Flying. The Official Journal of the Aero Club of New South Wales
Sydney: Published by the Club, 1931. Twelve consecutive issues of the magazine, each measuring 233 x 285 mm., original striking pictorial covers bound in, bound in old purple cloth, front cover gilt lettered 'Flying Journal'. A beautifully preserved set. A rare survival from the golden age of Australian aviation, being a complete run of twelve issues of the monthly journal of the New South Wales Aero Club. The attractive colour covers are all well preserved, capturing some of the excitement and romance of flying in the early thirties.
The journal features numerous fascinating articles, many of which detail aviation in remote and rural areas of Australia. Of special interest are entries on Tasmanian civil aviation, the Narromine and Mount Gambier Air Pageants, and the rise of Hargrave Air Park. Flying Boats feature prominently, as do other technical articles on radio communication systems, glider pilot training, trials of new models (including the Lascondor Saloon Monoplane and the novel Harkness-Hornet), and the like.
Each issue of the journal includes a scale model plane plan, with measurements. Loosely inserted is a price sheet for modelling materials (including balsa, dopes, propeller blanks and sundries) printed for Herbert Small Pty. Ltd. This company sold model aeroplane construction parts and sets, and lists three separate retail premises in Sydney, Melbourne and Adelaide.
Complete runs of the Aero Club Journal are noteworthy, with only two substantial holdings in Australian instutional collections, at the National Library, and State Library of New South Wales respectively. This bibliography is not listed in Ian McLaren's comprehensive bibliography Australian Civil Aviation (1994), or his earlier Bibliographical Survey (1958). Likewise, it is not noted in the respective bibliographies on Australian aviation by Graeme Potter and Ian Wilson. Item #1849
From the library of accomplished Australian aviation artist David Marshall, with his book-label.
Price (AUD): $500.00