The History Press

Tucked along the north bank of the Columbia River lies Pearson Field, thought to be the nation’s oldest continuously operating airfield.

The golden age of aviation in the Pacific Northwest began at this spot with the touchdown of a dirigible bearing airmail letters, but that was only the first of many remarkable moments. From its conversion into a sawmill to provide spruce for World War I warplanes to hosting unexpected Russian airmen, Pearson Field adapted to serve the region through wars and peace alike. The Army Air Corps called it home for decades, and it attracted aviators like daredevil Silas Christofferson and Tex Rankin, who ran his own flight school.

Author Martin Middlewood dives into the stories of the men and women who turned a grassy field into the historic site it is today.

Midwestern aviators changed the trajectory of flight itself—from barnstormers and military pilots to hot air balloonists and NASA engineers.

When Mother Nature made American prairies, she created one vast airfield. It’s not mere chance that so many aviation pioneers are from the Midwest—farm kids, small-town kids—who grew up accustomed to vast expanses of earth and sky. Barnstormers, flight attendants, NASA engineers, crop dusters, World War II bombers and Vietnam helicopter pilots were dispatched from areas of the heartland, places like Central Illinois. Their stories, big and small, bear testimony to America’s enduring fascination with flying machines, a fascination that has taken prairie flyers to every corner of the world. Edith Brady-Lunny, Denis Hambucken and John Warner offer a ground-level view of aviation history in the nation’s heartland, including personal stories of the flyers and the global legacy of the Flying Farmer organization. 

History Beyond Kitty Hawk

Millions of North Carolina license plates affirm the state’s claim of “First in Flight,” honoring the December 1903 accomplishment of the Wright brothers on the Outer Banks. Yet the history of aviation in North Carolina goes well beyond that first powered flight at Kitty Hawk. Numerous aviation inventors and innovators called the state home. North Carolina airports hosted legendary fliers like Charles Lindbergh, Eddie Rickenbacker and Amelia Earhart. During World War II, aviators trained at several military bases and flew patrols along the coast seeking enemy submarines. The state produced its own airlines, like Piedmont Airlines and Wheeler Airlines, and various sites across the state played aviation-related roles in the Cold War and the Space Race. Michael C. Hardy details the storied history of North Carolina in flight.

From hot air balloons to home-built aircraft, the people of Oregon pursued every opportunity to explore the skies.

By the late 1800s, air travel had captured the imagination of the entire nation. From hot air balloons to home-built aircraft, the people of Oregon pursued every opportunity to explore the skies. At the 1905 world’s fair exposition, held in Portland, audiences gazed in awe as dirigibles claimed the title of first controlled flight in the state. Soon after, airfields began to dot the countryside. In 1910, Charles Hamilton became the first pilot to fly in Oregon, and by 1926, regular air mail deliveries were commonplace. Daring early aviators like Eugene Ely, Charles Walsh and Silas Christofferson lost their lives but have never been forgotten.

Author Arthur H. Redman explores Oregon’s aviation history. 

Author Billy J. Singleton sets readers on a captivating course through the history of Cotton State aviation.

From the dreamers who envisioned flight decades before the Wright Brothers achieved it at Kitty Hawk to the international space race, Alabama has been at the forefront of aviation. Delve into the obscure and forgotten stories of the state's aeronautical heritage, including an encounter over Montgomery that initiated an investigation by the Air Force, Eleanor Roosevelt's aerial tour of the Tuskegee Institute in a two-seat training aircraft and the miracle of Eastern Flight 002. Recall the lost squadron of Gunter Field, the Alabama pilot recognized by the Guinness Book of World Records as the most experienced aviator in history and the college administration that constructed an airport to obtain a gymnasium .

Trace the monumental story of a transatlantic flight to the Century of Progress Exposition.

In an era when transatlantic travel was still dangerous, Italy caused a sensation by announcing its participation in the upcoming Century of Progress World's Fair would be highlighted by an unprecedented formation flight from Rome to Chicago. Led by renowned aviator Italo Balbo, the squadron of two dozen seaplanes accomplished a daring navigational feat that was commemorated by a number of civic monuments that stand in Chicago to this day. Since the United States fought Italy in World War II, the monuments have weathered decades of intermittent controversy. Don Fiore provides a fascinating account of the complex legacy of Balbo's flight.

What disturbing secrets surround the cold, deep waters of Lake Michigan?

Sudden violent storms and rocky shoals have claimed the lives of countless mortals foolish enough to brave the treacherous surf of Lake Michigan. But is there another, unnatural force at work? A force that spirited away a ship's captain from a locked cabin without a trace? A force that caused a perfectly airworthy jet to fly into the waves, taking all its passengers to a watery death? Perhaps these tragedies are linked to numerous UFO sightings over the lake. Or perhaps a clue might be found in the prehistoric Stonehenge-like structures discovered deep beneath the crystalline blue surface.

Historian and storyteller Gayle Soucek will explore the mysteries behind the area known as the Lake Michigan Triangle.

On December 31, 1862, 16 men perished that stormy New Year's Eve when the USS Monitor sank off Cape Hatteras, N.C.

The United States Navy's first ironclad warship rose to glory during the Battle of Hampton Roads on March 9, 1862, but there's much more to know about the USS Monitor. Historian John Quarstein has painstakingly compiled bits of historical data gathered through years of research to present the first comprehensive picture of the lives of the officers and crew who served faithfully in an iron ship unlike any vessel previously known.

The Monitor Boys, a moniker the men gave themselves, is a reflection of how these hundred-odd souls were bound together through storms, battles, boredom and disaster. Just living aboard the ironclad took uncommon effort and fortitude. Their perseverance through the heat, stress and unseaworthiness that defined life on the ship makes the study of those who dared it a worthy endeavor. Many recognized that they were part of history. Moreover, the Monitor Boys were agents in the change of naval warfare.

Following Quarstein's compelling narrative is a detailed chronology as well as appendices including crew member biographies, casualties and statistics and dimensions of the ship. Readers can dive into the world of the Monitor and meet William Flye, George Geer and the rest of the men who risked everything by going to sea in the celebrated cheesebox on a raft and became the hope of a nation wracked by war.