For those that were able to attend the 2008 AAA/APM Fly-in, "Air Mail Days" proved to be an exciting as well as an historical event. At no other fly-in or airshow could one have seen the gathering of historic mail planes that gathered at Antique Airfield to once again haul the mail in celebration of the "90th Anniversary of Scheduled Airmail in the US".

While airmail help paved the way for commercial aviation and the airlines, the 1930's also saw the beginnings of aircraft being used for business and corporate flying. Just a cursory look at photos of Wacos, Stinsons, Howards, Lockheeds, Stearmans, Fairchilds, Beechcrafts etc. from that era will show many being used in such roles. From the oil companies such as Phillips, Shell, Pure Oil, Texaco etc. to companies as diverse as Firestone, the Des Moines Register, Morrell Meat Packing Co., Coca Cola etc., all whom were operating aircraft for business use.


John Swander, DeSoto KS, will be back again in his Waco UEC. This aircraft was owned and operated by the Viking Flying Boat Co.
Photo by Gilles Auliard

Therefore the theme for the 2009 AAA/APM Fly-in (Sep 2-7, 2009) will be a celebration of "Corporate Wings", those early days of corporate aviation. As part of that celebration Howard aircraft will be featured.

As we did for this past fly-in, we will be sending out special invitations to AAA members who currently own and fly these early corporate aircraft. At this point we have identified over twenty such aircraft and the list is not yet complete. Included are several Wacos, Stinsons, Stearmans, Howards, Beechcrafts, Lockheeds and a Curtiss Robin. If you are the owner of or know of just such an aircraft please do not hesitate to contact me here at AAA Headquarters so that we might extend an invitation. While not all of these aircraft will be able to attend, we do expect a significant number will make the journey to Antique Airfield next Labor Day weekend to help us commemorate another colorful era of aviation history.


Greg Herrick plans to bring his Waco UKC, a former Pure Oil Co airplane.

We also are at work on special activities that will have these aircraft out and flying while in attendance. We feel that was one of the great features of "Air Mail Days". Several interesting ideas are being discussed and plans are beginning to coalesce. Check back here often for details!