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AUTOGRAPHED HISTORICAL
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Created to honor some of America's
greatest aviation heroes, these limited edition prints are signed by Nick
Spark and the men they celebrate. Generally these are produced in limited
editions of 100 pieces and 10 artists' proofs per edition.
Some prints are being sold to help
the Pancho Barnes documentary project.
Each print measures 30x6 inches
and is signed and numbered on the reverse.
For an additional fee these pieces
are available framed. Send an email to eyeballoverload*aol.com for more
information (substitute '@' for '*' when writing).
Know someone who deserves to have
a retrospective print produced of their career? Contact me.
A.SCOTT CROSSFIELD / First Man to Mach
2.0
Image: A. Scott Crossfield First Man to Mach
2.0. ©2005
A. Scott Crossfield joined the National Advisory
Committee for Aeronautics (predecessor of NASA) at Edwards Air Force Base
as a research pilot in 1950. During the next five years, he flew numerous
aircraft including the X-1, X-4, X-5, XF-92A, and D-558-I and -II. He accumulated
87 rocket flights in the X-1 and D-558-II aircraft.
Crossfield made aeronautical history on November
20, 1953, when he reached the aviation milestone of twice the speed of
sound or more than 1,320 miles per hour in the D-558-II Skyrocket. Taken
aloft in the supersonic, swept-wing research aircraft by a Boeing P2B Superfortress
"mother ship" (the Navy designation of the B-29), he dropped
clear of the bomber and climbed to 72,000 feet before diving and breaking
Mach 2.0. Made prior to his death, this unique collage photograph shows the highlights of Crossfield's
career and includes images of nearly every type of aircraft he flew.
Measures 30x6 inches and signed by A. Scott Crossfield
in silver.
Now available as a limited edition print of 100
pieces and 10 artists' proofs.
Col. Joseph Kittinger, Jr. / Free Fall
Record Holder
Image: Project Excelsior / Joseph W. Kittinger,
Jr. ©2004
On August 16, 1960 Joseph Kittinger USAF jumped
from the balloon Excelsior III at 102,800 feet (31,300 m) as part of Project
Excelsior, a series of experiments designed to test parachutes in high
altitutes. Kittinger was in freefall for 412 minutes and reached a maximum
speed of 614 mph (982 km/h) before opening his chute at 18,000 feet (5,500
m). He set records for highest balloon ascent, highest parachute jump,
longest freefall and fastest speed by a man through the atmosphere. For
the series of jumps he was decorated with an oak leaf cluster to his D.F.C.
and awarded the C.B. Harmon Trophy by President Dwight Eisenhower.
Print contains photos from NGS archives.
Measures 30x6 inches.
Inquire.
Dr. Buzz Aldrin / Astronaut
Image: Dr. Buzz Aldrin / Flight of Apollo 11.
©2005
On July 20, 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Buzz Aldrin
and Neil Armstrong landed their Lunar Module on the moon's Sea of Tranquility
and became the first two humans to walk on the moon. This unprecedented
heroic endeavor was witnessed by the largest worldwide television audience
in history. Aldrin was presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the
highest honor amongst over 50 other distinguished awards and medals from
the United States and numerous other countries. This collage photograph
shows the epic journey from liftoff to the triumphant ticker-tape parade.
Measures 30x6 inches and signed by Dr. Buzz Aldrin
in silver.
Now available as a limited edition print of 100
pieces and 10 artists' proofs.
(Please note: actual type face and statements
on base of photograph differ slightly from samples pictured here).
Brig. General Robert Cardenas / Flying
Wing Test Pilot
Image: Brig. Gen. Robert Cardenas ©2005
On October 14, 1947 Capt. Chuck Yeager broke
the sound barrier in the Bell X-1 . Piloting the B-29 that released the
rocket plane on its supersonic voyage was Major Robert Cardenas, a renowned
test pilot in his own right.
In 1949 Cardenas was assigned chief of flight
tests on the Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing. He and his crew flew non-stop
from Muroc Air Force Base to Andrews AFB in Washington, D.C where President
Truman inspected the aircraft. This record-making transcontinental flight
averaged 511 mph; on the return trip Cardenas buzzed the Capitol dome and
National Mall.
The Flying Wing was cancelled a short time later
after the prototype crashed, killing Cardenas' friend, pilot Glen Edwards
and several others. Edwards Air Force Base would later be named in his
honor.
Cardenas went on to oversee operations of a fighter
wing, and served his country as an air commando.
Measures 30x6 inches and signed by Robert Cardenas
in silver.
Now available as a limited edition print of 100
pieces and 10 artists' proofs.
Brig. General Chuck Yeager / Breaking
the Sound Barrier
Image: Breaking the Sound Barrier / General Chuck
Yeager ©2005
Chuck Yeager is the most famous test pilot of
all time. Born in 1923 in Myra, West Virginia he enlisted in the United
States Army Air Corps to serve in World War II.
Shot down over enemy territory only one day after
his first kill in 1943, Yeager evaded capture, made his way across the
Pyrenees to neutral Spain. He flew 64 combat missions in World War II.
On one occasion he shot down a German jet from a prop plane. By war's end
he had downed 13 enemy aircraft, five in a single day.
After the war, Yeager served the newly constituted
United States Air Force as a flight instructor and test pilot. In 1947,
he was assigned to test the rocket-powered X-1 rocket plane. At the time,
no one knew if a fixed-wing aircraft could fly faster than sound, or if
a human pilot could survive the experience. Yeager broke the sound barrier
on October 14, 1947, only days after cracking several ribs in a horseback
riding accident.
In 1952, Yeager set a new air speed record of
1650 mph, more than twice the speed of sound. He flew test flights in Korea,
and commanded a fighter squadron in Europe. In 1976, Chuck Yeager was awarded
the Congressional Gold Medal. President Ronald Reagan later honored him
with the Presidential Medal of Freedom. Tom Wolfe wrote about him in The
Right Stuff and his own biography, Yeager, became a best-selling
book.
This unique collage print features photographs
and newspaper headlines from the X-1 Sound Barrier project.
Inquire.
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other content on this web page are Copyright ©2002-2006 by Nick T.
Spark, and may not be used, reproduced, altered, posted, or otherwise distributed
without express permission. Some trademarks, logos and other content featured
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