 MS-88 Max Baker Aviation Collection | |||
Access and ProvenanceThe Max Baker Aviation Collection was accessioned into Wright State University's Special Collections and Archives in October, 1990. Max Baker's son, Thomas Baker of Birmingham, Alabama, donated the collection. The deed of gift imposes no restrictions on the use of material(s) in this collection. |
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Series Listing |
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| Series 1: | Max Baker research materials | ||
| Series 2: | Copies of the Wright Brother's material | ||
| Series 3: | Photographs | ||
| Series 4: | Max Baker Correspondence | ||
| Series 5: | Oversized Drawings | ||
| Series 6: | Miscellaneous Materials | ||
| Series 7: | Published Materials | ||
Brief Biographical SketchMax Baker was born in Dayton, Ohio, and as a young boy witnessed the Wright Brothers flights around 1910-1915. From that young age, Baker was hooked on the flying machines and how they worked. Baker attended Miami University and studied advanced mathematics at Ohio Northern University. He worked for General Motors Research in Moraine City, Ohio, from 1924-1926. From 1926-1929, he worked at the Pontiac Motor Car Division. In 1929, Baker went to work for the Waco Aircraft Company, where he designed airplanes. In 1938, he worked for Lockheed Aircraft Company. While there, he designed British Bombers for Lockheed's contract with the British government. In 1939, Baker returned to Waco Aircraft Company as assistant chief engineer. In 1947, he joined the General Motors Inland Division as a project engineer. Upon Orville Wright's death in 1948, Baker assisted the technical advisor to the Wright Estate, Harvey Geyer. This enabled Baker to gather data for his research about the Wright Brothers. |
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Scope and ContentSeries 1 is a collection of Max Baker's research papers. Many of the papers are about the Wright Brothers and their contributions to aviation and engineering. The most formal paper is Baker's "The Wright Brothers as Aeronautical Engineers." Baker presented most of these papers at engineering society meetings, where he also presented slide-shows. A slide-show script is included. Max Baker's patent of the drive shaft is also in this series.Series 2 contains copies of the Wright Brothers materials and research. Included are copies of Wilbur Wright's diaries (1904, 1905, and 1908), Wilbur Wright's correspondence with Octave Chanute (1901-1903), and their various patents. Wilbur Wright's article, "Experiences and Observations in Soaring Flight" and research about Orville Wright's wind tunnel is also included. Series 3 is Max Baker's photograph collection. Included are photographs of Max Baker, photographs and negatives of the Wright Brothers' engines, wind tunnel and its components, the Wright propellers, and various equipment and experiments. Max Baker made the glass slides from the photos to use in his lectures. Series 4 is Max Baker's correspondence which spans 1940-1967.The correspondence includes contacts with individuals and institutions about Baker's research. Some of the correspondence is with Orville Wright's brother-in-law Henry Haskell. The letters discuss upcoming articles about the Wright Brothers, including a piece in the Encyclopedia Britannica. Series 5 consists of oversized drawings. These include drawings of the Wrights' 1903 aircraft and engine, their 1905 aircraft, their 1903 airplane propeller and starting trolley details, Orville's wind tunnel and wind tunnel tests, their 1903 airplane, and two large photographs of wind tunnel testing equipment. Most valuable is a drawing of an engine by the Wright's mechanic, Charlie Taylor. The drawing was commissioned by Henry Ford of Ford Motor Company. All of these over- sized drawings are kept in the over-sized file. Series 6 consists of miscellaneous items such as an airmail stamp commemorative and newspaper articles. Most of the newspaper articles are from the 1938, 1949, and 1950 Dayton newspapers. These include articles about the Wright Brothers and their work in Dayton. Other articles are about the donation of replicas to Miami University and Oberlin College. A Kansas Star column by Henry Haskell describing some of the contributions of the Wright Brothers and Max Baker's research is also included. Series 7 consists of published materials. These include various professional journals, which are grouped by titles, span 1916-1945. One-of-a-kind journals are in files titled, "Miscellaneous Journals." ax Baker used these materials in his job as an aircraft engineer and his research about the Wright Brothers . The journal U.S. Services, contains an article about the Wrights' 1903 airplane.
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Container Listing | |||
| Box # | File # | Description | Dates |
|---|---|---|---|
| Series I: Max Baker's Research Papers | |||
| 1 | 1 | Papers | 1946-1950 |
| 2 | Incomplete Papers | 1949 | |
| 3 | Max Baker Drive Shaft Patent | 1956 | |
| Series II: Wright Brothers' Materials | |||
| 4 | Wilbur Wright's Correspondence | 1901 | |
| 5 | Wilbur Wright's Correspondence | 1902 | |
| 6 | Wilbur Wright's Correspondence | 1903 | |
| 7 | Wilbur Wright's Diary (Photocopy) | 1904 | |
| 8 | Wilbur Wright's Diary (Photocopy) | 1905 | |
| 9 | Wilbur Wright's Diary (Photocopy) | 1908 | |
| 10 | Wind Tunnel and Wind Tunnel Research | ||
| 11 | Wright Brothers' Patent | 1906,1909, 1911, 1913, 1914 | |
| 12 | "Experiences and Observations in Soaring Flight" by Wilbur Wright | 1903 | |
| Series III: Photographs | |||
| 2 | Glass Plate Slides | ||
| 3 | 1 | Photos of Wright Brothers' Items | |
| 2 | Negatives From Photographs | ||
| 3 | Miscellaneous Photographs | ||
| 4 | Photographs of Max Baker | ||
| 5 | Photograph Duplicates | ||
| 6 | Oversized Photographs | ||
| Series IV: Max Baker's Correspondence | |||
| 3 | 7 | Correspondence | 1940, 1945, 1949-53, 1964, 1967 |
| Series V: Oversized Drawings | |||
| oversized 1903 airplane, 1903 aircraft and engine, drawer #12 | |||
| 1903 propeller and starting trolley details, 1905 aircraft, wind tunnel and tests, photographs of wind tunnel testing equipment, and Charlie Taylor's drawing of the engine | |||
| Series VI: Miscellaneous Materials | |||
| 4 | 1 | Newspaper Articles | 1938, 1949 |
| 2 | 6 cent airmail postage stamp commemorative | 1953 | |
| Series VII: Published Materials | |||
| 3 | Forest Product Laboratory Journal | 1919,1937,1942 | |
| 4 | A Chronicle of the Aviation Industry in America, | 1903-47, 1948-49 | |
| 5 | Baldwon Locomotive Works Newsletter | 1944-46 | |
| 6 | The Aeronautical Journal | 1916, 1921 | |
| 7 | Society of Aeronautical Engineers (SAE)
Pamphets "The Engineers's Digest", 1940 "Gun Recoil" The Aircraft Engineers,1939 Bendix Airplane Wheels and Brakes " Stress Analysis Utilization in Dynamic Testing" Firestone Aircraft company 1946 Douglas Aircraft Company Report 1936 |
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| 8 | Technical Reference Bibliography "Strenght of Aircraft Elements" War Dept. Manual | 1945 | |
| 9 | Aircraft Lubrication 1945
U.S. Air Services 1928 (Contains article about the Wright 1903 Airplane) |
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| 10 | "Performance Flight Testsing Methods in Use By Flight Section" U.S. Air Force Report | 1944 | |
| 11 | Metallic and Industrial Minerals: Sources and Uses | ||
| 5 | 1 | Vibration Analysis of a Wing Mounting Flexibly Suspended Engines | 1943 |
| 2 | Cours de Mecanique | 1918 | |
| 3 | Cours de Mecanique | 1920 | |
| 4 | Cours de Mecanique | 1923 | |