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Photo Essay Collection

Take advantage of the Canada Aviation Museums curatorial expertise with this collection of photo essays available in the Adobe Acrobat PDF format. Viewing and printing these documents requires the Adobe Reader, available for download free from the Adobe web site.

Our photo essays cover topics of popular interest by combining superb historical photos and original research. Recently added to the collection is The Balloon Era. Also on tap are the following essays: The HS-2L in Canada, 1909 An Illustrious Year, Igor Sikorsky: One Man, Three Careers, Shield and Sword, R-100 airship, Camouflage and Rockcliffe Air Force Base.

The Balloon Era

The first balloon flight, made in France in 1783, created a great deal of interest. Huge crowds wanted to see the first humans in flight. Balloons quickly influenced both fashion and culture. Numerous pioneers soared in the skies of Europe and North America. Relive this heroic age of aviation through the pages of The Balloon Era.

The HS-2L in Canada

When the magnificent new building housing the National Aviation Museum of Canada (now renamed the Canada Aviation Museum) opened at Ottawa (Rockcliffe Airport), Ontario in June 1988, pride of place among the exhibits went to the recently completed reconstruction of La Vigilance, a Curtiss HS-2L flying-boat. It is the only example of its type in the world.

1909 An Illustrious Year

1909 An Illustrious Year (PDF: 55 pages, 3.0MB) examines one of the turning points in the history of flight. As spring changed to summer, Wilbur and Orville Wright were the worlds most famous airmen but, within months, they were moved to the sidelines by a series of spectacular events that took place in France, the new “Mistress of the Air”.

Igor Sikorsky: One Man, Three Careers

This photo essay covers the life and work of Igor Sikorsky (PDF: 26 pages, 448KB) one of the leading figures in aviation and the inventor of the helicopter. He is one of the world’s foremost aviation pioneers as well as the best known and best loved figures in aviation.

Shield and Sword

Shield and Sword (PDF: 35 pages, 1.2MB) will take you to the 1950s where fighter aircraft were dramatically improved at a rate that surpassed anything seen before or since. These new and improved aircraft showed how far the engineers pushed the boundaries of what seemed possible.

R-100

Catch our essay on the visit to Canada of the renowned R-100 (PDF: 24 pages, 1.4MB) airship. More than 50 wonderful images will bring you back to the days when crossing the Atlantic by air was still an adventure.

Camouflage

Another fascinating essay, this one on the ins-and-outs of Camouflage (PDF: 6 pages, 132KB). Camouflage and magic have a lot in common: they confound and deceive. A coin, an army disappears; the whole world is a stage where the goal is “to hide in plain sight”.

RCAF Station Rockcliffe

RCAF Station Rockcliffe (PDF: 41 pages, 2.5MB), one of the more picturesque of Canada’s former military bases, developed into the country’s showcase air station after its creation in 1920.