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| Carol L. Osborne, Historian of the Early Days of Aviation | May '09 |
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 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | Portrait commissioned for Bobbi Trout’s book: Trout is pictured here with George Akimoto, the talented artist that captured her essence for the cover. | |
Carol L. Osborne is a remarkable woman, having dedicated much of her life to recording and preserving aviation history in video, photographs, books and multimedia. Her goal has been to preserve memories and "bring our pioneer aviators back to life on screen." But not for money, mind you. In fact, there has been no financial compensation.
Osborne has invested her life savings, heart and soul in pursuit of honoring these pioneers and providing the world with a priceless collection of aviation history. She said, "It is hard to believe what an impression Prof. David D. Hatfield had on me. He deserves so much more recognition than he has ever received. Hatfield is the one who piqued my interest in aviation history."
Most of her work has consisted of videotaping pilots, navigators, mechanics, engineers, educators, and anyone with first-hand recollections of the formative years of aviation. Some of the interviews were conducted at the reunions of groups like The Early Birds of Aviation, OX-5 Pioneers, Aero Club of Southern California (SCAA), Roadrunners Internationale (who served out of Area 51), Blackbird Reunion of U-2 pilots, Women Airforce Service Pilots (WASP), etc. Over the past 30 years, she has spent many holidays, weekends and vacations traveling across the country to get these interviews.
She recently started listening to the interviews recorded in the 1980s and 90s as she copied them on to DVDs. It brought so many of these friends back in real time, legendary aviators like Dr. Paul E. Garber, Martin Jensen, P.H. "Spence" Spencer, Capt. Jepp and Nadine Jeppesen, Muriel Earhart Morrissey, Tony LeVier and so many of those interviewed by Osborne who flew west long ago. For Osborne, playing the interviews on screen brought them back to life—it was as if they were telling their stories today.
Her interest in aviation began in late 1970s when she met and became friends with Neta Snook Southern, best known for giving Amelia Earhart her first flight instruction. Southern was one of the first female pilots in the United States, when planes were covered with fabric and dope, and pilots were considered daredevils. Southern started flying during World War I, and after the war, she bought and rebuilt a Canadian training plane (JN4D Jenny). After barnstorming the country, Southern settled in Los Angeles, where she operated a commercial flying field and gave lessons. That was where, in 1921, Southern taught Amelia Earhart how to fly.
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | Jim Nissen, owner of the beautiful WWI Curtiss JN4D Jenny, Carol L. Osborne and Ed Peiffer. On this day, Osborne took her first ride, including loops and spins, in Nissen’s Curtiss JN4D Jenny. | |
Fast forward to January 1981—at the request of Zonta International and Donald Douglas, Jr., Osborne accompanied Neta Southern to southern California where she was honored. During this trip, the women visited renowned early aviator, photographer, author, entrepreneur and aviation historian Prof. David D. Hatfield. Hatfield and Jack Northrop co-founded the American Hall of Aviation History (AHAH) at Northrop University in Inglewood, Calif. Although Northrop University campus still exists, its doors were closed in 2003. Many of the historical pieces that were located in the library are now in storage and owned by the Museum of Flight or Osborne. The AHAH library was legendary to aviation and Hollywood.
Prof. Hatfield had a passion for aviation history and had already authored 12 books, from mythology to his "Pioneers of Aviation: A Photo-Biography" series. By the 1980s, Hatfield was producing a series of videotapes called the "History of Flight," chronicling the subject from ancient times to the exploration of space, all for the purpose of educating young people and future generations. He was amazed with the new technology. When Hatfield passed away at the age of 77, he left behind his aviation history and videotaping equipment to an astonished Carol Osborne. It changed her life.
Then Evelyn "Bobbi" Trout entered the picture. She was a crackerjack pilot who flew to fame in the 1920s and 30s. Because of Trout's friendship with Hatfield, Osborne met her and soon realized they had something in common—a desire to preserve the history of pioneer aviators. As a result, the women became a team in the effort to capture the stories of surviving aviation pathfinders.
Their "headquarters" was located at Osborne's home. This is where the legwork was done. Charts were drawn up with the names and addresses of those people they wanted to interview. The Early Birds—a membership of pilots who soloed before the 13th anniversary of the Wright Brothers' first flight—were first on this list to be interviewed. Lucky few Early Birds received a short briefing about how to control the airplane while they were on the ground. For all the others, they learned the controls intuitively or instinctively. No wonder these briefings became known as a "crash courses." Unfortunately , Osborne and Trout only captured 14 of the original 598 Early Birds before they were gone forever.
The effort to videotape subjects became a race against the clock. Time is of the essence locating and interviewing pioneers because most of them are in their 80s and 90s. The years flew by, and Osborne and Trout travelled extensively to see as many pioneer stalwarts as possible, for once gone, they're gone forever.
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | Prof. David D. Hatfield taken by Osborne the day she met him, Jan. 10, 1981. Notice the hanging 8” x 10” color photographs, a collection of some 2,000 prints—Hatfield painstakingly hand-colored for use in his upcoming “History of Flight” documentary. | |
More than 450 pioneers interviewed
In the beginning, it was Bobbi Trout who arranged many interviews. She knew some of the pioneers first-hand, and that helped immensely in their willingness to participate. To this day, Osborne continues to conduct interviews as often as she finds willing subjects.
Osborne and Trout conducted well over 300 videotaped interviews (picture and sound) during Trout's lifetime. That's an amazing number, and even more impressive when you consider that a few interviews ran as long as seven hours (over a two-day period). Expenses were not absorbed by any sponsors or offset by any grants. The interviews are a labor of love and cover the famous "giants" to those lesser known who are nevertheless very important because they have witnessed and been part of the significant history of aviation. "It was also my own way of learning all I could about each person's first-hand participation in aviation," said Osborne.
Here is a sample of the more than 450 "eyewitnesses to history" who have been videotaped to date over the past 28 years (*now deceased):
1. Anona Hansen Brown*
Secretary to NAA's Cliff Henderson for many years (beginning in 1928); secretary to Pancho Barnes during The Depression.
2. Harvey* and Vera* Christe
Hired by the Lockheeds in 1928, both worked during the early Vega and Sirius production days and talked about Earhart, Lindbergh, Hughes, Post and Gatty. Harvey witnessed Robert Gross' purchase of 1932 Lockheed aircraft out of receivership, while Vera shared memories of "babysitting" Roscoe Turner's lion.
3. Cyril* and Pat* Chappellet
Principal founders of 1932 Lockheed Martin; Chappellet negotiated the purchase of planes and equipment with the Lindberghs and Earharts.
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | Osborne has interviewed Eileen Collins, seen here with a book by Shakespeare she took with her on her second mission to space. | |
4. Col. Ken Collins (call sign "Dutch 21")
One of only 11 pilots to be selected and recruited by the CIA to fly the A-12, a supersonic spy plane that was the precursor of the SR-71. In 1968, Collins piloted the A-12 on combat missions over North Vietnam. These legendary men now number four.
5. Gen. Benjamin O. Davis, Jr.*
The first African American to graduate from West Point in the 20th century, this legendary aviator led the all-black Tuskegee Airmen into successful aerial combat during WWII.
6. Gen. Jimmy* & Jo* Doolittle
The great American aviation pioneer who received the Medal of Honor as commander of the Doolittle Tokyo Raid of WWII.
7. Gordon Fountain*
Early aviation pioneer from the 1920s and last living person from Adm. Byrd's Antarctica Expedition.
8. Dr. Paul E. Garber*
Historian Emeritus of the Smithsonian Institution
9. Senator and Ret. U.S. Air Force Brig. Gen. Barry Goldwater* Commander of many of the WASP during WWII.
10. Joe Gurr*
Radio enthusiast beginning in the early 1920s; at the request of Paul Mantz, Gurr was asked to help Amelia Earhart with her radio problems in 1937.
11. Howard Hanzlik*
AP reporter aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Itasca on July 2, 1937, waiting for Amelia Earhart to arrive at Howland Island. He may have been one of the last to hear Amelia's real-time transmission.?
12. Clifford W. Henderson* and Marian Marsh Henderson*
Founder of the Cleveland Air Races and prominent producer of air shows beginning in 1928; Marian first met Clifford while appearing as a guest star with Mary Pickford and Jimmy Stewart at the 1937 National Air Races in Cleveland.
 | | Photo by William T. “Bill” Larkins | | | Evelyn “Bobbi” Trout behind camera as Carol L. Osborne interviewed legendary Air Mail Pilot and and Early Bird of Aviation pioneer, Walt Addems. | |
13. Hall L.* and Irene*
Hibbard Draftsman for Lloyd Stearman before joining 1932 Lockheed Aircraft; Hibbard hired and first guided Clarence L. "Kelly" Johnson and Willis Hawkins.
14. Elrey* & Nadine* Jeppesen
Founders of the Jeppesen air charts used today.
15. John,* Beth* and Allan Lockheed
The children of Allan Lockheed (early spelling Loughead); they gave Osborne
early nitrate footage of Santa Barbara Lockheed and the Alcor days; nitrate has since been transferred to 16mm and video.
16. Ed Lund*
Howard Hughes copilot in 1938 on the Hughes' round-the-world flight.
17. General Lester* and Kay* Maitland
In 1927, he was first to fly the Pacific (with Al Hegenberger) for the Army Air Corps; author of the early aviation book, "Knights of the Air."
18. Jimmie* and Dorothy* Mattern
Mattern had FAI license No. 242, signed by Orville Wright; in 1932, Mattern and Bennie Griffin set the New York-to-Berlin record in a Lockheed Vega.
19. R. D. "Bo" McKneely*
Amelia Earhart's personal mechanic between 1936 and 1937.
20. Zoe Dell Lantis Nutter
One of our own Living Legends of Aviation; she attained international recognition as a 22-year-old dancer and model chosen to act as spokesperson and the "Official Hostess and Pirate Theme Girl" of the 1939 World's Fair in San Francisco.
Over a four-year period (1937-1940), Nutter promoted commercial airline travel and flew numerous hours by air, visiting governors and mayors of most major (and many minor cities) to promote the Fair and acquire exhibits.
She has logged over 2,000 hours as a commercial multi-engine instrument pilot. Nutter also directed promotions of the Small Aircraft Division of her late husbands' company, the Elano Corporation, and was one of the company's pilots.
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | From left: Muriel Earhart Morrissey (Amelia’s sister), Gail Pratt (Muriel’s assistant), Bo McKneely (Amelia’s personal mechanic), Eddie (Bo’s grandson), Bobbi Trout, Carol Osborne and Dr. Louise DeSchweinitz Darrow, Earhart’s classmate from Columbia Univ. | |
She is the first woman president of the Congressional National Aviation Hall of Fame, serves on the Board of Directors of the San Francisco Aeronautical Society and is a member of the Ninety-Nines, the International Organization of Licensed Women Pilots, as well as numerous other organizations.
She is a successful business woman, recently retiring from the Board of Trustees of Ford's Theater in Washington, D.C., and is a charter member of the Friends of the First Ladies of the Smithsonian Museum at our nation's capitol. Nutter has made significant aviation contributions, philanthropic contributions and is an inspiration to the entire aviation community.
21. Jack G. Real*
Howard Hughes' personal confidant and friend; after Hughes' death, Real became the president of Hughes Helicopter and McDonnell Douglas Helicopters.
22. Alan B. Shepard, Jr.*
One of the original seven Mercury astronauts, he became the first U.S. astronaut to be launched into space and the 5th man to walk on the moon.
23. Anthony Stadlman*
Manufacturing superintendent and a partner with Allan and Malcolm Lockheed; he flew with Jack Northrop in the legendary Lockheed Vega.?
24. Dr. Nancy Bird Walton*
Famed Australian aviatrix who was taught to fly by legendary aviation pioneer Charles Kingsford-Smith; she became one of Australia's first commercially licensed female pilots.
25. Florene Miller Watson
She joined the Women Auxiliary Ferrying Service (WAFS) in 1942 and was named Commanding Officer of the WAFS station at Love Field in 1943. She is well-known as national chaplain of the WASP today.
Before Osborne found her aviation passion, she was on a 20-year career path with Lockheed Missiles & Space Company (LMSC), now Lockheed Martin. Many of those years were spent as a logistics engineer and provisioner on the Polaris, Poseidon and Trident Fleet Ballistic Missile (FBM) Weapon System. She worked alongside the Navy and Department of Energy (DOE) in the sensitive FBM Reentry System. Many times she was the first woman in this specialized field. Her position at the company allowed her enough money to keep food on the table and be involved in her passion of documenting early aviation history.
Over the past three out of four years, Osborne has assisted the United Veterans Council (UVC) of Santa Clara County with their fundraising campaigns. She has volunteered as the personal assistant to three UVC Grand Marshals, including WASP Jean Koehler in 2006, WASP Violet Wierzbicki in and Lt. Col. Frank Kappeler (WWII Doolittle Tokyo Raider) in 2007 and Ret. Gen. Irene Trowell-Harris (director for the Center for Women Veterans in Washington, D.C.) in 2008.
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | L to R: Frank Murray, historian of Roadrunners Internationale, Carol Osborne and Ken Collins—both men were A-12 Blackbird pilots that flew in the middle of the Cold War. | |
Book projects and more
In addition to the documentary projects, Osborne immersed herself in book publishing and multimedia almost 20 years ago. She established Osborne Publisher, Inc., and somehow financed and published "Just Plane Crazy" and "Amelia, My Courageous Sister," which are superb sources of aviation history, filled with so many facts and photographs that they seem like encyclopedias.
Just Plane Crazy
"Just Plane Crazy" is the biography of Bobbi Trout by authors Donna Veca and Skip Mazzio, with credit going to George Akimoto for the beautiful cover painting. Trout's biography is very detailed, recalling her solo flight in 1928 and her competition in the First Women's Transcontinental Air Derby of 1929 (nicknamed the "Powder Puff Derby" by humorist Will Rogers).
It was during that race that the women discussed forming a flying organization, which became known as the Ninety-Nines. Between 1929 and 1932, Trout flew and set many endurance records and participated in the first and second aerial-refueling endurance flights.
Trout teamed up with Osborne in 1982 to begin videotaping the surviving stalwarts. In 1984, Osborne arranged for Trout to take a ride in a WWI Curtiss Jenny, the first time she had been in one since 1928. Later that year, Trout was inducted into the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame. On Jan. 7, 1986, Osborne arranged with the local CBS television station to take Trout up in a helicopter and hover over the Golden Gate Bridge to celebrate her 80th birthday.
Trout received many other accolades through the years, including a 90th birthday celebration where she flew on patrol over Los Angeles with the LAPD. Two weeks later, Trout received the Howard Hughes Memorial Award from the Southern California Aeronautical Society (SCAA)—she was the first woman to receive the award.
All of this captured the interest of the Los Angeles media. Osborne worked alongside CNN for almost two weeks, and everyone from Moya Lear to Capt. Lucy Young and Cmdr. Trish Beckman attended the celebrations. That weekend, Bobbi Trout was highlighted nationally in a CNN Headline News Story that played all weekend.
Sadly, Evelyn "Bobbi Trout" took her final flight, Jan. 24, 2003.
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | Zoe Dell Lantis Nutter was honored at the 2009 Living Legends of Aviation Awards, the “Academy Awards of Aviation,” held in January at the Beverly Hilton. She is pictured here with fellow “Legend” Sir Richard Branson. | |
Amelia, My Courageous Sister
"Amelia, My Courageous Sister" is a biography of the famous aviatrix by her sister, Muriel Earhart Morrissey, and Osborne. After WWI, Earhart served as a nurse until she began taking flying lessons with Neta Snook Southern in a Curtiss Canuck at Kinner Airfield. On her birthday, July 24, Earhart bought a Kinner Airster and went on to solo and set an altitude record of 14,000 feet.
George Palmer Putnam (of the famous publishing company) was seeking a female pilot to accompany a crew on a transatlantic flight in a Fokker seaplane. Cmdr. Richard E. Byrd of the U.S. Navy had heard of an aviatrix (Earhart) in the Boston area, and it wasn't long before she received a phone call. Earhart accepted the offer and traversed the Atlantic with Bill Stultz and Slim Gordon in June 1928.
She went on to race in the first Woman's Transcontinental Air Derby in 1929, set a speed record in 1930, flew an autogiro across the country and set an altitude record with the craft in 1931, becoming the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic. She set a speed record from Los Angeles to Newark in 1932 and broke that record on another flight in 1933, becoming the first person to fly solo from Honolulu to Oakland, from Los Angeles to Mexico City, and from Mexico City to Newark in 1935.
The morning of March 17, 1937, Earhart and a three-man crew departed Oakland, Calif., to circle the globe at the equator. When departing from Honolulu westbound, the plane ground looped out. Her Lockheed 10E Electra was shipped back to Burbank for repairs.
After only two months, the Electra was again ready. Both Earhart and Noonan began their flight again, this time eastbound. Not until reaching Miami did they announce to the media they were once again beginning their around-the-world flight. This was to be Earhart's last.
Reviewing all the data available, it is apparent that Earhart and Noonan departed from Lae, New Guinea, on July 1, 1937, at 10:00 a.m. The plane was loaded with fuel, and they were bound for Howland Island. There were radio problems after the first half of the flight. Everything went smoothly until Earhart chose to turn off her daytime radio band for another.
They flew in the direction of Howland for more than 21 hours and continued to report what was happening and their assumed positions up until 8:55 a.m., local time. It was then that they reported flying at 1,000 feet and trying to find a tiny piece of land sticking 18 feet out of the water. The island was only one and a half miles long and half a mile wide. In 1937, Earhart and Noonan had no GPS and were unaware that the maps they were using identified the island five miles from where it truly was located.
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | A key document to the Powder Puff Derby—Bob Beechler has the document with all the signatures. It must be worth a fortune! | |
Multimedia projects
More than 10 years ago, Osborne founded Aviation Archives, Inc. and started a "Women in Aviation" CD-ROM and DVD multimedia project. With voluntary assistance from a dear friend and Webmaster who generously donates her time, www.WomenInAviation.com has been up and running for years.
Osborne published two "Women in Aviation: Women's Firsts" calendars that can be accessed on the Web site. The intent is to establish thousands of our pioneers' stories, but all of this takes time and talent.
Osborne has received input from more than one thousand people, but has limited ability to upload all the content to the web and limited funds to produce her planned "Pioneers of Aviation" multimedia-packed DVD. The DVD product will contain a catalog of information, including many of the photos, video clips, interviews, biographies and other general information about the pioneers of aviation Osborne has collected over the years.
Osborne allows those who made history to tell "their side of the story." The DVD product will concentrate not only on women, but will also include many men who were "eyewitnesses to history."
History is important
Aviation author Budd Davisson wrote eloquently on the subject of history.
"The waging of wars and the building of frontiers or industries is actually composed of jillions of little vignettes—tiny, almost invisible, historical happenings that combine to make a world-shaking event. So many of the seemingly unimportant thoughts, feelings, and happenings are lost to future generations when the generation that made a particular piece of history is gone. When the individuals' emotions at the moment in history can no longer be recounted, history loses its human touch and recedes to being a textbook exercise.
"The loss of the personal side of history, and especially aviation history, is appalling. Think of the thousands of airmen who helped pioneer aviation between the wars and those who helped fight the first one. We know almost nothing about any of them.
"We don't know how scared they were when the fog moved in on their approach to Buffalo or how they fought to keep panic in check when they realized the Fokker that just bounced their wingman was painted a very familiar scarlet. I've not read one single story about the bull sessions and arguments that echoed throughout hangars across the country and culminated in Gee Bees and Wedells, Howards and Folkerts.
"I know exactly what every one of these airplanes and their pilots did, but I don't know the human element. I can't feel the people. I can't sense the emotion, and it is damned frustrating."
 | | Courtesy Carol L. Osborne | | | From left: Muriel Earhart Morrissey, Carol L. Osborne and Evelyn “Bobbi” Trout before a host of reporters and television cameras on June 29, 1987, right before the July 2 “50th Anniversary” of Amelia Earhart and Fred Noonan’s disappearance. | |
What can be done?
Carol Osborne continues to videotape individuals from aviation's past to preserve their personal input and recollections of history. She has more book and multimedia projects planned for the future. What can we do to record and preserve their contributions and impressions of an historic era gone by? We have to reach out to survivors before it is too late!
Once again, Budd Davisson said it best: "Each person with a story is surrounded by a few friends who know this person's story or at least know he has a story to tell. It is up to those of us who know these people to convince them of the worth of their memories."
In the event that Osborne cannot travel to an individual's residence for an interview, she earnestly suggests that family members use a camcorder and take the time to videotape the individual about his or her experiences and submit the tape or DVD to her. It will be stored with care, along with the others, in an anti-magnetic fireproof vault. It is Osborne's fervent desire that someday a leading documentarian can help her produce a first-class documentary on the history of vintage planes and people for public television.
"Our parents, grandparents and senior citizens have so much to offer if only one would take a little time to sit down with them and show a little interest in what they have witnessed first-hand," Osborne said. "The sad thing is that we are so busy in our day-to-day lives that we don't wake up and find out about their experiences and memories until it is too late."
Osborne asked, "How often do we gather at a loved one's funeral service and only then learn so much about the person we had not known before?"
Excerpts of this story were reprinted and edited from Air Classics, September 1992, written by Richard K. Schrader and approved for publication by Carol Osborne.
Osborne can be reached by at av8pioneer@aol.com or you can write her at 2464 El Camino Real, #99, Santa Clara, CA 95051.
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