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Edgar S. Gorrell Collection

Creator:
Gorrell, Edgar S. (Edgar Staley), 1891-1945  Search this
Names:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
United States. Army. American Expeditionary Forces  Search this
Gorrell, Edgar S. (Edgar Staley), 1891-1945  Search this
Extent:
3.95 Cubic feet (9 boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Correspondence
Publications
Date:
1893-1943
Summary:
This collection contains documents relating mainly to Gorrell's activities as president of the Air Transportation Association of America. The materials include copies of Gorrell's addresses and Congressional testimony, as well as press clippings concerning Gorrell's activities. The collection also includes albums of World War I vintage photographs collected by or presented to Gorrell.
Scope and Contents:
The Edgar S. Gorrell Collection is largely comprised of material relating to Gorrell's career as president of the Air Transport Association of America. The material includes his correspondence and speeches, the Congressional hearings and reports for the bills he advocated, and publications and newspaper articles about him and his career. Also in the collection are several photographs and photograph albums from World War I and other miscellaneous material.

Note: The digital images in this finding aid were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping and orientation in addition to color variations resulting from damage to and deterioration of the original objects.
Arrangement:
Arranged into two series:

Series 1: GENERAL. This series contains correspondence, addresses delivered by E.S. Gorrell, and publications and newspaper articles, some written by Gorrell. There are also Congressional hearings and reports, and some miscellaneous material. The documents are arranged in chronological order.

Series 2: PHOTOGRAPHS/ALBUMS. This series contains photographs and photo albums. Many of these are aerial photographs of trenches taken c. 1916 --1918, but there are also many photographs of aerial and land transport equipment.
Biographical/Historical note:
Colonel Edgar S. Gorrell (1891-1945) was a pilot and an advocate for aviation safety. He graduated from West Point in 1912 and then spent two years as an infantryman in Alaska before transferring to the Signal Corps, where he joined the 1st Aero Squadron, serving under Gen. John J. Pershing in Mexico. On one of his flying missions in Mexico, Gorrell ran out of gas and was stranded in the desert for several days before being rescued. Upon returning to his unit, he began to criticize the poor equipment US pilots were forced to use, both in terms of actual aircraft components and the signals and communication equipment used on land. In 1917 he was promoted to Captain, and in World War I he became the Chief Engineering Officer for the Air Service, and eventually the Chief of Staff for the Air Service, with the rank of Colonel. After the war, Gorrell remained in Europe representing the US at conferences and peace talks.

In March 1920, he resigned his commission in the Army and joined the automobile business. He served as the vice president of Marmon Motor Car Company until 1925. Then he became vice president, director, and general manager, and later president, of the Stutz Motor Car company of America. In January 1936, Gorrell again switched fields when he was elected the first president of the Air Transport Association of America, shortly after its conception. It was with this organization that he was known for his role in promoting safety in civil aeronautics. He was a strong advocate for the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938 which provided government control and regulation of civil aeronautics, and he provided testimony before congressional committees several times. Gorrell continued to support civil aeronautics, especially through his role as president of the Air Transport Association of America, until his death, in 1945.
Provenance:
No donor information, gift, unknown, XXXX-0057
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topic:
Aeronautics  Search this
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States  Search this
Aeronautics, Military  Search this
World War, 1914-1918  Search this
Periodicals  Search this
Genre/Form:
Photographs
Correspondence
Publications
Citation:
Edgar S. Gorrell Collection, Acc. XXXX-0057, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NASM.XXXX.0057
See more items in:
Edgar S. Gorrell Collection
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2b349b1ab-7afc-4f23-b45c-ec7f551c4c57
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nasm-xxxx-0057
Online Media:

Facts & figures about air transport

Title:
Facts and figures about air transport
Air transport facts and figures
Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
v. : ill. ; 29 cm
Type:
Periodicals
Place:
United States
Date:
1960
1962
1960-1962
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
HE9788.5.U5 L778
HE9788.5.U5L778
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_445577

Facts & figures: air transportation

Title:
Facts and figures: air transportation
Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
v. : ill. ; 29 cm
Type:
Periodicals
Place:
United States
Date:
1963
1965
1963-1965
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
HE9788.5.U5 L778
HE9788.5.U5L778
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_445578

Airline industry standard world airlines technical operations glossary / ATA, IATA, ICCAIA

Author:
International Air Transport Association  Search this
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Aerospace Industries Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
1 v. (various pagings) ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1981
Topic:
Airlines--Dictionaries  Search this
Call number:
TL509 .A29 1981
TL509.A29 1981
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_436765

Air transportation

Title:
Air transportation, today and tomorrow 1945
Little known facts 7th-8th ed
Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
2 v. : ill. ; 29 cm
Type:
Periodicals
Place:
United States
Date:
1945
1946
1945-46
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
HE9788.5.U5 L778
HE9788.5.U5L778
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_445383

Air transport facts & figures

Title:
Air transport facts and figures
Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
5 v. : ill. ; 29 cm
Type:
Periodicals
Place:
United States
Date:
1966
1968
1966-1968
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
HE9788.5.U5 L778
HE9788.5.U5L778
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_445382

[Technical reports on air traffic control, airport terminals, and airborne weather radar]

Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
<8> v. : ill
Type:
Books
Date:
1946
1946-
Topic:
Airport terminals  Search this
Air traffic control  Search this
Radar meteorology  Search this
Call number:
TL507 .A2983
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_473142

Little known facts about the scheduled air transport industry / Air Transport Association of America

Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
7 v. : ill. ; 29-40 cm
Type:
Periodicals
Statistics
Place:
United States
Date:
1937
1944
1937-1944
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
HE9788.5.U5 L778
HE9788.5.U5L778
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_445384

New York Airways Collection

Creator:
Wheatland, Richard, II, 1923-2009  Search this
Names:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
American Helicopter Society  Search this
Bell Helicopter Company  Search this
Civil Aeronautics Board  Search this
Civil Aeronautics Board  Search this
Eastern Airlines, Inc.  Search this
International Air Transport Association  Search this
Los Angeles Airways  Search this
New York Airways  Search this
Pan American World Airways, Inc.  Search this
Port of New York Authority  Search this
Sikorsky (Aircraft manufacturer)  Search this
Trans World Airlines  Search this
Extent:
7.63 Cubic feet (7 records center boxes)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Correspondence
Clippings
Ephemera
Financial records
Photographs
Publications
Manuscripts
Reports
Timetables
Date:
1929-1971
bulk 1952-1969
Summary:
Collection consists of materials created by and collected by Richard Wheatland II during the period when he served as a Vice President of New York Airways (1953-1968), a helicopter airline operating in the New York City metropolitan area from 1952-1977.
Scope and Contents:
The collection includes a variety of material, probably collected by Richard Wheatland II (1923-2009) during the period 1953-1968 when he served as a Vice President of New York Airways (NYA). The material reflects the administration of the airline and many of the activities of its president, Robert L. Cummings, Jr., as well as its dealings with organizations such as the Air Transport Association (ATA), American Helicopter Society, Bell Helicopter, Eastern Air Lines, the Grand Central Building, the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Pan America World Airways (Pan Am), the Port of New York Authority (PONYA), Sikorsky, Trans World Airlines (TWA), other organizations interested in helicopter operations, and the federal government. In addition to administrative correspondence, memoranda, proposals, employee operations manuals, speeches, and reports, there are also a large number of manuscripts and publications, clippings, timetables and other ephemera, and a small number of photographs.

New York Airways' fleet included several helicopter models over the airline's lifetime, including the Sikorsky S-55, Sikorsky S-58, Bell 47H (used for charter work), Vertol V-44 (civil version of the Piasecki H-21 Workhorse), Boeing-Vertol Model 107, and Sikorsky S-61L and S-61N models. The collection contains materials relating to these aircraft and helicopter operations in general as well as other vertical flight and short take off and landing (STOL) aircraft including the Cierva CR Twin (CR LTH.1, Grasshopper III), Hughes H-500, Hiller FH-1100, Bell 206 JetRanger, and Fairchild (Pilatus) Porter (Heli-Porter, Turbo-Porter).

In addition to the material directly relating to NYA, the collection includes material on topics of interest to the NYA executives. This includes information on the other two helicopter carriers, Los Angeles Airways (LAA) and Helicopter Air Services (HAS) of Chicago, as well as the later San Francisco & Oakland Helicopter Airlines (SFO), and other international, national, and local airlines. Also included are a large number of materials directly relating to air transportation and urban planning issues in the New York City metropolitan area (including northern New Jersey), particularly those related to the airports NYA served: Newark International Airport (IATA airport code EWR) and Teterboro Airport (TEB) in New Jersey, LaGuardia Airport (LGA), West 30th Street Heliport (JRA), Downtown Manhattan/Wall Street Heliport (JRB), Pan Am Building Heliport (JPB), and New York International Airport, Anderson Field, commonly known as "Idlewild" (IDL). New York International Airport was renamed as John F. Kennedy International Airport (JFK) on December 24, 1963.

Series 2I (1973 Acquisition) contains more of Wheatland's personal notes on various topics, and also includes materials on topics of general business executive interest such as public speaking and management techniques.
Arrangement:
Contents are in original order as received by NASM Archives. Folders in both series are arranged (roughly) in alphabetical by original folder title. Materials within the folders in Series 2 (1973 Acquisition) tend to appear in reverse chronological order. Multiple copies of the same materials may appear in different folders.

Digital images of materials in this collection were repurposed from scans made by an outside contractor for a commercial product and may show irregular cropping, orientation, and color variations. Some materials may not be visible online due to copyright restrictions.
Biographical / Historical:
Incorporated on August 31, 1949, New York Airways (NYA), one of the first three helicopter carriers certificated by the United States Civil Aeronautics Board (CAB), began mail service between New York City's three major airports on October 15, 1952, and on July 8, 1953, inaugurated the world's first regularly scheduled passenger helicopter service. As was the case with all of the helicopter carriers, NYA depended heavily on government subsidies for its economic health, but worked steadily towards its goal of financial self-sufficiency, extending its routes into nearby Connecticut and New Jersey, carrying freight, and doing charter work. In October 1955, NYA signed joint fare agreements with many national and international airlines, promoting their service by making it easier for passengers transferring to and from the major New York City airports to go "all the way by air." As ground traffic in the New York metropolitan area became increasingly congested, NYA, based at LaGuardia Airport, worked closely with the Port of New York Authority (PONYA) to establish heliports on the island of Manhattan, inaugurating service into the West 30th Street Heliport in 1956 and the Wall Street Heliport (at Pier 6 on the East River) in 1960. In December 1956, as part of a campaign to break the color barrier in the airline industry, NYA hired pilot Perry H. Young, Jr.; Young made his first regularly scheduled flight for NYA as a co-pilot on February 5, 1957, becoming the the first Black pilot for a commercial airline in the United States.

High operating costs continued to be an issue for all of the helicopter carriers, and in 1958, after continuing criticism from the CAB on the subject of alleged excessive costs and increasing subsidy need, NYA was forced to suspend some services. In 1961 Congress put a ceiling on helicopter carrier subsidy payments. The 1964-1965 New York World's Fair provided NYA the opportunity to add passenger and sightseeing service to and from the rooftop heliport of the Port of New York Authority Building at the Fair. Ever seeking a way to reduce its need for government subsidies (which were eventually withdrawn), in June 1965 NYA entered into operating support agreements with Trans World Airlines (TWA) and Pan American World Airways, whose passengers were some of NYA's biggest customers. NYA is perhaps most famous for its regularly scheduled passenger service from the rooftop heliport atop the Pan Am Building, inaugurated on December 21, 1965. Though undeniably glamorous, the noisy NYA helicopters were not appreciated by many of their midtown Manhattan neighbors. Service to the Pan Am Building heliport was cancelled on February 18, 1968, due to inadequate passenger loads, then was briefly resumed in early 1977 until a fatal accident on May 16, 1977, ended NYA service from the heliport. Already suffering from financial setbacks and rising fuel prices, NYA ceased operations permanently following a fatal accident at Newark International Airport on April 18, 1979, and filed for bankruptcy the following month in May 1979.

Richard Wheatland II, born in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1923, served in the United States Navy from 1943-1946 as a deck officer on a destroyer-minelayer in the Pacific; after his discharge he did one year of graduate work in government at Harvard University and then attended Columbia Law School, receiving his law degree in 1949. From 1950 to 1952, Wheatland was based in Paris, France, employed by the US Government in a division of the Office of the Special Representative in Europe for the Marshall Plan. Wheatland returned to New York to join New York Airways in January 1953 as the Manager of the airline's Traffic and Sales Department, and soon became NYA's Vice President of Sales and Service. He was married in 1954 to Cynthia McAdoo. Wheatland left the company in 1968 to take a position in his native home of Boston, and died peacefully at his home on June 26, 2009.

NOTE: The airline covered by this collection, New York Airways (1951), should not be confused with an earlier New York Airways (1927) which was founded July 8, 1927, operated as a subsidiary of Pan American Airways, and was sold to Eastern Air Transport on July 15, 1931. It should also not be confused with the unrelated but similarly named New York Air (owned by Frank Lorenzo's Texas Air Corporation) which was founded in late 1980 and ceased operations on February 1, 1987, when it merged with Continental Airlines.
Provenance:
Richard Wheatland II, Gift, 1973, 1992, NASM.1992.0052
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topic:
Aeronautics  Search this
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States  Search this
Air mail service  Search this
Airports  Search this
Airports -- New York  Search this
Helicopters  Search this
Helicopter transportation  Search this
Periodicals  Search this
Genre/Form:
Correspondence
Clippings
Ephemera -- 1940-1970
Financial records
Photographs
Publications
Manuscripts
Reports
Timetables
Citation:
New York Airways Collection, Acc. NASM.1992.0052, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Identifier:
NASM.1992.0052
See more items in:
New York Airways Collection
Archival Repository:
National Air and Space Museum Archives
GUID:
https://n2t.net/ark:/65665/pg2b3bbcc9d-3a28-4c1e-b604-d388bf85f32e
EDAN-URL:
ead_collection:sova-nasm-1992-0052
Online Media:

A.T.A. airline airport demand forecasts : industry report / Air Transportation [i.e. Transport] Association of America

Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
126 leaves : charts ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
United States
Date:
1969
[1969]
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial--Forecasting  Search this
Airports--Planning  Search this
Call number:
HE9803.A6 A111 1969
HE9803.A6A111 1969
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_339601

Proceedings of symposium, The smaller city airport, June 4, 1963, Hotel Statler Hilton, Washington, D.C

Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
192 p. in various pagings : ill. ; 29 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
United States
Date:
1963
[1963]
Topic:
Airports  Search this
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
TL725 .P96 1963
TL725.P96 1963
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_337715

Transcript of the symposium on the changing environment of international air commerce / sponsored by the Karl F. Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy, School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University in cooperation with the Air Transport Association of America, May 4, 1978

Title:
Symposium on the changing environment of international air commerce
Author:
Landegger Program in International Business Diplomacy  Search this
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
115 p. ; 28 cm
Type:
Congresses
Date:
1978
[1978]
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
International economic relations  Search this
Transit, International  Search this
Call number:
HE9780 .T77 1978
HE9780.T77 1978
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_339400

Municipal air passenger traffic patterns served by U.S. domestic trunk and local service carriers

Author:
Air Transport Association of America Research Department  Search this
Physical description:
xii, 271 leaves ; 28 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1951
[1951]
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial--Passenger traffic  Search this
Call number:
HE9803.A6 A29 1951
HE9803.A6A29 1951
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_339487

Air transport

Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
ill. 22 x 28 cm
Type:
Periodicals
Place:
United States
Date:
1971
199u
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial--Freight  Search this
Call number:
HE9788.5.U5 L778
HE9788.5.U5L778
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_332495

Flight

Title:
A.T.A. flight
Air Transport Association flight
Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Small Journal Collection (National Postal Museum (U.S.). Library) DSI  Search this
Subject:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Type:
Periodicals
Date:
1951
Topic:
Stamp collecting  Search this
Postage stamps  Search this
Air mail service  Search this
Call number:
SJu Fli
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_1016123

Proceedings: . [Held] April 24, 25, 26, the Drake Hotel, Chicago, Ill. General conference chairman: S.R. Shatto

Title:
Annual Engineering and Maintenance Conference
1951 Annual Engineering and Maintenance Conference
Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Engineering and Maintenance Conference (1951 : Chicago)  Search this
Physical description:
902 p. 30 cm
Type:
Congresses
Date:
1951
1951?
Topic:
Airplanes--Maintenance and repair  Search this
Flight engineering  Search this
Call number:
TL671.9 .A29 1951
TL671.9.A29 1951
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_161037

Transportation in America : statistical analysis of transportation in the United States ; with historical compendium 1939-1999 / Rosalyn A. Wilson ; prepared with the cooperation of ... Air Transport Association of America ... [et al.]

Title:
Transportation in America 2000
Author:
Wilson, Rosalyn A  Search this
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Eno Foundation for Transportation  Search this
Physical description:
ii, 78 p. ; 28 cm
Type:
Statistics
Place:
United States
Date:
2001
C2001
Topic:
Transportation  Search this
Call number:
HE203 .W55 2001
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_686979

Little-known facts

Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Subject:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
[24] p. incl. maps, diagrs. 43 x 28 cm
Type:
Books
Place:
United States
Date:
1937
[1937]
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
TL521.A67
TL521.A67
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_170992

Air transport facts & figures

Title:
Air transport facts and figures
Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
12 v. : ill. ; 29 cm
Type:
Periodicals
Place:
United States
Date:
1947
1959
1947-1959
Topic:
Aeronautics, Commercial  Search this
Call number:
HE9788.5.U5 L778
HE9788.5.U5L778
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_136594

ATA airline airport design recommendations

Author:
Air Transport Association of America  Search this
Physical description:
pts. illus., plans. 29 cm
Type:
Books
Date:
1946
1947
[1946-
Topic:
Airports  Search this
Call number:
TL725.A48X
Data Source:
Smithsonian Libraries
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:siris_sil_191315

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