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FRIDAY February 13, 2004 - Subscribe - Contact Us - Rate Card Valley&State Backpage O&E Sports Archives Classifieds Faith&Beliefs Obituaries Revels December 8, 2003 Flight: As the half-way point between major cities, region blossomed in early aviation By Tim Bousquet Tidings Correspondent In 1908, just five years after the Wright brothers' first flight, barnstormer Eugene Ely came through the Rogue Valley. Intending to charge locals for the short trips, Ely set up his plane on the Cox ranch, near Kings Highway, but found that the altitude was to high for the machine to take off. He refunded the passengers' money, packed up the plane and moved on to more profitable locales. Southern Oregon Historial Society | Courtesy Photo #10423 The most heralded of early flyers, Charles Lindbergh tends his plane at Medford Airport, August 28, 1928. Lingbergh's visit to the region is one of the highlights of the new exhibit, "Celebrating Flight: A History of Aviation in Southern Oregon" which opened Saturday, and will continue through November 2004 at the History Center, 106 N. Central Ave., downtown Medford. But that aborted first step to flight in southern Oregon was quickly forgotten, and the Rogue Valley would soon develop into an important aviation center. Ely staged a successful return in 1911, and in 1919 Medford residents Floyd Hart and Seely Hall followed his lead, charging $15 for a 10-minute sight-seeing flight. Because Medford is halfway between Portland and San Francisco, the town became an essential link in the West Coast airmail line, and Newell Barber Field, next to the Fairgrounds south of town, became the first public airport in Oregon. A new exhibit The details of these first steps, together with the subsequent development of the local aviation industry, are chronicled in a new exhibit at the Southern Oregon Historical Society's History Center, "Celebrating Flight: A History of Aviation in Southern Oregon." The exhibit coincides with the nationwide centennial celebrations of the Wright brothers' invention. "We've never had an exhibit like this," said SOHS's Executive Director John Enders at an opening celebration for the exhibit Friday night. "Over 95 percent of the exhibit is on loan to us, from 140 local people who are not members of the society. We've also mined a lot of oral history from people in the area. It's very exciting to see such community involvement." The exhibit includes hundreds of photos from each decade, log books from local airports, pilot and flight attendant uniforms, models and more. The ScienceWorks Hands-On Museum has teamed up with SOHS for the exhibit, bringing such interactive activities as the "WingZinger," a state-of-the-art paper airplane launcher. The Society's display window hosts a rebuilt Link Trainer that was used in World War II. "Machines like this were used to train over 500,000 pilots," explained Lyle Heigl, a former pilot. "It trained them for flying in the dark, what we call blind training. They would have to fly straight and level and follow a course using only their instruments." The Links is on loan from the Experimental Aircraft Association, local #319, which is a group of Rogue Valley antique airplane enthusiasts. The original vacuum pumps have been replaced with air compressors, and fanciful "wings" have been added, but otherwise the machine is exactly as it was when used for training. Indeed, celebrants were riding the machine much like they would a mechanical bull, and visitors are encouraged to do the same: The trainer will be available for rides on Saturdays between 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. for the duration of the exhibit. One cabinet of the exhibit is devoted to the career of local stunt pilot Bill Warren, who was likewise present Friday night. Warren moved to Medford in 1955, when he 8 years old, and became enchanted with the airport, riding his bicycle out to watch the planes land and take off. In 1966 Warren formed the West Coast Fling Circus and toured the nation on the airshow circuit. He subsequently formed the Barnstormers Flying Circus and the Great American Flying Circus, and worked in several Hollywood productions. He's most noted for his 1984 act, the Daring Damsels, in which for the first and only time in history, two female wingwalkers performed at each wingtip. "We had a lot of fun," said Warren with a smile, pointing to a picture of himself landing a J-3 biplane on a station wagon driven by William Shatner. "We toured the entire nation, anywhere there was an airport. I decided to retire while I was still alive." One of the oldest pieces in the exhibit is a wooden wing frame from a World War I fighter plane. "We're not sure if it's from a SR-5 or a Newport," explained Matt Watson, the Curator of Exhibits for SOHS. "The original plane somehow ended up in Medford in the late 20s as surplus, and the wing was used in a glider during the 30s. It ended up sitting in a barn until last year. It's amazing it still exists: this was flying within ten years of the Wright brothers." The exhibit includes many documents from Pacific Air Transport, a Medford company formed to carry airmail and which later began taking passengers. A 1929 Timetable shows that a one-way flight from Medford to San Francisco took four hours and 30 minutes and cost $30 per passenger. Ashland's airfield The history of Ashland's airfield is also related in the exhibit. In 1927, after taking flying lessons from Tex Rankin, an Oregon stunt pilot, Sumner Parker used his hayfield to practice take-offs and landings. The strip was later surfaced with crushed rock, and in 1951 it was donated to the City of Ashland. DailyTidings.com Home Page Valley&State | Backpage | O&E | Sports | Archives | Weather | Classifieds Columnists | Faith&Beliefs | Obituaries | Revels | Subscribe | Contact Us Copyright 2004 Ashland Daily Tidings and Ottaway Newspapers All Rights Reserved Site Search: A new improved archive search is coming! Look for it in mid-February! .:Advertisements:. RESOURCES - ODOT Road Cams