The Port Townsend, Washington, Aero Museum occupies several hangers at the Port Townsend Airport. The main gallery displays a collection of rare small aircraft which have been meticulously restored and maintained. With one notable exception, all are airworthy and are flown by the museum staff. Only about half of the museum’s collection is actually on display at any one time. Shown below are some of the museum’s 1930s monoplanes.
1930 Stinson Detroiter:
This aircraft, formally known as the Stinson Model SM-8A was introduced in early 1930 and more than 200 were flying by the end of the year. The plane has a cruising speed of 100 mph and can carry five people.
Edward “Eddie” Stinson founded the Stinson Aircraft Company in Dayton, Ohio, in 1920. The company moved to Detroit in 1926 and automobile mogul E. L. Cord acquired 60% of the company in 1929. In 1930, at the height of the Depression, Stinson offered six aircraft models. Eddie Stinson was killed in an airplane crash in 1932.
1931 Curtiss-Wright Junior:
About 270 of these aircraft were built with a cruising speed of 60 mph. Shown above is a replica as original examples are quite rare.
1932 Benny Howard “Mike”:
This is a replica of the famous pylon racer of the 1930s. It is one of the few airplanes in the museum that is a non-flyer: its former owner felt that the airplane was too demanding for the average pilot and should not be flown.
1932 Pietenpol Sky Scout:
Designed in 1928 by Bernard Pietenpol it originally called for the use of a Ford Model T engine, but when the Model A became available it used it instead. Plans were made available to the public and published in Popular Aviation magazine. Only three Sky Scouts currently exist. Like the other planes on display at the Port Townsend Aero Museum, this one is flown regularly by the museum staff. It has a cruising speed of 68 mph.
1936 Aeronca C3B Master:
There were only about 500 C3’s built between 1931 and 1936. It has a cruising speed of 65 mph. Only a handful remain and the one shown above is flown only on special occasions by the museum staff.
1939 Taylorcraft Model B:
The Taylorcraft Model B has a 65 hp engine as compared with the 40 hp engine in the Model A. The plane was popular and were sold as fast as they could be manufactured. In World War II, the design continued as the Taylorcraft L-2, part of the Grasshopper Fleet. Taylorcraft began producing aircraft in 1935.