World War I Aeroplanes, Inc.

Skyways, The Journal of the Airplane 1920-1940 No.79, July 2006 and No.80, October 2006

Reviewed By  John Ratzenberger, IPMS# 40196

MSRP: see text You cannot buy this magazine over the counter. World War 1 Aeroplanes, Inc, is a tax-exempt service organization devoted to "Those Magnificent Flying Machines of 1900-1940". They publish two magazines, WW1 Aero, The Journal of the Early Airplane and Skyways, The Journal of the Airplane 1920-1940. Membership in the organization includes a year of one or both magazines depending on how much you contribute, with any excess contribution being tax-deductible. Each magazine is published 4 times a year and requires a contribution of at least $42(US) or $47 overseas (plus $30 if airmail). You may visit their websites at www.ww1aero.org or www.skywaysjournal.org. They also have an extensive collection of references, drawings, etc, for sale. Each issue I reviewed is 80 pages plus cover, 8-1/2x11, glossy paper, with many photos and drawings -- publication quality is very high. There are 13 or 14 articles or regular features in each issue. When these came available for review, I stuck my hand up because #79 had a Kellett autogiro on the cover. I'm a minor autogiro fan and an autogiro is on my shortlist of aircraft I'd like to own/fly, but the article, while interesting, was mostly an argument for resuming development because they are "inherently safe", etc. (SWMBO won't buy that argument either.) However, the lead article about a 1931 USN Design Competition 106 for Amphibian Land/Ship-based Scouts features 3 of the goofier looking aircraft I've seen. The well-written article was well illustrated with quality photos and 3-view drawings. Skyways #80 has a great lead article on the Sikorsky S-40 Flying Boats, the First Pan-Am Clippers. This was shorter than the lead article in #79, possibly because of the long photo essay about the vintage aircraft at Oshkosh this year. The two issues contained parts 2 and 3 of an article on the Historic Aircraft Restoration Museum in St Louis. As before, the article was well illustrated and the text not only described the aircraft in the collection and the restoration steps, but also flying some of them. After the two or three lead articles, the two issues follow a basic structure of regular features. There is a "movie aircraft" article that is nostalgic if nothing else. In #79 it covered "Republic's Flying Wings" -- meaning Republic Pictures and the "Flying Wings" are the odd-ball craft seen in the old movie serials. In #80, there is a nifty article about an Orenco F that starred in various guises in four movies from around 1949 (Task Force) to 1957 (Wings of Eagles). Each issue also has a 1-2 page Cockpits photo-article, a Models section, a Book Reviews section, a Wants and Disposals section, Letters to the Editor, an "Identify This" section, and numerous ads - almost all related to vintage aviation. The Models section in these two issues mostly pertained to wooden and/or flying models and I suspect that is usually the case - not that there is anything wrong with that, I'm about a step away from getting back into them anyway. Oh, yes, each issue appeared to have a "centerfold" -- in #79 it was a cutaway of a Waco UBF, in #80 a period photo of a Waco S3HD. With a Waco in the centerfold, what else does one need?!?! A two-issue sample is a bit small to judge, but Skyways is not a modeler's magazine, although it certainly could support modeling as a reference. The focus is 1:1 scale history, followed by surviving vintage aircraft. As I stated earlier, quality is very good -- the text is well-researched and well-written, there are a lot of photos and drawings, and the production values are high. The contents appear balanced among military, civil, and general aviation. From reviewing the back issues listed, I'd say the content is predominantly, although not exclusively, US. WW1 Aero is, like IPMS, an all-volunteer organization and, like IPMS, they can only publish what they receive. In fact, as "brother" volunteer organizations, IPMS and WW1 Aero exchange magazines and ads. Looking at the magazines in that light, the variety and quality of articles is really exceptional. One negative in these two issues -- everything is black-white -- there are no color illustrations. I am sure this is a business decision, but the "modern" articles, such as Oshkosh and the HARM suffer as a result. In fact, on review, there is very little color discussion in the text. If you are really into this period of aviation, then this organization deserves a serious look. I have an interest in 1930's general aviation because of my work with our local museum, and my modeling interests have moved into the "Golden Age" but mostly focused on British subjects at this time. As a result of reading these two issues, I am mulling over whether a test membership in this organization might be beneficial. I'd like to thank World War 1 Aero and IPMS for providing these samples and allowing me to review them.

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