This fascinating 16mm silent home movie was shot by either Truman Wadlow or his twin brother Newman Wadlow, who were both pilots from Wichita, Kansas. Both served as test pilots for the famed Travel Air Company, a noted airplane manufacturer. Truman also operated an airplane sales outlet in St. Joseph, Missouri during 1928. Newman Wadlow participated in the Ford Reliability Tour in 1929, and Truman flew in 1930. The brothers operated the Wadlow Bros. Flying Service Co. in Wichita in the early 1930s. This film seems to date to 1930, as it has images of the 1930 National Air Races in Chicago which were held at Curtiss-Reynolds Airport on August 23rd to September 1st.

The film starts with images that appear to be shot from the Chrysler Building — the images at 4:16 show the observation deck interior. The Chrysler was only two years old at the time this was filmed. At :51, shots of a large balloon being inflated, possibly at the National Air Races in Chicago, followed by a flyover by what appear to be Navy biplanes. At 1:45, a hangar is visible that appears to have Rutledge painted on the roof, this is the Rutledge Hangar at the Stanley Jones Airport in Calgary, Alberta. At 2:06, aerial footage shot out of the enclosed cabin of an airplane. At 2:08, also shot out of a plane, a large crowd is held back by what appear to be Canadian mounted police. At 2:50, images shot at what might be a dude ranch, and at 3:11 an unidentified boy poses with a horse. At 3:39 the large camp stove is visible on the range. At 3:58, the wing of NC 401H, one of the Ford Trimotors involved in the Ford Reliability Tour is seen. A crowd gathered around the airplane and what appears to be a Cessna Model A (4:04). At (4:27) more aerial footage, this time showing mountains down below. At (5:10), fascinating shot showing what appears to be a Curtiss “pusher” type airplane in flight. At (5:11) a Bellanca Airbus is shown, first built in 1930. At (5:32) images of the Curtiss-Reynolds Airport set up for the National Air Races. A Travel Air 10-D, tail NC 471W is visible at (5:37). The hangar in the background at (5:44) is likely part of the Travel Air Factory in Wichita. At (5:55) two pilots pose in front of what might be a Travel Air Model 10. It’s likely the person on the left is one of the Wadlow brothers. At (6:01) side view of the Model 10. (6:05) interior of the Travel Air hangar; the plane appearing briefly at (6:22) was truly famous — the Travelair Mystery Ship in Texaco livery. This plane tail NR-1313 was purchased by the Texaco Company for Frank Hawks as “Texaco 13” and set numerous long-distance records both in the United States and internationally. At (6:34) skyscraper during construction, not clear what city but seems likely it is New York. At (6:55) additional footage shot from the Chrysler Building. At (7:26) more footage of the National Air Races. At (8:39) biplanes form an “A” in the sky, probably part of a USA formation. At (8:43) panning shot showing the grandstands with various planes in the foreground including a racer with EBVO painted on the wings. At (9:12) a Curtiss XF6C-6 known as the Page Navy Racer (after pilot US Marine Corps Captain Arthur H. Page) which flew in the Thompson Trophy Race. On the 17th lap of that race, Capt. Page apparently succumbed to carbon monoxide poisoning in the air and crashed the aircraft; he tragically died of his injuries later that night. At (9:30) shots into the cockpit of a large plane, possibly one of the trimotors on the Ford Reliability Tour but more likely (based on the round window visible at one point) from the Bellanca Airbus.

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This film is part of the Periscope Film LLC archive, one of the largest historic military, transportation, and aviation stock footage collections in the USA. Entirely film backed, this material is available for licensing in 24p HD, 2k and 4k. For more information visit http://www.PeriscopeFilm.com