VINTAGE AVIATION COLLECTIBLES
CUT FROM THE CLOTH OF HISTORY

 

America’s first pilots took to the air in fragile aircraft made of wood, wire and fabric. In those early days of flight, linen or muslin was used to cover the wings of aircraft. The original wing fabric from seven famous Smithsonian aircraft is now available here.

We are keeping aviation history alive by offering four-square-inch sections of the original fabric from aircraft now in the permanent collection of the National Air and Space Museum. The fabric was preserved during restorations by the Smithsonian and is included with each of our museum-quality relic prints – along with a Certificate of Authenticity signed by an officer of the National Air and Space Museum.

One of our 15″ x 20″ relic prints features the original fabric from a Wright brother’s biplane – the 1911 Wright Vin Fiz – famous as the first to fly coast-to-coast with 70 landings and 12 crashes en route from New York to California. Another of the relic prints includes the wing fabric from the Douglas World Cruiser – a U.S. Army Air Service aircraft that made the first around the world flight in 1924. Read the amazing stories of these seven “aeroplanes” and the remarkable men who flew them.

We invite you to step back in time and own a piece of American aviation history – instead of seeing it from behind the velvet rope in a museum.

To learn more, click on THE AIRCRAFT header at the top of this page or any of the images below.

All proceeds from this website are funding CEILING AND VISIBILITY UNLIMITED –
a weekend aviation camp for at-risk kids. KEEPING AVIATION HISTORY ALIVE!

 

 
 

AVIATION RELIC PRINTS WITH FABRIC

  • Wright Vin Fiz

    First coast-to-coast flight - 1911 • 70 landings and 12 crashes • Flight sponsored by Vin Fiz grape soda • Pilot: Cal Rodgers

  • Fokker T-2

    First non-stop, coast-to-coast flight - 1923 • 26 hours, 50 minutes • U.S. Army Air Service • Crew: Lieutenants Kelly and Macready

  • Douglas World Cruiser

    First around-the world flight - 1924 • 175 days, 72 stops, 28 countries • U.S. Army Air Service • Crew: Lieutenants Smith and Arnold

  • Curtiss NC-4

    First trans-Atlantic flight - 1919 • U.S. Navy flying boat • Crew: 5 U.S. Navy and 1 U.S. Coast Guard • One hundredth anniversary - May 27, 2019

  • De Havilland DH-4

    WWI bomber • Built in Dayton, Ohio - 1917 • Orville Wright pictured on the left in print's archival image

  • ALBATROS D.Va

    WWI German fighter • Built in Berlin, Germany - 1918 • "Red Baron" scored most of his 80 victories in an Albatros

  • Bleriot XI

    Classic monoplane - 1914 • Built in Levallois, France • Barnstormed across the United States

REVIEWS