Clyde Edward Pangborn Papers, 1918-1958

Overview of the Collection

Creator
Pangborn, Clyde Edward
Title
Clyde Edward Pangborn Papers
Dates
1918-1958 (inclusive)
Quantity
11 boxes., (11 linear feet of shelf space.), (9550 items.)
Collection Number
Cage 112
Summary
Correspondence, business and financial records, photographs, printed material and other records relating to his partnership with Ivan R. Gates in the Gates Flying Circus, 1921-1929; barnstorming with the Flying Fleet, 1930-1931; his circumnavigational flight culminating in the first trans-Pacific crossing with Hugh Herndon in 1931. Also records relating to Pangborn's activities as test pilot and design consultant for Bernelli Aviation Company.
Repository
Washington State University Libraries' Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections (MASC)
Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections
Terrell Library Suite 12
Pullman, WA
99164-5610
Telephone: 509-335-6691
mascref@wsu.edu
Access Restrictions

This collection is open for research use.

Languages
English
Sponsor
Funding for encoding this finding aid was provided through a grant awarded by the National Endowment for the Humanities.

Biographical NoteReturn to Top

Clyde Edward Pangborn, son of Max Pangborn and Opal Lamb Pangborn, was born in Bridgeport, Washington; his birthdate is uncertain, with various documents indicating 1893,1894, and 1896. His parents ranched on the upper Columbia River, but when Pangborn was two they separated and Clyde remained with his mother. He grew up in the lumber camps of Idaho and graduated from St. Maries High School in 1914. He continued his education with extension courses in civil engineering from the University of Idaho; this training allowed him to secure a position as assistant to the Chief Engineer with the Bunker Hill and Sullivan Mining Company. America's entry into the First World War afforded Clyde the opportunity to fulfill his lifelong desire to learn to fly. He enlisted in the Aviation Section of the Signal Corps and was trained as a pilot. Rather than being sent overseas after completing his advanced flight training, Pangborn was assigned to Ellington Field in Houston, Texas, as an instructor. After his discharge from the Army Air Corps, he returned to the Pacific Northwest and performed exhibition flying for Northwest Aircraft Corporation based in Spokane, Washington. It was during this period that Pangborn made an ill-fated "automobile-to-airplane" transfer at Coronado Beach, California. His injuries in falling from the speeding car constituted the only serious accident in all his barnstorming career.

In 1921, Pangborn joined Ivan R. Gates as a partner in the formation of the Gates Flying Circus. For the next nine years Pangborn "barnstormed" across the entire United States during which time he carried approximately 500,000 passengers without mishap or injury. Although half owner, Pangborn served as chief pilot and operating manager. Performing in an air show over Houston, Texas, in February 1924, Pangborn assisted in the mid-air rescue of a young stunt woman whose parachute had caught on the landing gear of Pangborn's plane. This daring rescue, involving four aviators and two aircraft, as well as the hapless girl, catapulted the Flying Circus into national prominence. The Circus prospered during the later 1920s reaching its zenith with eleven planes at New Jersey's Teterboro Air Show in August 1927.

The heyday of the barnstormers was ending with the 1920s; mounting federal regulations governing all aspects of flying were taking their toll. It was increasingly difficult to keep the wooden World War I vintage aircraft flying by the end of the decade and a new generation of machines, not as suited to circus performance, was appearing to challenge the wooden "crates" and their supremacy over the cities of America. Under this combination of pressures, the Gates Flying Circus quietly ended in Florida in the spring of 1929 after a tour of the Southeast.

Panghorn, however, retained his faith in the popularity and profitability of barnstorming. As chief test pilot for the New Standard Aircraft Corporation, which he, Gates and Charles H. Day formed in 1929, he had the opportunity to both fly and sell his own company's product--barnstorming, in a manner of speaking. The stock market crash of 1929 wiped out the fledgling company; in its short history it had failed to make profit. Despite the company's failure, Pangborn continued to believe in the financial feasibility of barnstorming and passenger carrying.

One of the pilots on the Western U. S. demonstration tour of the New Standard D-24 was Hugh Herndon, Jr., scion of a wealthy New York family. Herndon had purchased a D-24, learned to fly, and asked to be included in the Pangborn tour. After New Standard Aircraft folded, Pangborn and Herndon, whose mother put up her son's half of the money, formed "The Flying Fleet" and began to tour the U. S. barnstorming and passenger carrying. Increased safety regulations and competition from the larger, single-wing, closed-cabin aircraft--"The Flying Fleet" continued to use the open cockpit New Standards--spelled the end of the Pangborn-Herndon air show. "The Flying Fleet" disbanded in February 1931 and the planes were stored in Palo Alto, California, the last city on the tour. Despite Pangborn's vow to continue barn storming when the depression ended, the Fleet's New Standards were later sold for hangar fees. In the short thirteen months of its existence, The Flying Fleet had carried 121,000 passengers and booked into nearly 100 cities in 36 states.

With his barnstorming days at an end, Pangborn looked for new projects. In conjunction with Herndon, he planned to break the around-the-world flight record of 20 days 4 hours set by the German Graf Zeppelin in 1929. The planning and preparation for this flight began in the spring of 1931 with the flight scheduled for the early summer. The two men formed an equal partnership--Herndon's family supplying the money and Pangborn providing the expertise and flying skill necessary for such an undertaking. Pangborn chose a Bellanca "Skyrocket" as the perfect aircraft for its range, lifting abilities, and reliability. In late June, as their flight preparations neared completion, their hopes for an around-the-world record suffered a serious setback. In the last week of June, Wiley Post and Harold Gatty circumnavigated the globe in the time of 8 days, 15 hours, and 15 minutes. Using essentially the same route that Pangborn and Herndon had decided upon, Post and Gatty had lowered the record by over 11 days. Pangborn and Herndon now not only faced the challenge of making the flight, but more importantly of lowering the time of the Post-Gatty Lockheed monoplane. Determined to proceed, Pangborn reasoned that despite the Bellanca's slower airspeed, its greater range (hence, fewer refueling stops) and rough field take-off ability would provide the necessary advantage in breaking the Post-Gatty record.

On July 28, after many weeks of preparation, the heavily-laden bright red Bellanca lumbered down New York's Roosevelt Field No. 2, lifted off and headed out over the Atlantic on the first leg of the Around the-world flight. A few days earlier only Pangborn's skill as a pilot averted a tragedy. In attempting to take off from the shorter Roosevelt Field No. 1, Pangborn was forced to dump part of the 830 gallons of fuel in order to get the plane airborne enough to clear a hangar at the end of the runway.

After crossing the Atlantic, Pangborn and Herndon landed in Wales. They flew on to London, Berlin, and Moscow. Upon leaving Moscow for Siberia, the two were almost ten hours behind the time of Gatty and Post. Further difficulties plagued them in Siberia. Herndon, at the controls while Pangborn slept, lost his way and they finally landed in a village in Mongolia. Back on course with more hours lost, they flew toward Khabarovsk, their last stop in Siberia. They landed in Khabarovsk in a blinding rainstorm; when the Bellanca touched down she settled deep into the mud of the runway. Forced to wait out the storm for a day and over 27 hours behind the Gatty-Post time, the two aviators considered their slower plane and decided to abandon the speed attempt.

With their hopes for an around the world speed record shattered, the duo then decided that they would try for the $25,000 prize offered by a Japanese newspaper, the Asahi Shimbun, for the first non-stop flight from Japan to the United States. After wiring their New York office to arrange the proper flight clearance and Japanese landing papers, the two took off for Tokyo, assuming that they had the necessary documents to land in Japan. Their flight from Khabarovsk took them over the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido. En route Herndon took photographs with both a still and 16mm movie camera. Upon landing in Tokyo, they were arrested for having no papers and for photographing naval installations in northern Japan. After considerable diplomatic wrangling, as well as several long sessions of intensive questioning by the police, Pangborn and Herndon were fined for their transgressions and released. After reluctantly giving the Americans permission to attempt the trans-Pacific flight, the Japanese officials informed Pangborn that only one take-off attempt was to be allowed. If the first try failed, or the flyers were forced to return after takeoff, the Bellanca would be impounded.

Several major obstacles faced the Americans if they were to succeed in completing the first non-stop trans-Pacific flight. First, the Bellanca would be over loaded with fuel; consequently, they needed an extremely long runway from which to take off. They solved this problem by moving the plane approximately two hundred miles north of Tokyo to the 8,000 foot runway at Sabishiro Beach. Second, even with the extra fuel, Pangborn calculated that they might not have the range to complete the flight if they encountered anything but perfect flying conditions. Therefore, he designed and constructed--without the knowledge of the Japanese--a mechanism which would enable the flyers to drop the Bellanca's landing gear once it was airborne. This would effectively increase the airspeed by fifteen miles per hour or add approximately 600 miles to their range for the expected 40-hour flight.

Final preparations for the flight were completed by the first of October. Despite the loss of their maps and charts, reportedly stolen by a radical nationalist society which hoped to sabotage the flight, Pangborn was anxious to leave before the Japanese reconsidered their decision to allow the flight. After waiting several days for the weather to clear, the Americans began their historic flight on the morning of October 4th (Japanese time). The big Bellanca, burdened with 930 gallons of fuel and weighing in excess of 9,000 pounds, far beyond the manufacturers' recommended or even tested specifications, reluctantly took to the air and headed out over the Pacific. Three hours into the flight, Pangborn dropped the wheels to reduce wind resistance; the wheels fell into the sea off the Japanese coast, but the landing gear struts did not release. Pangborn remedied this situation about halfway through the flight when he turned the controls over to Herndon and at 14,000 feet above the icy waters of the North Pacific, he crawled out onto the wing supports and freed the two landing gear struts. His experience as a wing walker in his early flying days had made the difference between a successful flight and a crash-landing; an attempted belly landing with the landing gear struts in place would have proved fatal.

Fighting the bitter cold in the late autumn skies over the Gulf of Alaska, the two fliers coaxed the "Miss Veedol" toward the U. S. mainland. Earlier there had been several large cash prizes offered for different versions of this record flight, but on nearing the U. S., Pangborn simply wanted to put down at a field where he could repair the landing gear and continue his around-the-world journey. With fog obscuring possible landing sites in Spokane and Pasco, the wings icing up, and fuel running low after about forty hours in the air; Pangborn decided to try for Wenatchee. He was familiar with the field; he knew that there would not be fog. With his mother and brother waiting on the ground in Wenatchee, Pangborn was assured of a welcome reception. At a few minutes after seven on the morning of October 5th, 1931, the big red Bellanca flew in low over the hills east of Wenatchee, make a quick pass over the field while "Pang" looked for obstacles, and finally settled down to a nearly perfect belly landing 41 hours and 15 minutes after taking off from Sabishiro Beach, Japan. Pangborn and Herndon had flown non stop almost 5,500 miles across the Pacific Ocean. Although it was a feat which equaled or exceeded the accomplishment of Charles A. Lindberg in his 1927 Atlantic crossing (a crossing which had been made many times before), neither public acclaim nor financial success materialized for Pangborn and Herndon. The Pacific was not flown non-stop again until after World War II. For his trans-Pacific flight Pangborn won the Aviation League's Harmon Trophy symbolizing the greatest achievement in flight in the year 1931.

After landing in Wenatchee, the "Miss Veedol" was trucked to Seattle where the landing gear was rebuilt and refitted. Pangborn and Herndon then flew on to New York to complete their around-the-world flight. They had not established a new speed record, but they had been the first to cross the Pacific. As with the Gates Flying Circus and The Flying Fleet, the around-the-world flight proved to be a paradox for Pangborn. The Pacific crossing brought him recognition, but no commercial success.

The 1930s continued to be active years for Pangborn. In 1932 he piloted the first night air-express from New York to Los Angeles. The following year he demonstrated Fairchild Aircraft in Colombia, South America. In 1934 he joined with the flamboyant Colonel Roscoe Turner for the MacRobertson Air Race.

The MacRobertson Air Race--from London, England to Melbourne, Australia-- was one of the premier air competitions in the world. Pangborn served as co pilot and navigator to the flashy Roscoe Turner. After a number of harrowing experiences during the almost 12,000-mile trip, Turner and Pangborn finished third. Only an overheating engine on the last leg of the flight prevented them from finishing second with their Boeing 247-D.

The MacRobertson Air Race proved to be Pangborn's last major air competition as he moved into manufacturing and industry positions with various companies as a test pilot and design consultant. In 1935 he began an association with Burnelli Aircraft as a test and demonstration pilot which would survive into the post-World War II period. That same year, he also became the Chief Test Pilot for Bellanca Aircraft Corporation of New Castle, Delaware. In 1937 he demonstrated Burnelli Aircraft in England and Europe for Cunliffe Owen Aircraft Company of South Hampton, England. Pangborn remained with Cunliffe-Owen through the late 1930s where he tested military aircraft. When the war broke out in Europe in late 1939, Pangborn joined the Royal Air Force and assisted in organizing the R. A. F. Ferry Command. He recruited pilots throughout the United States and Canada for the Ferry Command and Eagle Squadron. From 1941 through the end of the war in 1945, Pangborn served as Senior Captain, Royal Air Force Ferry Command during which time he made approximately 170 trans-ocean flights (crossing both the Atlantic and the Pacific). In 1942 he brought the first Lancaster heavy bomber to the United States for tests and later returned with the same plane and demonstrated it to United States Army Air Force and major aircraft builders throughout the U. S. and Canada. During his tour with the Ferry Command, Pangborn flew almost every type of multi-engine air craft used during the war.

From the time of his discharge in early 1946 to his death in March 1958 Pangborn was intimately connected with flying, aircraft design, and testing. Throughout this period he ferried aircraft all over the world. In 1946 he made an airline route survey throughout Mexico for an American Mexican airline. He worked as a test pilot and engineer for Burnelli on the radically designed lifting body aircraft, and as a test pilot for Lear Aviation of Santa Monica, California. Pangborn was responsible for the original alterations on the Learstar which resulted in less drag. He also worked as a private pilot for a construction company.

During his forty-year aviation career Pangborn had flown to all parts of the civilized world without major damage to his aircraft. He held pilot's license number 240 and was at the time of his death instrument-rated to fly single or multi-engine, land or sea planes. He had amassed more than 24,000 flying hours during his lifetime.

Use of the CollectionReturn to Top

Preferred Citation

[Item Description]. Cage 112, Clyde Edward Pangborn Papers . Manuscripts, Archives, and Special Collections, Washington State University Libraries, Pullman, WA.

Administrative InformationReturn to Top

Arrangement

The Clyde Edward Pangborn Papers have been arranged into eight series: Correspondence, Subject File, Business and Financial Records, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, Photographs, Scrapbooks, Memorabilia, and Oversized Material.

The first series, Correspondence, 1919-1958, has been divided into four sub- series: Family, 1924-1957; Personal, 1921-1958; Business, 1919 1958; and Telegrams, 1919-1958. The Family correspondence subseries primarily consists of letters written by Clyde Pangborn to his mother, Mrs. Opal Pangborn, and to his brother, Percy C. Pangborn. This correspondence covers the period from 1924 through 1957, with the majority falling into the era of the 1930s and 1940s. The second sub series, Personal correspondence, consists of letters written to Pangborn by various friends, acquaintances, and admirers, as well as some outgoing correspondence written by Pangborn, during the period from 1921 until his death in the spring of 1958. Business correspondence, the third subseries, includes Pangborn's business correspondence for the period from 1919 through 1958, but it bulks largest during the 1930s. This business subseries includes both incoming and outgoing correspondence. Although the correspondence has been separated into Personal and Business, a separation consistent with the received order, it must be noted that Pangborn's personal and business interests overlapped a great deal. His life revolved around flying- it was his pleasure, his hobby, and his livelihood. Consequently, his aviation friends were often his business partners and associates. Therefore, the separation of business from personal correspondence is quite arbitrary and there is some indication that this arrangement is a disruption of the original order. The Telegrams subseries includes both personal (family and friends) and business messages- outgoing as well as incoming telegrams--during the period from 1919 through the Spring of 1958. As with each of the correspondence subseries, the telegrams are most abundant in the decade of the 1930s. Each of the subseries in the Correspondence Series is arranged chronologically with the undated material placed at the beginning of its respective subseries.

The second series, Subject File, 1918-1958, consists of a single subject file, alphabetically arranged, covering the period from the beginning of Pangborn's flying career with the military to his death in 1958. Some of the more prominent subjects include his "Around-the-World" flight in 1931, which included the first trans-Pacific flight; his association with the Bellanca, Burnelli, and Cunliffe Owen aircraft corporations; his service with the Royal Air Force Ferry Command during the Second World War; his participation with Roscoe Turner in the "MacRobertson International Air Race" in 1934; and a number of his post World War II business ventures and jobs.

Business and Financial Records, 1922-1958, the third series, is arranged alphabetically in a single subject series. The major subject file in this series is entitled "Business invoices, receipts, vouchers, expense account forms" and consists of a chronologically arranged file of those business materials which Pangborn used for his expense accounts, and for records of his various business interests and associations during the period 1922 through 1958. The bulk of this file documents in great detail the daily expenses of Pangborn's air exhibition circus, "The Flying Fleet," during its existence from January 1930 through February 1931. In addition to the daily documentation for The Flying Fleet, the Business and Financial Records series contains a group of Flying Fleet expense ledgers listing expenses incurred for aircraft, automobiles, and petty cash, in addition to the pay records for the ground crew, the pilots, and the advance man. Together these records form a complete and unique documentary account of the financial history of one of the more colorful, albeit short lived, flying circuses in the American inter-war period.

The fourth series, Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1925-1958, consists of a single chronological series of clippings from national and international news papers and magazines recording the exploits of Pangborn throughout his career. Included are clippings concerning the Gates Flying Circus, the "Around-the-World" and trans-Pacific flights, the MacRobertson International Air Race, and his tour of the United States with the British Lancaster bomber during the Second World War. The series is filed chronologically by year and covers the period from 1925 through Panghorn's death in 1958. The bulk of the newspaper and magazine clippings date from the late 1920s and the 1930s.

The photograph collection, series five, consists of images of Pangborn, his friends and flying colleagues, airplanes, and specific events during the course of his flying career, from 1919-1958. The images are grouped in a subject file arrangement, such as Pangborn (portraits), Aviators, Flying Circus, The Flying Fleet, etc., and these subject files are arranged in a rough chronological sequence, with the undated photos of individuals placed at the beginning of the series and undated photos of aircraft placed at the end of the series. Included in the photo graph series is a 1919-1920 photograph album of Ivan R. Gates (including his family and friends), later Pangborn's partner in the Flying Circus.

The sixth series, Books and Scrapbooks, 1920-1958, consists of a navigation notebook (undated), a history of Royal Air Force Group No. 45 (the Group that Pang born flew with during World War II), and a series of scrapbooks from the period 1920 through 1946, with some material from 1958, arranged in chronological order. As with the majority of the entire collection, the material for the 1930s is most abundant. There are two scrapbooks dealing with the "Around-the-World" flight and trans-Pacific crossing, several which include material concerning the "MacRobertson International Air Race," and another which chronicles the British Lancaster bomber tour of the United States.

The seventh series, Memorabilia, 1919-1958, is contained within a military medical supply box which Pangborn used to store aviation maps, and consists of such things as business cards, a leather flying case (for maps), navigation instruments and calculators, newsreel footage of Pangborn's landing in Wenatchee in October 1931 after the trans-Pacific flight and subsequent parade in Seattle, flying magazines from the early 1920s, and charts and photographs of landing fields in the Middle East used by the RAF Ferry Command during World War II. The final series, oversized material, 1918-1958, consists of posters from the Gates Flying Circus, photographs, newspapers, and sketches.

Acquisition Information

The papers of Clyde Edward Pangborn (1896-1958) were donated by his brother, Percy C. Pangborn, to the Washington State University Libraries in May 1962.

Processing Note

The papers were arranged in 1962 by the Manuscripts and Archives division staff. They were reaccessioned in February 1981 (MS 81-11) and reprocessed by Stephen E. Balzarini between October 1980 and September 1981.

Related Materials

MASC also holds the Clyde Edward Pangborn Aeronautical charts and papers, circa 1930s-1950s (Cage 753)a collection of Pangborn's aeronautical charts, many with Pangborn's annotations, along with a small quantity of technical manuals and other papers.

Detailed Description of the CollectionReturn to Top

The following section contains a detailed listing of the materials in the collection.

Series 1: Correspondence, 1919-1958Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Subseries 1.1: Family
1924-1957
Box/Folder
1 / 1
C. E. Pangborn to Mrs. Opal Pangborn
35 items.
1924-1957
1 / 2
Correspondence to Opal and Percy Pangborn
10 items.
1931-1950
Subseries 1.2: Personal
1921-1958
Box/Folder
1 / 3
70 items.
undated
1 / 4
10 items.
1921-1929
1 / 5
50 items.
1930-1931
1 / 6
60 items.
1932-1933
1 / 7
35 items.
1934-1939
1 / 8
50 items.
1940-1949
1 / 9
70 items.
1950-1956
1 / 10
125 items.
Jan. 1957-Apr. 1958
Subseries 1.3: Business
1919-1958
Box/Folder
1 / 11
45 items.
undated
1 / 12
2 items.
1919-1926
1 / 13
13 items.
1920-1929
1 / 14
2 items.
1930
1 / 15
40 items.
1931
1 / 16-19
215 items.
1932
1 / 20
20 items.
1933
1 / 21
15 items.
1934
1 / 22
145 items.
1935
1 / 23
70 items.
1936
1 / 24
20 items.
1937
1 / 25
35 items.
1938
1 / 26
55 items.
1939
1 / 27
20 items.
1940
1 / 28
30 items.
1941
1 / 29
30 items.
1942
1 / 30
20 items.
1943
1 / 31
10 items.
1944
1 / 32
30 items.
1945
1 / 33
10 items.
1946
1 / 34
5 items.
1947
1 / 35
30 items.
1948
1 / 36
15 items.
1949
1 / 37
15 items.
1950
1 / 38
15 items.
1951
1 / 39
40 items.
1952
1 / 40
20 items.
1953
1 / 41
4 items.
1954
1 / 42
6 items.
1955
1 / 43
20 items.
1956
1 / 44
20 items.
1957
1 / 45
1958
Subseries 1.4: Telegrams
1919-1958
Box/Folder
2 / 46
25 items.
undated
2 / 47
11 items.
1919-1929
2 / 48
11 items.
1930
2 / 49
50 items.
1931
2 / 50
150 items.
1932
2 / 51
1 item.
1933
2 / 52
8 items.
1934
2 / 53
25 items.
1935
2 / 54
5 items.
1936
2 / 55
5 items.
1937
2 / 56
13 items.
1938
2 / 57
7 items.
1939
2 / 58
25 items.
1940
2 / 59
2 items.
1941
2 / 60
15 items.
1942
2 / 61
11 items.
1943
2 / 62
7 items.
1944
2 / 63
2 items.
1945
2 / 64
7 items.
1946
2 / 65
30 items.
1947
2 / 66
2 items.
1948
2 / 67
5 items.
1949
2 / 68
3 items.
1950
2 / 69
3 items.
1951
2 / 70
4 items.
1952
2 / 71
4 items.
1953
2 / 72
1 item.
1954
2 / 73
1 item.
1955
2 / 74
3 items.
1956
2 / 75
3 items.
1957
2 / 76
5 items.
1958

Series 2: Subject File, 1918-1958Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
2 / 77
Address books
8 items.
undated
2 / 78
Aircraft Inventions Limited
13 items.
1939
2 / 79
Airport Statistics (World)
10 items.
1933-1934
2 / 80
Army Air Force induction and training material
50 items.
1918-1919
2 / 81
Advertising
3 items.
2 / 82
New accounts
150 items.
2 / 83
Newspaper, speeches, program (Seattle reception), Siberian map, poem, New York reception
29 items.
1931
2 / 84
Pangborn and Herndon's account
4 items.
2 / 85
Trans-Pacific flight scrapbook
1 item.
Around the World Non-Stop Flight:
Box/Folder
2 / 86
Proposal
8 items.
undated
2 / 87
Pangborn Interview
10 items.
May 1935
Box/Folder
2 / 88
Articles by Pangborn
10 items.
2 / 89
Atlantic Aviation Corporation (Prospectus)
1 item.
Nov. 1931
2 / 90
Automobile sketches/designs
10 items.
undated
2 / 91
Babb Company, Inc.
5 items.
1950-1951
2 / 92
Beechcraft Information
10 items.
undated
Bellanca:
Box/Folder
2 / 93
Engine Log and Repairs
3 items.
1930-1931
2 / 94
Fuel tank plans
1 item.
1931
2 / 95
Purchase of Miss Veedol, correspondence
50 items.
Jan. - July 1931
Burnelli:
Box/Folder
2 / 96
Jet Fighter Plans
1 item.
Sept. 1946
2 / 97-98
Lifting-Body Aircraft
80 items.
1931-1949
Box/Folder
2 / 99
Business cards and addresses
300 items.
undated
2 / 100
Certificates
3 items.
2 / 101
Chemistry Experiment Lab Write-ups
1 item.
undated
2 / 102
Chicago-South America Expedition
1 item.
1933
2 / 103
Chief Inspector (Pangborn) Log
1 item.
1945
Christmas cards:
Box/Folder
2 / 104
30 items.
undated
2 / 105
30 items.
1936
Box/Folder
2 / 106
Civil Aeronautics Administration Regulations--Air Worthiness and Performance Specifications
15 items.
1945-1951
3 / 107
Coronado Beach Accident
6 items.
1920
3 / 108
Cunliffe-Owen Aircraft Ltd.
6 items.
1939
3 / 109
Daily Log
1 item.
July-Nov. 1941
3 / 110
Designs and drawings
7 items.
undated
3 / 111
Dorval Survivors (R.A.F.F.C.)
5 items.
1951
3 / 112
Explorers Club and Adventurers Club
5 items.
1932
3 / 113-116
Ferry Command (R.A.F.F.C.)
80 items.
1941-1945
3 / 117
Flight notebook (ETA calculations)
1 item.
undated
3 / 118
Flying Fleet--six months financial estimates
1 item.
1930
3 / 119
Flying Stump Campaign
6 items.
undated
Gates Flying Circus:
Box/Folder
3 / 120
Catalogue
1 item.
undated
3 / 121
Contracts
7 items.
1927
Box/Folder
3 / 122
Get Well Cards
15 items.
undated
3 / 123
Identification papers
70 items.
1918-1958
3 / 124
Indamer Corp.
45 items.
Dec. 1950-Jan. 1951
3 / 125
Industrial Research Bureau
2 items.
undated
3 / 126
Invitations
90 items.
1932-1935, 1946-1947, and 1953
3 / 127
Lear, Inc.
1 item.
1953
3 / 128
Legal documents, insurance policies, court actions, etc.
50 items.
1914-1953
3 / 129
Log Book (Flight)
3 items.
1918; 1931; 1940-1941
3 / 130-133
MacRobertson International Air Race
120 items.
1934
3 / 134
Marmon Automobile Co., correspondence
20 items.
1931-1933
3 / 135
Membership cards
45 items.
1927-1958
3 / 136
Men with Wings, radio script
1 item.
Sept. 18, 1933
3 / 137
Meteorological Reports
10 items.
1931; 1951; 1953
3 / 138
Mid-Air Rescue
2 items.
Feb. 21, 1924
3 / 139
Navigation Notebook
1 item.
Mar. 1942
4 / 140
Newsletter
4 items.
1935; 1946; 1956; 1957
4 / 141
New Standard performance specs and price list
16 items.
undated
4 / 142
New York-Browsville Air Service Proposal
1 item.
undated
4 / 143
Notes and Drawings
4 items.
undated
4 / 144
Operating and Performance Specs.
45 items.
undated
4 / 145
Pangborn Field Dedication, Wenatchee, WA
2 items.
June 30, 1958
4 / 146
Pangborn-Huntington Air Lines proposal
4 items.
undated
4 / 147
Pangborn School of Aeronautics, Inc.
2 items.
1933
4 / 148
Passports
8 items.
1931; 1941; 1945; 1949; 1955
4 / 149
Patent Application
1 item.
Sept. 2, 1938
4 / 150
PBYs to Manila and Pacific: Reports
150 items.
1941
4 / 151
Personal information (resume, etc.)
15 items.
4 / 152
Post, Wiley. News stories
3 items.
1931
4 / 153
Quiet Birdman
5 items.
1940; 1944; 1952
4 / 154
Radio scripts
3 items.
undated
4 / 155
Sketch books
2 items.
undated
4 / 156
The Sky Was Our Home, notebook
1 item.
undated
4 / 157
Steward-Davis Jet Packet, observations and information
7 items.
1957
Testimonial dinners:
Box/Folder
4 / 158
Santa Monica, CA
3 items.
Jan. 30, 1958,
4 / 159
New York, NY (tapes)
10 items.
Mar. 20, 1958,
Box/Folder
4 / 160
Tickets and Passes
35 items.
1934-1951
4 / 161
Transporting military aircraft to Argentina
4 items.
1948
4 / 162
Wings Club, Inc. Year Book
1 item.
1942-1943
4 / 163
Worlds Fair Publicity Promotion
3 items.
1939

Series 3: Business and Financial Records, 1922-1958Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Subseries 3.1: Business invoices, receipts, vouchers, expense account forms:
Box/Folder
4 / 164
20 items.
undated
4 / 165
6 items.
1922-1927
4 / 166
75 items.
1928
4 / 167
15 items.
1929
4 / 168-175
1600 items.
1930
5 / 176
200 items.
1930
5 / 177-178
300 items.
1931
5 / 179
100 items.
1932
5 / 180
5 items.
1933
5 / 181
3 items.
1934
5 / 182
50 items.
1935-1937
5 / 183
3 items.
1938
5 / 184
3 items.
1939
5 / 185
5 items.
1940
5 / 186
125 items.
1941
5 / 187
50 items.
1942
5 / 188
2 items.
1943
5 / 189
3 items.
1944
5 / 190
7 items.
1945-1946
5 / 191
30 items.
1947
5 / 192
10 items.
1948
5 / 193
3 items.
1949
5 / 194
20 items.
1950
5 / 195
60 items.
1951
5 / 196
60 items.
1952
5 / 197
65 items.
1953
5 / 198
12 items.
1954
5 / 199
15 items.
1955
5 / 200
5 items.
1956
5 / 201
10 items.
1957
5 / 202
5 items.
1958
Box/Folder
5 / 203
Canceled checks
175 items.
1944-1947
5 / 204
Daily expense diaries
7 items.
1919; 1923; 1925; 1928; 1952
Expense ledgers
Box/Folder
5 / 205
Aircraft
1 item.
1930
5 / 206
Automobiles
1 item.
1930
5 / 207
Crew
1 item.
1930
5 / 208
Flying Fleet
1 item.
1930-1931
5 / 209
Petty cash
1 item.
1930
5 / 210
Petty cash: Churchill
1 item.
1930
5 / 211
Pilots
1 item.
1930
Box/Folder
5 / 212
Expense log (Flying Fleet)
2 items.
1930

Series 4: Newspaper and Magazine Clippings, 1925-1958Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
6 / 213-228
Newspaper and magazine clippings
1500 items.
1925-1958

Series 5: Photographs, 1919-1958Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
6 / 229
Pangborn (portraits)
23 items.
undated
6 / 230
Pangborn and others
50 items.
undated
6 / 231
Aviators (Personal friends)
7 items.
undated
6 / 232
Coronado Beach accident
7 items.
May 16, 1920
6 / 233
Flying Circus
120 items.
1921-1929
6 / 234
Flying Fleet
3 items.
1930-1931
6 / 235
Around the World flight
7 items.
1931
6 / 236
Circumnavigators Club banquet
7 items.
June 27, 1932
6 / 237
Roscoe Turner and MacRobertson Air Race
15 items.
1934
6 / 238
British Lancaster tour of United States
36 items.
1942
6 / 239
Atlantic Crossing
24 items.
1944
6 / 240
Pangborn and wife
8 items.
undated
6 / 241
Burnelli UB-14 Lifting Body aircraft
7 items.
undated
6 / 242
Aircraft photos
36 items.
undated
6 / 243
Miscellaneous
193 items.
undated
6 / 244
Gates Photo Album
193 items.
1919-1920

Series 6: Books and Scrapbooks, 1920-1958Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
7 / 245
Navigation Notebook
1 item.
undated
7 / 246
RAF Group No. 45--Transport Command, history
1 item.
Subseries 6.1: Scrapbooks:
Box/Folder
7 / 247
1 item.
1920-1934
7 / 248
1 item.
1931
7 / 249
1 item.
1931
7 / 250
1 item.
1931-1934
7 / 251
1 item.
1934
7 / 252
1 item.
1934-1935
7 / 253
1 item.
1936-1946; 1958

Series 7: Memorabilia, 1919-1958Return to Top

Container(s) Description Dates
Box/Folder
8.1-8.4
Maps, charts, etc. Items added to the collection: Two videotapes of Miss Veedol: A Rendezvous with Destiny with written information of Pangborn (Given Jan. 1991); One videotape created by ATV for Japanese Television. (Donated December 1999); 5 Apples that Crossed the Pacific. (Donated 2001)
52 items.

Series 8: Oversized Material:Return to Top

Container(s) Description
Box/Folder
oversized
Gates Flying Circus posters, photographs, newspapers, sketches
25 items.
oversized
Model of the Miss Veedol aircraft, undated (location note: oversize box)

Names and SubjectsReturn to Top

Personal Names

  • Pangborn, Clyde Edward, ca., 1893-1958 --Archives (creator)
  • Gates, Ivan R., 1890-1932
  • Herndon, Hugh

Corporate Names

  • Gates Flying Circus
  • Bernelli Aviation Company

Occupations

  • Air pilots--United States--Correspondence
  • Stunt flying