CAA/WTS/CPT/Flight Schools - Reference Thread

[rustywings]

In 1940, Georgia Air Service, Inc. contracted with the US Army Air Corps to teach "Primary" to flying cadets at two academies in Bennettsville, South Carolina and Jackson, Tennessee. Both flight academies were sanctioned by the CAA War Training Service. In 1942, Georgia Air Service changed its name to Southeastern Air Service...most likely because neither school was located in the State of Georgia.

[rustywings]

Here's a black and white photograph of a Georgia Air Service Contract Flight Instructor in his uniform. The photo is dated 1941.

[rustywings]

G.A.S. Flight Instructor wings and cap piece like the ones depicted in the photograph.

[rustywings]

Wings in the photograph.

[rustywings]

Georgia Air Service Flight Instructor wings.

[rustywings]

Back of the wings.

[rustywings]

Cap piece in the photograph.

[rustywings]

G.A.S. Flight Instructor cap badge.

[rustywings]

Back of the cap badge.

[pfrost]

stunning stunning stunning. :w00t:

 

I hope everyone appreciates just how rare and spectacular a collection Russ has acquired. I hear rumors of other collections, but for my money, we have one of the world class examples of all things "flying instructor" in Russ' contributions to this thread.

 

BTW, that Georgia Air Service badge looks familiar.

 

Patrick

[dwell_50]

Was advised to post my recent collection here. Looking for assistance to put a value on these items. Thanks for your help

[dwell_50]

And Additional Pictures. Looking for value assistance.

[dwell_50]

And 1 More. Value please.

[dwell_50]

Finally.

[rustywings]

And 1 More. Value please.

 

 

There's some nice WWII era flight school stuff mixed in with your lot. Any chance of getting a couple of close-up images of the front and back of your Instructor's wing? I've seen the initials "FI" for flight instructor and "CFI" for contract flight instructor...but this is the first wing I've seen with just the letter "I".

Russ

[dwell_50]

OK here is the back of the Instructor pin. The front is already shown about as close up as I can get. Can you give me an estimate of value? If you have never seen one, I would interprept that to mean it is extremely rare?

 

Thanks, Don

 

 

 

 

There's some nice WWII era flight school stuff mixed in with your lot. Any chance of getting a couple of close-up images of the front and back of your Instructor's wing? I've seen the initials "FI" for flight instructor and "CFI" for contract flight instructor...but this is the first wing I've seen with just the letter "I".

Russ

[John Cooper]

The "I" wing is very interesting... I can not say I have ever heard of it before. Anyone else?

 

John

[rustywings]

And 1 More. Value please.

 

 

Don, I can't give you a dollar value for your "I" wing. As John stated, your wing is interesting...especially in the presence of the two Claiborne Flight Academy collar pins. I have to assume the wing was intended for wear by an instructor at Claiborne as well. I believe your wing is most likely one-of-a-kind. It appears to have been rather amateurishly made due to the large smear of jewelers solder on the wing to the left of the shield; and the letter "I" appears to have been hastily cut down from a letter "L" (possibly from a Liaison Pilot wing). If you look closely, the "I" is not symmetrical and rather rough...not the type of work you would expect from a professional jeweler or badge manufacturer. Another factor which may influence the value of your wing is the probability the catch on the back has been replaced. These Juarez style wings were originally made with a different catch. Good luck with your venture. Please keep us in tune with what you find out.

 

Russ

[dwell_50]

Russ,

 

I don't really see what you mean with the wing and the lack of quality of workmanship. Not that I am an expert but, I think it may rather be the quality of my pictures or some of the residual cleaning attempt by the former owner of the wing. I have wiped it with a cloth to remove some of the silver cleaner residue and taken additional pictures. Look at these and see if you arrive at the same opinion. Are the other FI pins you have this same size? It is probably twice as large as the Aerial Gunner wing, as you can see by the pictures?

 

So if it is a 1 of a kind, it is a WW II era flight wing would I be in a dream world if I were to think it may bring thousand"S" of dollars in the right sales venue??

 

 

Thanks for your expertise.

 

Don

[dwell_50]

And the back again.

[rustywings]

Wow! What a difference a little cleaning makes! Those first posted images of your "I" wing were deceiving. What I mistook as jeweler's solder and poor craftmanship, was indeed an accumulation of dried silver polish. Generally speaking, most collectors prefer to see the original patina on the wing rather than a shiny, tarnish-free polished look. But getting rid of that old dried polish really enhances the details of your unique wing.

[dwell_50]

I thought that would be true also but the former owner decided to try clean a portion of it. The tarnish will return, and I wanted to get the silver polish off so the detail could be seen. So now what do you think of my other questions above??

 

Thanks,

 

Don

 

 

 

Wow! What a difference a little cleaning makes! Those first posted images of your "I" wing were deceiving. What I mistook as jeweler's solder and poor craftmanship, was indeed an accumulation of dried silver polish. Generally speaking, most collectors prefer to see the original patina on the wing rather than a shiny, tarnish-free polished look. But getting rid of that old dried polish really enhances the details of your unique wing.

[rustywings]

Here's the remaining photos of that "Georgia Air Service" contract flight school grouping listed on the previous page.

[rustywings]

Embroidered cloth wings and shoulder patches worn by U.S. Army Contract Flight Instructors at "Georgia Air Service".

[rustywings]

Georgia Air Service cloth wing.