A Stunt-Flying Aviatrix

The “Barnstormers” section of the Heroes of the Sky exhibit in Henry Ford Museum covers early 20^th century pilots and aerialists who would perform daring airplane stunts to entertain audiences watching below.  The Laird Biplane Boneshaker that appears in the exhibit was flown by Katherine Stinson, an aviator in her mid-20s, on international exhibition tours in 1916 and 1917.  We’ve just digitized a couple dozen photographs and clippings that relate to Stinson and the various planes she flew, including this image taken at the Tri-State Fair in Memphis in fall 1916—the back of the photo notes that she flew that day wearing this same ensemble, with the addition of a helmet and goggles.  View all the Stinson-related materials by visiting our Digital Collections—and to learn even more about Katherine Stinson, watch for her to be featured in a segment of The Henry Ford’s Innovation Nation later this year.

Additional Readings:

• 1939 Douglas DC-3 Airplane
  
• Reliability Tours Land Public Trust
  
• 1920 Dayton-Wright RB-1 Airplane
  
• Just Added to Our Digital Collections: Lillian Boyer Photographs