CAA/WTS/CPT/Flight Schools - Reference Thread

[5thwingmarty]

The Greenville Aviation School was at Ocala, Florida, and this was the 57th Army Air Force Flight Training Detachment (AAFFTD). 

 

Were you asking where the school was or where the patches were worn on the uniform?

[ocsfollowme]

52 minutes ago, 5thwingmarty said:

The Greenville Aviation School was at Ocala, Florida, and this was the 57th Army Air Force Flight Training Detachment (AAFFTD). 

 

Were you asking where the school was or where the patches were worn on the uniform?

Thank you, I now see the "57" above the eagle. I thought it was a 7! I did not know it was the Greenville Aviation School, so thank you.

 

I was wondering where those tabs were worn, I think the cuff? I know people have sold the Flight Instructor with the the AAF patch as they thought it went above it.

 

I am wondering if only one FTD used these tabs, and if so, which one?

 

 

[5thwingmarty]

I have a book for this school, which was a privately owned primary school.  A.L. Cummings was listed as Flight Director, and L.L. Patterson was listed as Ground School Director.  There were 78 Flying Instructors and 5 Ground School Instructors listed or shown in the book.  Neither the patch nor any of these tabs are visible in any of the photos.  I don't know where they would have worn these or if other schools used these tabs as well.

[Scott C.]

This is another superb thread with a wealth of information and amazing collections shared. I'd like to share my civilian/CAA wings & things: top is a common instructor wing with a very lightly stamped sterling mark in the center-reverse. Second from the top is a mint LGB pattern with a microscopic 'LGB' and 'Sterling' stamped to the reverse of the shield. Third from the top is a standard Indian-head CAA wing with a lightly stamped Pat. Pend. in the center reverse and a raised sterling mark that follows the bottom contour of the center roundel. The bottom wing is actually a Victory Field tie clasp, unmarked.  Also included are a CAA collar/side-cap pin and CAA victory pin.

[Jeeper97]

I thought I would share a recent find. It’s a Cal-Aero Flight Academy brass graduation certificates for completing Primary Flight School. If anyone knows anything about 

James F. Hockgeiger I would appreciate the information. I believe he was with the 463rd Bombardment Group.

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Interesting bronze finish sterling wing with oblique radial engine and wings. 2 3/4”. Initials M. I. A. Or M. A. I. Made by GREEN of Kansa City. No idea!

 

 

[pfrost]

Tod, I would start looking for a CAA approved school (Mechanical Aviation Institute?) for training civilians in aviation mechanics of some sort between 1935-1955.

 

In the 30's the US Government began to support all sorts of aviation related industries, flying and trade schools, airplane and aerial component manufacturing companies, airports, civilian air lines, etc.  Many of these started in the 30's but were still active well into the 50's.  Ira Green made a lot of the CAP wings, and so I would think that this is probably about the same time period (40-50's). But why quibble, I could live with 1930's.

 

Also, many of the larger aviation concerns (like PAN AM and TWA, Boeing, Doglas, etc) had associated programs for training up recruits in various aviation related technologies.

 

Sweet wing from a largely unexplored era of aviation.

 

[bschwartz]

Unfortunately I don't know what it is but I absolutely love it.  Very cool piece.

[Tolzer]

Made by:

 

The Green Company

Kansas City, MO

15550 W. 109th Street

Lenexa, KS 66219

Founded in 1885

[rathbonemuseum.com]

The answer was promptly answered by John Cook or @COOKIEMAN here. Ground instructor for the Missouri Institute of Aeronautics! Thanks John.

[militbuff]

Very cool recent pickup.  Chenille Washington State College CTD patch named to the physical director.  Likely would have gone on sweat shirts.

 

[ocsfollowme]

Falcon Field, AZ (4th British Flying Training School)

 

4 BFTS was based at Falcon Field Arizona from 16 June 1941 to 10 September 1945. During that time 27 courses were trained involving over 2300 pilots.

 

3x rare insignia from the school.

[haw68]

On 4/14/2010 at 6:32 PM, rustywings said:

Hey John and Patrick, thank you for your contributions and support. My real collecting passion remains with US Navy and Army Air Corps flight badges...But I have to admit, these War Training Service insignia carry with them their own unique historical addiction. Considering the WTS was only around from 1939 to 1945, there's a wide variety of patches and badges to seek out and collect.

 

 

Here's a large early CAA cap badge with red and white enamel.

 

Back of the CAA cap piece. Double screw-back. No hallmarks.

 

I believe this CAA cap piece, with blue enamel, is "air" service related. And the previous cap piece with red enamel represents "ground" service. Please let me know if you have additional info on these types of Civil Aeronautics Administration badges.

 

A comparison shot of both CAA cap badges.

 

Russ,

The earliest example of this wing design I can locate is associated with the Bureau of Air Commerce.   The Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce was established by the Air Commerce Act on May 20, 1926. The branch was renamed as the Bureau of Air Commerce in 1934.  The Bureau of Air Commerce was then replaced by the Civil Aeronautics Authority in 1938.  So, this design predates the CAA.  You can read more details about these agencies on the DOT's history of the FAA website:  https://www.faa.gov/about/history/brief_history

 

This wing design is shown in the U. S. Department of Commerce publication called Air Commerce Bulletin in 1936 example:

 

 

These wings were manufactured by the Irvin H Hahn Company (Baltimore, MD).  The following is a page from Hahn's 1939 catalog which shows these wings.  I'm including the entire page because it also shows the Flying Tiger insignia which may be of interest as well. 

 

 

The price list for this catalog does not include a price or description for item #3025.  Not sure why.  Maybe because this was an obsolete design in 1939?  The stamping die used to manufacture these wings can be seen here:

 

 

Now for the bad news. . . This die was in the estate of Alan Beckman.  Beckman visited many manufacturers in search of historic dies and used the dies to make 'restrikes' that are often very difficult to distinguish from the original insignia.  Beckman got this die from Hahn's factory, he passed away several years ago, and the die is now in my collection.  This die will not be used to manufacture insignia for as long as I own it.

 

In post #97 above @vintageproductions shows an example of a smaller version of same style design.  This design corresponds to a die I have from the Johnson National Insignia archives:

 

 

Johnson National Insignia and their predecessor companies specialized in aviation wings insignia.  They very likely manufactured more wings designs than any manufacturer prior to WWII.  From their company archives I can document hundreds of different designs.

 

The Bureau of Air Commerce wing design shown above was replaced with the first Civil Aeronautics Authority wings design which can be seen on image below from a 1940 issue of Civil Aeronautics Journal which was published by the Civil Aeronautics Authority.

 

 

This wing insignia was also manufactured by the Irvin H Hahn company in Baltimore.  Hahn never pictured this design in a catalog that I am aware of.  The original and only die used to manufacture these wings was acquired by me directly from Hahn's factory.  I have no reason to believe this die was ever used to manufacture restrikes.

 

 

You are welcome to PM me if you have any questions or are interested in additional information.  Heath

[rathbonemuseum.com]

@haw68 Heath, thanks so much for sharing this archival research that grounds these discussions on manufacturing evidence. When you have a chance, would love to see a more close up photo of the Wright flyer portion of the Johnson die above. Thank you. Tod

 

Here are the two posts that feature the now accurately identified Bureau of Air Commerce insignia. First is the larger cap badge shown by Russ @rustywings in post #92:

 

 

 

And then the smaller jacket or shirt wing shared by Bob @vintageproductions in post #97 of this thread

 

[ocsfollowme]

I just picked up the Claiborne Flight Academy patch, which is almost identical to the Arizona Gliding Academy. Except the aircraft. 

 

 

[rathbonemuseum.com]

Building on @haw68 post above, here is this early aviation license to John Gill, Flying Cadet class of 1925 and later ATC and Eastern Airlines pilot. This is his early wallet in which he had his pilot and mechanic's license. From approximately 1928. Features the same United States Dept of Commerce early logo.

[BUFF Rider]

I have these CPT wings that the pilot removed the C and T, and the background leaving just the P. I have seen another wing that the pilot removed all three letters leaving the rim of the shield, but the most common is that they just file down the bottom half of the shield (both in the Army silver and Navy gold wings). I assume it has something to do with graduating from the program, but when would these Enlisted Reserve pilots wear these wings? Were they in the military and actually completing the military flight training, or were they performing some other duties?

[FlyNavy02]

Below are images of an APPRENTICE MECHANIC wing from the McFarland Flying Service. MFS provided pre-glider training for the AAF 21st Glider Training Detachment at Pittsburg, Kansas. A MFS FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR wing is illustrated above on post #87. Both wings have hand engraved inscriptions.

 

A bio of one of the attendees, Charles Edward Skidmore, Jr.,  provides some details about the pre-glider training:

 

"When Chuck arrived at the glider school at Lockbourne he learned that the school could not accommodate additional students for training. Accordingly, on 7 September 1942, he and his classmates were transferred to the growing glider pilot student pool at Randolph Field, Texas. There were simply not enough training facilities in place to train all the glider students in the pipeline. As a result, they were frequently held at the glider pilot holding pool at Randolph Field until a new flying school opened. Skidmore remained at Randolph until 6 October 1942 when orders finally came through transferring him to the 21st AAF Glider Training Detachment at Pittsburg, Kansas, for pre-glider training. McFarland Flying Service, a civilian flying school under contract to the Army Air Corps provided the flight training and conducted the ground school for students. The instructors were all civilians. Only the check pilots were military. The school at Pittsburg was under the jurisdiction of the Commanding General, Gulf Coast Air Forces Training Center at Randolph Field, Texas, and was located just a few miles from Chuck’s birthplace.

He received 30 hours of pre-glider flight training at Pittsburg, completing his flying requirements on 2 November 1942. Most students referred to the pre-glider flight training as “dead stick” training. The connotation resulted from the type of flying conducted. A glider student would take off and climb to a designated altitude, switch off the engine, pull up the nose slightly to stop the prop from wind milling, and land the aircraft without power as though it were a glider. The Class “B” students in his class received 40 hours of elementary flight training and 15 hours of “dead stick” landings. Both “A” and “B” students were required to practice “dead stick” landings day and night to improve their judgment and spot landing proficiency. Chuck’s class was held at Pittsburg until 5 December 1942 because the contract basic glider schools were operating at capacity."

 

The full bio is a good read: https://www.americanairmuseum.com/archive/media/media-35966jpeg

 

The National Museum of the Air Force has a restored Taylorcraft L-2M Grasshopper used by McFarland at Pittsburg.

 

"The L-2M (S/N 43-26592) on display was built in 1944 by the Taylorcraft Airplane Co. in Alliance, Ohio. The U.S. Army Air Forces used it for liaison pilot training at the McFarland Flying Service Contract Pilot School at the Atkinson Municipal Airport in Pittsburg, Kan. It is painted to represent another L 2M flown at the Atkinson Municipal Airport (S/N 43-26588) during the war."

 

https://www.nationalmuseum.af.mil/Visit/Museum-Exhibits/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/195874/taylorcraft-l-2m-grasshopper/

 

 

 

[5thwingmarty]

I have a yearbook from the McFarland Flying Service.  This is a photo of Mr. E. H. McFarland and he is clearly wearing one of the generic patterns of civilian flight instructor wings and cap badge.  Other photos in the book show the other instructors wearing these same wings and cap badges.  There are also drawings of two wings in the book, one again is this same generic pattern and the other is more fanciful with MFS in the center of the wing.  The book was published in late 1944 at the earliest, and includes mainly photos of the staff, AAF supervising personnel and photos from the field and surrounding area.  In the photos of the mechanics, they are all dressed casually with no wings on their clothes.  Based on the photos in the book, I doubt these beautiful gold MFS wings are actually from the McFarland Flying Service.

 

Also, for a bit more information about the school, the book says "In May, 1942, the AAF gave us less than fifteen days to make all preparations to start training pre-glider students.  We had only between ten and fifteen in our organization and the job ahead had the appearance of an impossibility.  However, in an unbelievably short time I saw an efficient organization taking shape with over two hundred personnel.  By the time the pre-glider program was completed and we began training liaison pilots, smooth, efficient operations of each department was almost taken for granted."

 

MFS never had gliders for training the future glider pilots.  To begin training the future glider pilots, they had them take off in their liaison planes and then make dead-stick landings both day and night.  This is why it was a pre-glider school and not a glider school.  The school occupied the Atkinson Municipal Airport, named for L.M. "Tommy" Atkinson who deeded the land to the City of Pittsburg for $1 and then got CWA and WPA funds to help build the airport in the 1920s.

 

[FlyNavy02]

Very interesting, thanks for posting.

 

 

[5thwingmarty]

Doing more digging I suspect these wings might be associated with the Marshall Flying School in Marshall, Missouri.  The school was around as early as 1920 and continued at least through the 1930s.  They not only taught pilots they also taught aviation mechanics.  I have emailed the museum in Marshall to see if they can confirm whether this school was known to have awarded wings to their various graduates.  Here are a couple of other wings I have found with MFS on them, at least one of which appears to be related to the wings posted in this thread.

 

[FlyNavy02]

Thanks for posting this update and looking forward to learning if the museum can confirm.

[ocsfollowme]

On 3/16/2025 at 2:50 PM, 5thwingmarty said:

Doing more digging I suspect these wings might be associated with the Marshall Flying School in Marshall, Missouri.  The school was around as early as 1920 and continued at least through the 1930s.  They not only taught pilots they also taught aviation mechanics.  I have emailed the museum in Marshall to see if they can confirm whether this school was known to have awarded wings to their various graduates.  Here are a couple of other wings I have found with MFS on them, at least one of which appears to be related to the wings posted in this thread.

 

Concerning the gold wing, the emblem matches the positioning and script of Marshall Flying School.