From Sea to Sky

From Sea to Sky vintage style military travel poster art by Squadron Posters!

Eugene Burton Ely (Oct 21, 1886 – Oct 19, 1911) was an American aviation pioneer, credited with the first shipboard aircraft takeoff and landing. Ely was born in Williamsburg, Iowa, and raised in Davenport, Iowa. Having completed the eighth grade, he graduated from Davenport Grammar School 4 in January 1901. By 1904, Ely was employed as a chauffeur to the Rev. Fr. Smyth, a Catholic priest in Cosgrove, Iowa, who shared Ely’s love of fast driving; in Father Smyth’s car (a red Franklin), Ely set the speed record between Iowa City and Davenport.

Ely 1st flew it in the Portland Oregon area in 1910 (where he worked as an auto salesman), then headed to Minneapolis, Minnesota, in June 1910 to participate in an exhibition. In Minneapolis, he met legendary aviation pioneer Glenn Curtiss and started working for him. After an unsuccessful attempt in Sioux City, Iowa, Ely’s first reported exhibition on behalf of Curtiss was in Winnipeg in July 1910. Ely received the Aero Club of America pilot’s license #17 on October 5, 1910. In October, Ely and Curtiss met Captain Washington Irving Chambers, USN, who had been appointed by George von Lengerke Meyer, the Secretary of the Navy, to investigate military uses for aviation within the Navy. This led to two experiments. On November 14, 1910, Ely took off in a Curtiss Pusher from a temporary platform erected over the bow of the light cruiser USS Birmingham. The airplane plunged downward as soon as it cleared the 83-foot platform runway; and the aircraft wheels dipped into the water before rising. Ely’s goggles were covered with spray, and the aviator promptly landed on a beach rather than circling the harbor and landing at the Norfolk Navy Yard as planned. It’s pioneers like Eugene Ely who led the way for others to follow! – Today, the United States Navy has the largest aircraft carrier fleet in the world. It operates 10 active, nuclear-powered supercarriers – with a combined flight deck space more than double that of all other nations combined. Check out this stunning From Sea to Sky Art by Squadron Posters!

Squadron Posters offers the world’s largest collection of Squadron Specific Art! Check out our stunning vintage style military aviation themed travel posters, honoring All Branches of Service. Our artwork not only represents aircraft, armored cavalry, or ships, it represents adventure and travel. This means we create posters featuring the Space Needle, New Orleans, the Golden Gate Bridge, Mt Rushmore and the National Mall. Of course, McChord AFB isn’t in Seattle but if you’re stationed there your adventure surely involves the Space Needle! (See our Facebook page HERE)

This is what makes Squadron Posters different–it’s about remembering where you’ve lived and what you’ve seen with a vintage themed travel poster. – Collect your travels and tell your story!