The U.S.

Aviation Exhibit at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair

Joshua Stoff
Curator Cradle of Aviation Museum One Davis Avenue Garden City, NY 11530

In the 1920s and 30s, a large percentage of American men, women and children felt a remarkable affection for the airplane. They were, to use a modern expression. airminded. They read aviation pulp magazines, drove to airfields on weekends just to watch airplanes fly, and the great pilots of the day became household names and heroes. Many Americans expected that aviation would transform their world and revolutionize their daily lives. Perhaps even, one day soon, they would own their own airplane and fly to work. But in the least, they believed that the airplane represented the promise of the future and that it would usher in a new era of world peace. The high-water mark of this airmindedness was the U.S. Aviation Exhibit at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair. This was the only worlds fair that ever had a pavilion specifically devoted to American aviation, and the aircraft and exhibitry seen here are a microcosm of the colorful, wonderful and sadly, long gone Golden Age of aviation.

the epitome of the Art deco movement. It also had an abiding theme Building the World of Tomorrow. Led by leading industrial designers such as Norman Bel Geddes, Raymond Loewy and Walter Dorwin Teague, the imaginative pavilions were often as much pieces of sculpture as of architecture. The U.S. Aviation Exhibit, which resembled a hangar, was presided over by Captain Eddie Rickenbacker. Its striking architecture, a halfdome and a long hangar section, were actually separate structures, with light and air admitted between. The dome also served as a cyclorama against which suspended aircraft were dramatically displayed. The welcome to the aviation pavilion clearly stated the purpose of the exhibit and the importance placed on the subject. It is our pleasure to present to you here a colorful, educational and entertaining cross-section of the nations newest and youngest industry, aviation, pioneered by the Wright Brothers 36 years ago and developed by American ingenuity into one of our most vital, modern forces. With the airplane linking our coasts overnight and spanning the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans regularly with mail and passengers, while at the same time serving overseas as an instrument by which the destinies of nations are determined, aviation is certain to play a major role in the world of tomorrow. In a sense the 1939 Worlds Fair aviation exhibit was also a prototype aviation museum in a period in which there were less than a handful worldwide. It presented some of the history of aviation, as well as showcasing its most recent developments and exciting new products. The exhibit was also progressive in that its displays were not simply static they included hands-on, interactive and multi-media exhibits quite remarkable for the museum world of 1939.

Exterior view of the two-part Aviation pavilion.

The 1939 New York Worlds Fair was also distinguished in that it had a unique physical aspect it represented

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different radio stations. Once the button was pressed, the pointer on the dial swung towards the station, its code signal could be heard, and the lights of the station would become visible through the cockpits windows. Such an interactive educational exhibit would be at home in the most modern of aviation museums not bad for 1939. The engine section featured a number of Lycoming, Curtiss-Wright and Pratt & Whitney engines, several of them working cut-away models.

Suspended 1902 Wright glider replica near the entrance to the Aviation Exhibit

The interior of the building was divided into three sections under the headings of Wings of Commerce, Wings of Recreation, and Wings of Defense. Visitors entered the building on a balcony and were greeted with a spectacular panorama of actual suspended military, civil and commercial aircraft. Contrasting with this, the first aircraft visitors encountered was a fullscale replica of the 1902 Wright glider. Upon reaching the pavilions floor, one first came upon an exhibit, modern in both concept and appearance, What Makes Airplanes Fly? This consisted of a series of working wind tunnels wherein visitors could manipulate models and controls in order to understand the forces of flight.

A section of the engine exhibit

The airline transportation section, sponsored by Eastern, American and Pan American Airlines, also incorporated several interesting features. Underneath the Airway Beacon, which flashed constantly across the ceiling, was a complete airport control tower. Staffed by employees of the Civil Aeronautics Authority, the tower included weather instruments, maps, teletypes and radio equipment. Live communications between Newark Tower and airliners in flight could be heard and, on a large scale map, small model planes were continuously moved to represent every airliner in flight between Boston, Washington and Cleveland! An on-site meteorologist also gave visitors continuous weather reports and explained the latest teletypes. Airline pilots, using Link Trainers, also gave continuous demonstrations showing how they were going to fly instrument approaches to the new airport built nearby, North Beach (now LaGuardia see page 54 for the story of the North Beach Airport, also by Josh Stoff). The centerpiece of the airline exhibit was the prototype Curtiss-Wright CW-20 transport. Visitors could walk through the giant airliner to view the lounge, galley, cabin seats, sleeping berths and cockpit. TWA Hostesses on board the plane described the various safety and passenger comfort features of the new airliner. At the time, the pressurized plane was hailed as unique in terms of comfort, mechanical performance, speed and size. Ultimately, only a variant of this plane was produced for the military as the C-46.
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The Sperry interactive Radio Direction Finder exhibit

The private flying section featured three brand new aircraft, a Stinson 105, Piper Cub Coupe and Aeronca Chief. Several manufacturers, such as Sperry, also featured their newest instruments. The Sperry exhibit included a DC-3-like cockpit incorporating a new model Automatic Radio Direction Finder. To illustrate its function, visitors could press buttons to tune into several

next few years can bring in flying. On the basis of what he has seen as the culmination of only 36 years of vision, research and construction in airplanes, engines and airlines, he is not being too fanciful if he pictures as many persons owning planes tomorrow as own cars today, with the world a playground and friendship existing between the peoples of all nations on the basis of a better understanding of one anothers problems through increased communication and transportation. By 1940 however, World War Two was in progress, and the theme of the Fair was changed from The World of Tomorrow to Peace and Freedom. It now began to seem ridiculous to promote the airplane as the harbinger of a new era of peace and brotherhood. All thoughts along these lines evaporated as Nazi bombs rained down on London and American A-bombs eventually exploded over Japan. By the time the Cold War set in, in the 1950s, Americans no longer had any illusion that the air age would be one of peace and harmony. Furthermore, by the late 1940s any visions of personal family planes in every garage also collapsed as Americans finally realized that flying for most of them would forever remain costly, inconvenient and sometimes dangerous. Nonetheless, the colorful aviation exhibit at the 1939 New York Worlds Fair will forever remain a tribute to Americas once idealistic faith and grand dreams for a wondrous new air age.

U.S. Army Vultee YA-19 diving in for the attack

The highlight of the pavilion was probably the military section. It featured several interesting, and sadly now, long gone aircraft types. The pride of the Naval Aviation exhibit was an example of its newest fighter, the Brewster F2A-1 Buffalo. The F2A, the Navys first monoplane fighter, also featured a ramp up to the cockpit so visitors could view the interior of a modern warplane. From anywhere in the building, visitors could view an attack of four of the latest Army and Navy aircraft diving from the ceiling. The feeling of aerial attack was brought home by the periodical roar of an aircraft engine. These Golden Age warplanes consisted of a Curtiss SBC-4, Chance Vought SB2U-2, Vultee YA-19 and a North American BC-1. Underneath, stood a gleaming Curtiss P-36A as well as numerous models, bombs and machine guns. For the 1940 edition of the Fair the Army added the fascinating Bell YFM-1 Airacuda and a Martin A-22, outdoors.

Pride of the Navy, the Brewster F2A Buffalo

The concluding exhibits in the aviation building consisted of displays by aviation trade schools and promotions for the exciting careers and opportunities available in the booming aviation industry. As the visitor leaves the Aviation Building on his way about the World of Tomorrow, he may well speculate on what the
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Martin A-22 at the exhibit entrance, a 1940 addition

Above: Interior of the cavernous structure showing suspended military aircraft and the Curtiss-Wright CW-20.

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Above: Bell YFM-1 Airacuda, another 1940 addition

Below: A Navy training airship over the 1939 N.Y. Worlds Fair

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