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- Lincoln Beachey Stunt Flying over San Francisco, California, circa 1915 - Lincoln Beachey is remembered as America's first great stunt flyer. He perfected a series of aerobatic maneuvers -- including spins, dives, spirals, and loops -- and earned fame and fortune by staging heart-stopping exhibition flights for audiences across the country. Beachey died when the wings broke loose from his airplane during a stunt flight over San Francisco Bay in 1915.
- circa 1915
- Collections - Artifact
Lincoln Beachey Stunt Flying over San Francisco, California, circa 1915
Lincoln Beachey is remembered as America's first great stunt flyer. He perfected a series of aerobatic maneuvers -- including spins, dives, spirals, and loops -- and earned fame and fortune by staging heart-stopping exhibition flights for audiences across the country. Beachey died when the wings broke loose from his airplane during a stunt flight over San Francisco Bay in 1915.
- Katherine Stinson's Laird Biplane at the Tri-State Fair, October 1916 - Katherine Stinson flew this biplane, designed by Emil "Matty" Laird, at Memphis, Tennessee, in October 1916. Stinson was only the fourth American woman to earn a pilot's license, and she consistently dazzled spectators with her skilled stunt flying. Though in her 20s, the petite Stinson looked even younger. The press took to calling her the "Flying Schoolgirl."
- October 01, 1916
- Collections - Artifact
Katherine Stinson's Laird Biplane at the Tri-State Fair, October 1916
Katherine Stinson flew this biplane, designed by Emil "Matty" Laird, at Memphis, Tennessee, in October 1916. Stinson was only the fourth American woman to earn a pilot's license, and she consistently dazzled spectators with her skilled stunt flying. Though in her 20s, the petite Stinson looked even younger. The press took to calling her the "Flying Schoolgirl."
- Katherine Stinson's Laird Biplane at the Tri-State Fair, October 1916 - Katherine Stinson flew this biplane, designed by Emil "Matty" Laird, at Memphis, Tennessee, in October 1916. Stinson was only the fourth American woman to earn a pilot's license, and she consistently dazzled spectators with her skilled stunt flying. Though in her 20s, the petite Stinson looked even younger. The press took to calling her the "Flying Schoolgirl."
- October 01, 1916
- Collections - Artifact
Katherine Stinson's Laird Biplane at the Tri-State Fair, October 1916
Katherine Stinson flew this biplane, designed by Emil "Matty" Laird, at Memphis, Tennessee, in October 1916. Stinson was only the fourth American woman to earn a pilot's license, and she consistently dazzled spectators with her skilled stunt flying. Though in her 20s, the petite Stinson looked even younger. The press took to calling her the "Flying Schoolgirl."
- Katherine Stinson Securing Magnesium Flares to Her Laird Biplane at the Tri-State Fair, October 1916 - Attracted by the high fees paid to stunt pilots, Katherine Stinson earned her pilot's license in 1912 as a way to finance music lessons. Flight quickly replaced music as her passion and Stinson became one of the most skilled pilots of her era. She became the first woman to skywrite at night, using flares like this, in 1915.
- October 01, 1916
- Collections - Artifact
Katherine Stinson Securing Magnesium Flares to Her Laird Biplane at the Tri-State Fair, October 1916
Attracted by the high fees paid to stunt pilots, Katherine Stinson earned her pilot's license in 1912 as a way to finance music lessons. Flight quickly replaced music as her passion and Stinson became one of the most skilled pilots of her era. She became the first woman to skywrite at night, using flares like this, in 1915.
- Katherine Stinson and Elfreida Mais on the Racetrack during the Tri-State Fair, Memphis, TN, October 1916 - Katherine Stinson was only the fourth American woman to receive a pilot's license when she earned hers, at age 21, in 1912. Stinson went on to achieve several more firsts: the first woman authorized to carry U.S. air mail, the first woman to fly a complete vertical loop, and the first woman to fly in Japan and China.
- October 01, 1916
- Collections - Artifact
Katherine Stinson and Elfreida Mais on the Racetrack during the Tri-State Fair, Memphis, TN, October 1916
Katherine Stinson was only the fourth American woman to receive a pilot's license when she earned hers, at age 21, in 1912. Stinson went on to achieve several more firsts: the first woman authorized to carry U.S. air mail, the first woman to fly a complete vertical loop, and the first woman to fly in Japan and China.
- Lillian Boyer Performing Stunts from an Airplane in Flight, circa 1922 - Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- September 01, 1922
- Collections - Artifact
Lillian Boyer Performing Stunts from an Airplane in Flight, circa 1922
Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- Lillian Boyer Performing Stunts with an Airplane in Flight, circa 1922 - Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- circa 1922
- Collections - Artifact
Lillian Boyer Performing Stunts with an Airplane in Flight, circa 1922
Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- Lillian Boyer Performing a Stunt, Transferring from Moving Car to Airplane in Flight, 1922-1927 - Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- 1922-1927
- Collections - Artifact
Lillian Boyer Performing a Stunt, Transferring from Moving Car to Airplane in Flight, 1922-1927
Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- Air Show Poster, Miss Lillian Boyer, "Empress of the Air," 1926 - Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- 1926
- Collections - Artifact
Air Show Poster, Miss Lillian Boyer, "Empress of the Air," 1926
Would you climb out on the wing of an airplane? In 1921, Lillian Boyer did after only her second time in the air. This fearless decision led her to become a wing walker, performing death-defying aerial feats. She hung by her teeth, ankles, and toes. She balanced on her head. She even changed planes in midair. Her stunts garnered headlines wherever she performed.
- E. M. Laird's Exhibition Biplane, Built in 1915 - Self-taught pilot and engineer Emil Matthew "Matty" Laird built this airplane -- his third -- in 1915. He equipped it with a six-cylinder engine that gave the biplane its nickname: "Boneshaker." Laird flew it in stunt exhibitions across the United States. In 1916, Katherine Stinson took the "Boneshaker" to Japan and China -- where she became the first woman to fly.
- 1915-1920
- Collections - Artifact
E. M. Laird's Exhibition Biplane, Built in 1915
Self-taught pilot and engineer Emil Matthew "Matty" Laird built this airplane -- his third -- in 1915. He equipped it with a six-cylinder engine that gave the biplane its nickname: "Boneshaker." Laird flew it in stunt exhibitions across the United States. In 1916, Katherine Stinson took the "Boneshaker" to Japan and China -- where she became the first woman to fly.