Ed Hamill and his Air Force Reserve Biplane
Show have a heritage in that our mission is
the same as the very first military demonstrations
teams - to recruit aerobatic wannabes to join
the military and become soldiers serving their
country. Ed flies a biplane, composed of fabric
covered wings and body, fly wires and the very
basic of instruments, very similar to the early
Curtiss Hawk biplanes used by one of the very
first barnstormers.
The Air Force Reserve Biplane started as Ed's Dream Machine and is part a biplane
heritage that goes back to the very first military
demonstration
teams. In the roaring twenties, airshow organizers
requested that the military provide airshow
demonstrations and the military answered that
call.
One of the
first teams, "Men on the Flying Trapeze," was
organized in 1932 at the Air Corps Tactical School
at Maxwell
Field, Alabama, flew Curtiss Hawk P-12 pursuit
biplanes until the team disbanded in 1936.
Team
members included Lt. W.C. McDonald, Jr., Capt.
Claire L. Chennault, and
Lt. John H. Williamson, each of whom went to
China early in WWII and served with the Flying
Tigers. Team member Lt. Haywood
S. Hansell, Jr., who in 1944 and early 1945
commanded the 21st Bomber Command during the B-29
bombing
campaign against Japan. The trophy was one
presented to the team during the All-American Air
Races
at Miami, Florida in 1935.
Another military demonstration team flying biplanes
were the "Skylarks" demonstration
team from Maxwell Field, Alabama. Team members
included Lt. Carl D.
Storrie, Lt. Clayton E. Hughes, Lt. Wilbur W. Airing,
and Capt. Charles D. McAllister, leader. Such Army
Air Corps teams carefully avoided any reference
to their maneuvers as "stunt flying," strictly
forbidden by Air Corps regulations.
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