my education continued. I am eternally grateful to all my professors and advisors over the many years at the University of Rochester, the University at Albany, and at American University. I am sad that Dr. Bob Griffith passed away before I could complete my dissertation. His immense help in my early years at American University were vital to me completing this project. Among the many folks who also helped me discover how to think and research along the way were Stewart Weaver and the late Lynn Gordon at UR, Amy Murrell-Taylor at the University at Albany, and Max Friedman, Kathleen Franz, and Alan Kraut at American University. Extra gratitude must go to Dr. Kraut who guided me through this dissertation process, endured numerous bouts of my self- doubt, and he helped show me how to solve my own problems. I must also thank all the people that worked with me at archives and libraries throughout this process. The staffs at the Wright State University Special Collections and Archives, the Western Reserve Historical Society, the National Air and Space Museum Library and Archives, and the Library of Congress Microform and Newspaper divisions were extraordinarily helpful in iv finding the materials I sought. I spent so much time in these spaces, it was a genuine pleasure to see these folks each day. In addition to my academic support, I have worked for so many understanding colleagues and organizations throughout this process. I am indebted to the staff and volunteers at the George Eastman House, the American Airpower Museum, the Empire State Aerosciences Museum, the Sully Historic Site, the National Electronics Museum, and Port Discovery Children’s Museum. All these folks provided me the opportunity to develop my historical and administrative skills, while also wholeheartedly supporting me when I moved on to new endeavors to further my studies. I could not have gotten to this stage without coworkers like Stacey Vandenburgh, Larry Starr, Dan Sliva, Vina Kazmarcyk, Tammy Loxton, Carol McDonnell, Noreen McCann, Mike Simons, and Alice Donahue. Magan Ruthke and Whit Whitney, at Port Discovery, deserve extra recognition. As I wrote much of this dissertation on my lunch hours, they gently accepted when my brain got confused between air shows and museum operations or simply could not follow a conversation through the mental haze. Magan suffered extra as Whit and I “geeked” out over airplanes. As my workload grew from the dissertation, so many friends and family provided mental, physical, and financial support that allowed me to bring this to fruition. First and foremost are my parents who supported me when my enthusiasm faltered and when my research travels took me all over the country. Second, are the friends and family who have dealt with my many disappearances from social life as I buried myself in archives, libraries, and writing. To those of you who provided a couch for the night, a cup of coffee in the morning, or a beer at night: you are awesome. To everyone who endured learning way more about airplanes than you ever fathomed as I wended my way through this: you are troopers. Kiersten Conley and Jim Daniels v probably never realized how important they would be to me when we met at colleagues at Sully Historic Site but became friends and important critics as this project stretched on. Ben Atwood, Ashok Krishnan, and Jenny Turner-Trauring were among my first friends at University of Rochester and have endured my historical wanderings for many years. For all the randomness over the years, I could not hope to have a better set of friends. Lastly, no words or actions will ever adequately explain how much I owe to my wife, April. We met just as I finished the draft of my proposal and our relationship has endured and blossomed through defenses, research, and writing. I would not have made it through this without her continuous support and her occasional reminder to step away from my desk and go walk the dog. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS ABSTRACT ...............................................................................................................................ii ACKNOWLEDGMENTS..........................................................................................................iv CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION ....................................................................................1 CHAPTER 2 MILITARY AIR SHOWS ......................................................................22 Armed Forces Day.............................................................................................26 1953 National Aircraft Show .............................................................................42 Joint Services Open House.................................................................................57 CHAPTER 3 CORPORATE AIR SHOWS ..................................................................64 1946 General Electric Air Show.........................................................................67 Transpo ‘72 .......................................................................................................73 United States Air & Trade Show........................................................................96 CHAPTER 4 HOMETOWN AIR SHOWS ................................................................113 1948 New York International Air Show...........................................................114 1951 Flagler Fall Festival ................................................................................132 1956 Winnebago Land International Air Meet & Races ...................................142 CHAPTER 5 AIRBORNE HISTORY........................................................................154 Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome ..............................................................................157 The 50th Anniversary of World War II in Oshkosh...........................................171 2003 Centennial of Flight in Dayton ................................................................181 CHAPTER 6 CONCLUSION.....................................................................................200 BIBLIOGRAPHY...................................................................................................................211 vii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION On November 7, 1910, Hubert Latham ascended in his fragile Antoinette monoplane and then flew towards Baltimore’s Fort McHenry. After flying over the inspiration for the national anthem, Latham flew over the city’s harbor, past the dome of Johns Hopkins Hospital,