MS-355 Charles Wald Collection
Introduction
The Charles Wald Collection was given to Wright State University Special Collections and Archives by Quentin Wald, Charles’ son, in January of 2007. One folder of materials was received.
The collection includes flight records and negatives. The flight diary and logs were written by Charles Wald in 1912 and the photographs were taken by him, with the exceptions of those in which he is shown, between 1910 and 1916.
The materials in the Charles Wald Collection date between 1910 and 1916. This collection documents the training of an early American aviator as well as the Wright Company’s early involvement in water-based aviation.
There are no restrictions on the use of the Charles Wald Collection.
The Charles Wald Collection is organized into 2 series:
Series I: Flight Records
Series II: Negatives
Brief Biographical Sketch
Charles Wald was an early American aviator trained at the Wright School of Aviation in Dayton, Ohio. In 1905, while stationed with the U.S. Custom Service in the Philippines, he learned about Wilbur and Orville Wright’s achievements in flying. In 1906 he returned to the United States and visited the Wrights with the desire to learn to fly. The Wright brothers advised him to first learn engineering, so he began taking night courses at Pratt Institute in New York following his daytime work at the New York Custom House.
In 1911 Charles Wald secured employment with the Wright Company in Dayton. Following a brief return to the New York Custom House, he began flight training at Huffman Prairie Flying Field (Simms Station) on April 12, 1912 under the instruction of A.L. Welsh. His primary training was considered complete on April 23 with fourteen flights and a total of two hours and forty-six minutes in the air. During this time he also worked in the shop on engines and repairs. Wald returned to employment with the Wright Company in June following the tragic death of A.L. Welsh in a plane crash. He made his first solo flight on June 27.By August 6 he flew seventy-four additional flights, accompanied most of the time by a fellow student, William Kabitzki.
In 1912, the Wright Company established a school for water-based flying, known as the Wright air ferry, at the Glenwood Country Club in Glen Head, Long Island, New York. Charles Wald was put in charge of the operation, which was intended to direct the attention of wealthy yachtsman to the potential sport of water flying and to provide flying lessons. The school used a Wright Model B machine with floats attached to the landing skids. Wald’s first flight with the hydroaeroplane occurred on September 9. On September 21, he flew nine miles across Long Island Sound from Glenwood Landing to New Rochelle Harbor and was greeted by enthusiastic onlookers.The Glen Head operation again garnered public attention on October 10 when a man who had fallen overboard a boat was rescued from the water by the hydroaeorplane.During the school’s existence at Glen Head, the hydroaeroplane carried several passengers and newspaper cargo, but there is no record of any flying lessons being given. This may be why the operation lasted only one season.
Charles Wald formed the short-lived Manhattan Aeroplane Company in 1913 with Frank Willson and a Mr. Reiland. The company produced two or three airplanes, one of which was a flying boat. During World War I, Wald headed the inspection department at the Curtiss factory in Buffalo. He also managed the U.S. Navy seaplane racing team that won the Schneider Trophy in England in 1923. He retired from his aviation work with the naval service in 1947.
Scope and Content Note
SERIES 1: Flight Records
The five pages of diary entries and forty-eight flight logs in this section were written by Charles Wald between Friday, April 12, 1912 and October 10, 1912. They describe Charles’ flights at the Wright School of Aviation at Simm’s Station in Dayton, Ohio between April 12 and August 7 and his flights in the Wright Model B hydroaeroplane in Glen Head, Long Island, New York between September 9 and October 10.
The flight records mainly contain information on weather conditions and aircraft performance. They reveal much about the unreliability of early airplanes and the constant maintenance and modifications that were needed. The flight logs also list locations, machine numbers, operators, time and date of flights, length of flights, wind velocity, remarks, and passengers. There is limited information on Wald’s construction and repair work in the shop at Simms Station. Individuals mentioned in the records include Orville Wright, A.L. Welsh, Grover Bergdoll, and William Kabitzki.
SERIES 2: Negatives
The negatives in this collection mostly depict early Wright aviators and aircraft at Huffman Prairie in Dayton and at Glen Head, Long Island.&nbs The photographs span the years 1910-1916. Of special note are photographic images of the Wright Model B hydroaeroplane at Glen Head in 1912. These are significant because most histories on the work of the Wright brothers suggest 1913 as the year of their earliest foray into water-based flying. Also depicted in these negatives is the Wright Exhibition Team in flight at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in 1910 and the Wright Company factory in Dayton in 1911.
Identifying numerals are marked on each negative, generally on the emulsion side. These numbers are indicated by parentheses in the container listing.
Container Listing
SERIES I: |
Flight Records |
Box |
File |
Item |
Date |
1 |
1 |
Diary, Simms Station |
April 12-15, 1912 |
1 |
2 |
Diary, Simms Station |
April 16-19, 1912 |
1 |
3 |
Diary, Simms Station |
April 19-23, 1912 |
1 |
4 |
Diary, Simms Station |
April 23, 1912 |
1 |
5 |
Diary, Simms Station |
June 27-29, 1912 |
1 |
6 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
June 27, 1912 |
1 |
7 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
June 28, 1912 |
1 |
8 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
June 29, 1912 |
1 |
9 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 1, 1912 |
1 |
10 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 2, 1912 |
1 |
11 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 3, 1912 |
1 |
12 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 4, 1912 |
1 |
13 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 5, 1912 |
1 |
14 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 6, 1912 |
1 |
15 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 8, 1912 |
1 |
16 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 9, 1912 |
1 |
17 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 10, 1912 |
1 |
18 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 11, 1912 |
1 |
19 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 12, 1912 |
1 |
20 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 13, 1912 |
1 |
21 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 15, 1912 |
1 |
22 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 16, 1912 |
1 |
23 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 17, 1912 |
1 |
24 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 18, 1912 |
1 |
25 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 19, 1912 |
1 |
26 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 20, 1912 |
1 |
27 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 22, 1912 |
1 |
28 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 23, 1912 |
1 |
29 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 24, 1912 |
1 |
30 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 25, 1912 |
1 |
31 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 26, 1912 |
1 |
32 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 27, 1912 |
1 |
33 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 29, 1912 |
1 |
34 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 30, 1912 |
1 |
35 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
July 31, 1912 |
1 |
36 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
Aug 1, 1912 |
1 |
37 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
Aug 2, 1912 |
1 |
38 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
Aug 3, 1912 |
1 |
39 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
Aug 5, 1912 |
1 |
40 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
Aug 6, 1912 |
1 |
41 |
Flight log, Simms Station |
Aug 7, 1912 |
1 |
42 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 9, 1912 |
1 |
43 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 17, 1912 |
1 |
44 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 19, 1912 |
1 |
45 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 21, 1912 |
1 |
46 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 22, 1912 |
1 |
47 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 23, 1912 |
1 |
48 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 28, 1912 |
1 |
49 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Sept 30, 1912 |
1 |
50 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Oct 2, 1912 |
1 |
51 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Oct 4, 1912 |
1 |
52 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Oct 5, 1912 |
1 |
53 |
Flight log, Glen Head, NY |
Oct 10, 1912 |
1 |
54 |
Blank flight logs |
n.d. |
|
|
|
|
SERIES II: |
Negatives |
Box |
File |
Item |
Date |
1 |
55 |
(3) Howard Gill in model EX |
1910 |
1 |
56 |
(4) Model EX, designed for altitude, established a record of 9750 feet |
n.d. |
1 |
57 |
(5) First public exhibition flying in the U.S. by the Wright Company, Indianapolis Motor Speedway. Two machines in air are transition biplanes (Model A/B) with front and rear elevators |
June 1910 |
1 |
58 |
(6) Orville Wright & Ralph Johnstone flying the transition Model A/B biplane, Huffman Prairie |
June 1910 |
1 |
59 |
(7) Orville Wright demonstrating turns for his students in the transition Model A/B biplane, Huffman Prairie |
June 1910 |
1 |
60 |
(8) Charles Wald in Model B, Huffman Prairie |
1911 |
1 |
61 |
(9) Harry Atwood in Model B |
June 1911 |
1 |
62 |
(10) Oscar Brindley |
June 1911 |
1 |
63 |
(11) L to R: Clifford Turpin, T. DeWitt Milling, Oscar Brindley, John Rodgers playing poker, Huffman Prairie |
1911 |
1 |
64 |
(12) Harry Atwood whitewashing a line across the field “in order to learn to fly straight,” Huffman Prairie. In background: Howard Gill, Clifford Turpin, T.D. Milling, H.H. Arnold & A.L. Welsh |
June 1911 |
1 |
65 |
(13) Harry Atwood “developing the sense of balance.” Watching, L to R, are H.H. Arnold, A.L. Welsh, T.D. Milling, Orville Wright, Oscar Brindley and Calbraith Rodgers keeping time |
n.d. |
1 |
66 |
(15) Aerial view of Ohio countryside |
June 1911 |
1 |
67 |
(18) The Wright Company factory, Dayton |
1911 |
1 |
68 |
(19) A.L. Welsh and Cal Rodgers in Model B |
1911 |
1 |
69 |
(22) Details of Model B |
1911 |
1 |
70 |
(23) Side view of Model B |
1911 |
1 |
71 |
(24) Charles Wald at controls of early Model B, Huffman Prairie |
April 1912 |
1 |
72 |
(25) Charles Wald at controls of converted Model B |
April 1912 |
1 |
73 |
(26) A.L. Welsh and Charles Wald in flight over Huffman Prairie |
April 1912 |
1 |
74 |
(27) A.L. Welsh and Charles Wald |
April 1912 |
1 |
75 |
(31) Charles Wald and Grover Bergdoll |
April 1912 |
1 |
76 |
(32) Model B, Huffman Prairie |
1912 |
1 |
77 |
(33) Tail of a Wright biplane in flight |
June 1912 |
1 |
78 |
(36) Charles Wald in flight, Huffman Prairie |
1912 |
1 |
79 |
(37) L to R: Max Lille, Wm. Kabitzke, Charles Wald and Norman Prince |
August 1912 |
1 |
80 |
(38) The Wright Model B hydroaeroplane in the hangar at Glen Head, Long Island |
September 1912 |
1 |
81 |
(39) The Wright Model B hydroaeroplane in the hangar at Glen Head, Long Island |
September 1912 |
1 |
82 |
(40) The Wright Model B hydroaeroplane in the hangar at Glen Head, Long Island |
September 1912 |
1 |
83 |
(41) Charles Wald in hydroaeroplane on the launching ways |
September 1912 |
1 |
84 |
(42) Charles Wald in hydroaeroplane on the launching ways |
September 1912 |
1 |
85 |
(43) The hydroaeroplane leaving the launching ways |
n.d. |
1 |
86 |
(44) A posed photo to illustrate a newspaper account of the rescue by the hydroaeroplane of a man lost from a boat at Glen Head, Long Island |
October 1912 |
1 |
87 |
(45) The hydroaeroplane in the hangar at Glen Head, Long Island |
October 1912 |
1 |
88 |
(46) The hydro taxiing, a four-masted schooner in the background |
n.d. |
1 |
89 |
(48) Flying boat built by the Manhattan Aeroplane Company, Charles Wald at the controls |
1913 |
1 |
90 |
(49) The flying boat on the beach at Huntington, Long Island. Charles Wald nearest to the hull |
1913 |
1 |
91 |
(50) Guy Gilpatrick and Art Heinrich in front of “Standard” military trainer, Mineola, Long Island |
1916 |
1 |
92 |
(51) Charles Wald and Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” training plane, 2nd Aero Company, New York National Guard, Hempstead Plains, Long Island |
July 1916 |
|