Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame collection

Collection

Identifier: MS 0814

Staff Only

Scope and Contents

The Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame Collection at the Idaho State Archives comprises an assortment of documents created by the Hall of Fame, and documents created by aviation enthusiasts in the Southern Idaho area. The original order of the folders were retained when it was determined it existed. These documents include writings, correspondence, and photographs that reflect the aviation community in Idaho during much of the 20th century.

The Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame series includes the Hall of Fame Board meeting minutes, agendas, correspondence, and biographies ranging in date from 1991 to 1995. The collection also includes Hall of Fame correspondence, nominations, ballots, and plaques of inductees, as well as documents relating to induction ceremonies ranging in date from 1992 to 1999. Materials related to the proposed museum include pamphlets and blueprints. The collection also includes two VHS tapes focusing on Hall of Fame Inductees Pete Hill and Gladys Buroker. The collection includes an extensive amount of news clippings spanning from 1993 to 2001 which focus and aviation news from around the globe. A good portion of the clippings were taken from the Idaho Statesman.

The O.A. “Gus” Kelker series includes news clippings on aviation published originally from 1938 to 1978, focusing heavily on the Civilian Pilot Training Program. Some of the articles were written by him. Kelker’s Civil Aeronautics Administration Airman’s License, Pilot’s Book, Small Flight Record Book and Log Book are also included. Photographs and news clippings from a scrapbook created by Kelker can be found in the photograph portion of the collection. These photos range from the late 1920s to the mid 1930s and reflect Kelker’s early involvement as a pilot flying a National Parks Airways U.S. Mail plane, as well as photos of family and friends.

The George J. Oswald series consists of four flight log books noting flights completed by Oswald between 1946 and 1994.

The Gilbert E. Davis series consists of correspondence, notes, blueprints, and news and magazine clippings. Correspondence includes letters to and from merchants and vendors of aircraft parts. The notes and blueprints reflect the research and design concepts created by Davis. Also included are a number of regional and national newspapers and publications focusing heavily on the Davis Flying Wing. Publications include Popular Mechanics, and Plane & Pilot. Legal documents relating to two civil cases are also included. The first reflects a battle he had with his former business partner, Sid Hendricks, in 1985 over an unfulfilled contract agreement. The second is a 1990 lawsuit against the Hagar 4 Products, Inc., the Gates Rubber Company, and the T.B. Woods Son’s Company over a faulty engine belt believed to be the cause of his 1989 accident.

The Chet Moulton series includes correspondence, personal documents, and news clippings related to his resignation in 1971 as the Director of the Idaho Department of Aviation. The series also includes documents and news clippings collected by Moulton from 1947 to 1971 focusing on aviation news in Idaho. News clippings and ephemera on “Air Breakfast” events in Weiser, Challis, and Pocatello in 1947 and 1948 are also included. Also included are a variety of Sectional and World Aeronautical Chart Maps published between 1950 and 1967. An untitled small notebook is also included which contain typed and handwritten notes which appear to focus on aviation service sites throughout Idaho. News clippings only weeded partially, duplicates may exist.

Dates

Creation: 1920-2003

Biographical / Historical

The Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame, a now defunct organization operated from the 1970s through the early 2000s. While the Hall of Fame was well established, their ultimate goal was to build an aviation museum on next to the Boise International Airport. During its tenure, the Hall of Fame, which was ran by a Board collected nominations and appointed members of the Idaho aviation community to the Hall of Fame. Work began in the mid-1990s on the design for the museum. The Hall of Fame worked with architects and engineers over the course of the next four years however, for reasons unknown, the museum never came to fruition.

Gus Kelker lived in the Pocatello and Twin Falls, ID area in his youth. In the 1920s and 1930s he delivered mail as part of the National Parks Airways U.S. Mail Plane service. His route included Salt Lake City, UT to Pocatello, ID. Kelker was also a member of the Civil Air Patrol and was the Civilian Pilot Training Program ran by the Civil Aeronautics Administration in Pocatello during World War II. Kelker was also a journalist writing from the late 1930s on, in 1970 he became the Top Editor of the Times-News in Twin Falls.

Gilbert E. Davis (1942-2007) was a predominantly self educated aviation test pilot who became famous in 1986 when he successfully built and flew the Davis Flying Wing, a one-person tailless aircraft. In the 1960s he attended Brigham Young University where he met his wife, Susan. In 1971 he began work on the DX-1 Darter and worked on numerous projects through the 1970s. In 1983, unable to renegotiate with his business partner, Sid Hendricks, Davis formed the Davis Wing, Ltd. a corporation to design and build the Davis Flying Wing Starship Alpha. In 1989 Davis crashed his plane which left him bound to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Chet Moulton (1908-1994) served as the Idaho Aeronautics Director from 1946 until his controversial resignation in 1971. During his tenure as director he spent many hours lobbying for funds, resources, and volunteered man hours to help create back-country airstrips across the state, which resulted in the construction of more than 100 new airfields in Idaho. In 1971 Moulton resigned rather suddenly sparking an outrage amongst not just the aviation community, but from members of the general public who felt the current Idaho Governor, Cecil D. Andrus played a hand in his resignation. He was names Idaho’s Outstanding State Employee in 1967, and was inducted into the Idaho Aviation Hall of Fame.

Extent

6 Cubic Feet

Language of Materials

English

Additional Description

Related Materials

The Idaho Transportation Department's collection (AR 24) includes Department of Aeronautics documents produced during the time of Chet Moulton’s tenure at the department.