First record of this airfield is from a 1930 Aviation Map when it was called Keystone Aircraft Field. Fleetwings Aircraft bought Keystone Aircraft and moved here in 1941. The airfield was then known as Fleetwings Field. Fleetwings was bought by Kaiser Industries in 1943 and the airfield was renamed again to Kaiser Field. The photo shows the transformation from grass airfield to an airport with paved runways 19 & 23 shown here under construction, with 29 just beginning; all paid for by the U.S. Navy. In the 1950s 3M bought the Kaiser factory which heralded a name change to 3M Airport. This situation continued with general aviation operations until 1980 when the airport was closed.

The one and only Fleetwings F-4 Sea Bird pictured during the time it was owned by Volitan Aviation of Pacoima/CA. The photo was taken by retired Fleetwings test pilot (William H. Engle) who originally flew it in 1937. He tracked it down to see how it had survived the years in between. Collection holder William Engle is the son of Fleetwings test pilot William H. Engle.

Acquired by American Airlines from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation on 7 December 1945 and modified as a flying test bed for airborne radar research. The print has a Kaiser-Fleetwings rubber stamp dated 'SEP 20 1946' on the back. That plus the inclusion of the company's Chief Engineer (R.W. Ayer) in the photo suggests their involvement in providing the strange-looking cupola. On 8 August 1947 the aircraft was wrecked when it stalled into the East River during a single engine missed approach at LaGuardia/NY.

The second F-5 Sea Bird moored opposite downtown Miami at Virginia Key while on a sales tour that included Nassau/Bahamas and Havana/Cuba. The aircraft is Oklahoma based in 2024.

The third F-5 made its initial test flight on 19 March 1939 in the hands of test pilot William H. Engle. It was still at the factory by late November 1939 and photographed after delivery at Raby Field/MS with a Civil Air Patrol badge on the side. Oklahoma based in 2024. Collection holder William Engle is the son of Fleetwings test pilot William H. Engle.

The first F-5 version which made its initial flight on 16 January 1938 with test pilot William H. Engle at the controls. The F-5 was a modified version of the F-4 with accommodation for five occupants (instead of four). Here it is parked on the Fleetwings seaplane ramp with both the nose mooring hatch and passenger access hatch open. Registration cancelled on 27 April 1948. Collection holder William Engle is the son of Fleetwings test pilot William H. Engle.

Manufactured by the Goodyear Zeppelin Corporation, hence the 'GZ' c/n prefix. NC7A was the first Model TZ airship, and the first FAA permanent licensed airship. It was based in Miami. Here it is employed in giving sight-seeing rides over the 1933-34 World's Fair at Chicago along with sister airship NC14A. (Print date stamped 30 August 1933.) The registration was cancelled on 21 September 1938 for unknown reasons.

Registered CF-BGZ on 14 September 1937 ex NC16793 and here on the Fleetwings seaplane ramp prior to delivery. It was registered to Northern Ventures Ltd of Fort St James, BC initially. It was damaged in a landing accident on 7 March 1939 at Hamilton/ON and returned to the U.S. for repair in June 1939. Texas based as N16793 in 2024.

The BT-12 production line inside the Fleetwings plant showing ships #9 thru #14 of a 24 ship order with serials 42-3684 to 3707 allocated. Serials 42-3708 thru 3883, which would have brought the order up to 200, were cancelled when the military decided they preferred the Vultee BT-13. Construction involved the extensive use of stainless steel, including for skin panels. The fuselage structure was made from carbon steel tube with stainless skin panels attached using "Shake-proof Fasteners" (probably what is known as quarter-turn fasteners today). The novelty of the design probably put the military off as being too different for maintenance to cope with.

The Fleetwings Model 23 was a two-seat basic trainer designated BT-12 by the military. It was powered by a P&W R-985 engine of 450 hp and utilized much stainless steel for construction. This prototype was flown from the Fleetwings plant at Bristol/PA to Wright Field, Dayton/OH on 12 January 1941, with acceptance tests commencing on 21 April 1941. In this photo it is up on an acceptance flight with Fleetwings chief project test pilot William H. Engle in the front and Doug Mason in the rear seat. On 21 February 1944 it was tagged as CL-26 (Ground maintenance trainer) and last known of at the Walter Soplata Collection, Newbury, OH. Collection holder William Engle is the son of Fleetwings test pilot William H. Engle.

The Fleetwings Model 36 was a plywood skinned aerial target with the military designation PQ-12A. This particular aircraft was the prototype and it first flew on 5 December 1941 as NX37010 powered by a Franklin O-300-7 engine of 175 hp. Test pilot William H. Engle was at the controls. (Prototype serial 41-39057 for XPQ-12 not taken up.) On 18 Sept 1942, NX37010 was cancelled and military serial 41-39098 was applied for an XPQ-12A. Subsequent modifications included a simplified nose leg and wheel fairing and substitution of a Lycoming O-435-5 engine of 225 hp. The latter necessitated a larger cowling as seen on the photo of 41-39045. Collection holder William Engle is the son of Fleetwings test pilot William H. Engle.

The Fleetwings Model 36 was a plywood skinned aerial target which was given the military designation PQ-12A. It was powered by a Lycoming O-435 of 225 hp and could be manually flown for testing & evaluation when designated as the YPQ-12A (background). The protrusion hanging down from the right hand wing housed a TV camera that fed images to a mother-ship for remote guidance to intercept an enemy aircraft. In October 1943 the aircraft successfully downed a test drone over the Muroc Bombing and Gunnery Range by detonating a 500 lb bomb housed under the cockpit fairing. Note that the last two digits of the serial on the tail have been crudely changed from "49" to "45".

Designated as an Assault Drone, the plywood skinned BQ-2A was powered by 2 x Lycoming R-680-13 engines of 300 hp each. A 2000 lb bomb could be carried in a compartment just aft of the wing. It shares the Fleetwings Model 37 number with the XBQ-1 and has the same airframe, however the fixed landing gear was jettisonable for better performance. A TV camera mounted in the LH wing leading edge allowed its guidance onto target from a mother-ship. First flight was on 21 August 1943. The design was deemed to be too expensive for operational use, so the program was cancelled in December 1943.

The Fleetwings Model 37 was an Assault Drone with military designation BQ-1. It was plywood skinned and was powered by 2 x Franklin O-405-7 engines of 250 hp each. A 2000 lb bomb could be carried in a compartment just aft of the wing. In this photo, the 48 ft span wings with leading edge slots are well illustrated. A TV camera mounted in the aircraft allowed its guidance onto target from a mother-ship. On 17 July 1944 the aircraft was wrecked in an engine failure induced forced landing near Wright Field/OH, resulting in cancellation of the program.

The Fleetwings Model 27 was a private venture radio controlled aerial gunnery target built in 1940 and known as the A-1. It had fabric covered 20ft span wings with split flaps and fabric covered empennage and flight controls. A Continental A65 engine gave a top speed of 180 mph. The radio set was located in a compartment positioned on the center of gravity, so with the equipment removed it could carry a pilot. On 1 April 1940 test pilot William H. Engle took it for a flight from the Aircraft Radio Corporation airfield at Boonton/NJ. Military designation believed to be OQ-1. No further examples were built. Collection holder William Engle is the son of Fleetwings test pilot William H. Engle.

Designated as an Assault Drone, the plywood skinned BQ-1 was powered by 2 x Franklin O-405-7 engines of 250 hp each. A 2000 lb bomb could be carried in the compartment seen here just aft of the wing. A TV camera mounted in the aircraft allowed its guidance onto target from a mother-ship. In this photo, test pilot William H. Engle is attempting to ferry the aircraft to Wright Field, Dayton/OH, but an oil leak from the LH engine forced a return to Lancaster/PA. The leaking oil can be seen on the landing gear and wheel fairings. On 17 July 1944 the aircraft was wrecked in an engine failure induced forced landing near Wright Field, resulting in cancellation of the program. Collection holder William Engle is the son of the test pilot

Minuscule serial applied to fin. "F3A-1" was the designation for the Brewster-built F4U-1. Just over 700 were built before Brewster was forced out of business. Poor production techniques and shabby quality control meant that these aircraft were red-lined for speed and prohibited from aerobatics after several lost their wings. This was later traced to defective wing fittings.

Originally built for the USAAF as 42-55865. Bought by Kaiser Cargo Inc from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation in July 1945. Converted to civil by United Aero Services in May 1946 then ownership transferred to Kaiser Fleetwings Inc in November 1946. Final registration was N90LV then cancelled as such on 11 March 2013.

Stanley Hiller Jr started work on the design of this machine when he was 15 years old. Here, still only 20, he is demonstrating it to employees of the Kaiser Shipyard outside the Administration Building. First flown untethered on 4 July 1944 with power initially from a 65 h.p. Franklin, (hidden by blister fairings later deleted). A remarkable achievement by someone so young. Kaiser-Fleetwings test pilot W. H. Engle commented to the press that it was "superior in controllabilty and with less vibration than any helicopter he has flown". Last known of on display in the Smithsonian Museum.

Photograph issued by the Beech Aircraft Corp with serial number BL6153D. It is dated April, 1946 with aircraft customer identified as Socony Vacuum Oil Co. This company was formed in 1931 when Socony (Standard Oil Company of NY) merged with Vacuum Oil Company. The flying horse logo dates back to 1934 and was retained through the name change to Mobil. This aircraft remained on the FAA register until cancelled in 1970 as N2636X. The other two aircraft are NC2633 (c/n A-167) registered as CF-KLI in 1958; cancelled in 1969 after landing gear collapse and NC2635 (c/n A-169) last known stripped for parts, Owassa/OK 1997.