Virginia Room Digital Collection

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The Virginia Room Digital Collection includes photographs, oral histories, books, pamphlets and finding aids to items in the Virginia Room. Continue to check back for new additions.

Browse Items (51 total)

Congressman Clifton Woodrum, Sr. stands in front of his Fairchild 24. Woodrum soloed in 1942

Class of Navy aviation cadets in front of a C-47 at Woodrum Field.

Lt. E.H. St. Clair of Roanoke is shown in the cockpit of his flying fortress, "The Roanoke Magician", in England. He was a veteran of over 30 combat attacks and a recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross.

Military airplane at Woodrum Field. Left to right: Lawrence Hall, Buddy Wingfield, and Raymond Hall.

A class of Navy pilot cadets pose in front of a Douglas C-47 at Woodrum Field. Ground school was conducted at Roanoke College.

Frantz Flying Service opened in 1948 at Woodrum Field. It was owned by T.E. "Boots" Frantz (right); Wes Hillman (left) was an employee.

A Douglas C-47 takes off from Woodrum Field.

Looking toward Tinker Mountain from Woodrum Field.

A Mason-Dixon Airlines passenger plane at Woodrum Field.

A view of the terminal at Woodrum Field, now Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport.

Clayton Lemon (left) and an unidentified man stand next to a Waco aircraft.

An unidentified man poses next to a biplane at Roanoke Municipal Airfield.

An advertisement for the Rice Bottling Company depicting the Virginia Air National Guard Fighter Squadron.Organized in 1946, the Virginia Air National Guard flew the P-47 Thuderbolt.

Aircraft from the Marine Corps Air Station at Cherry Point , North Carolina are lined up at Woodrum Field during the hurricane evacuation in September 1945.

This unusual photograph illustrates the increased traffic of Piedmont Airlines in and out of Roanoke and the transition from propeller aircraft to jets. The prop aircraft landing is a Martin 4-0-4; the aircraft at lower left is a Nihon YS-11; and the…

This building houses the fixed-base operation (FBO) of Landmark Aviation at the Roanoke Regional Airport. FBOs have evolved from very simple operations to full-service onces that provide fuel, maintenance, pilot support services and more. The…

This is an advertisement for Virginia Airmotive Service and Supply, a business owned and operated by W. Clayton Lemon at Woodrum Field. The aircraft are identified as a Beechcraft (left) and a Stinson (right).

An advertisement for Woodrum Flying Service, which offered flying lessons, charters, and rentals.

This photograph shows a US Air Force Boeing C-97 Stratofreighter parked on the ramp at Woodrum Field. Only sixty of these planes were built. The Roanoke airport has been and remains important to the military subce World War II, either for training,…

American Airlines restored air service, notably passenger and airmail, to Woodrum Field in the 1940s. This photograph appears to have been taken at Woodrum during World War II. The statement painted on the rudder of this DC-3 reads, "Buy War…

This photograph shows a privately owned, fully restored DC-3 being refueled by Landmark Aviation at Roanoke Regional Airport. The appearance of such a vintage aircraft in restored, flying condition has become increasingly rare with limited air shows…

This DC-9 was purchased by Hugh Heffner in 1970 as the Playboy airplane, known as Hare Force One.

A Cessna 172, one of 500 Cessna aircraft owned by the Civil Air Patrol (CAP) is seen here. These aircraft are rotated periodically among active stations, including Roanoke Regional Airport. The CAP was established in 1941 to serve as a civilian…

This photo is of Charles "Chuck" Cannaday, grandson of Dr. A.A. Cannaday who once owned the land where the Roanoke Regional Airport is located today. He is pictured in his Pitts special "Cloud Dancer". This airplane was the star of the movie by the…

A 1942 Stearman bi-plane is parked on the south ramp at Roanoke Regional Airport. The tower stands in the background. Restoration of these vintage planes has allowed new generations to relive aviation history. Such planes used to be seen regularly…

Roanoke Regional Airport was host to this Boeing 757, and on that date the aircraft was designated as "Air Force One" because President Barack Obama was on board. Air Force One pilots have often used Roanoke Regional Airport as a site for "touch and…

With Tinker Mountain as a backdrop, a C-17 Globemaster sits on the north ramp at Roanoke Regional Airport. This aircraft, one of the US Air Force's largest transport planes, has significant operational flexibility.

This promotional photograph shows a Piedmont Airlines Boeing 727. Piedmont began using the 727 in January of 1967 in Roanoke. The following year, Piedmont placed the Boeing 737 into service in Roanoke.

Wes Hillman sits in his Waco "F" in front of the terminal at Woodrum Field. At left is a Pan American DC-4 (most likely a charter, as Pan Am did not serve Roanoke). A Piedmont Airlines DC-3 can be seen in the distance at right.

January 1967 saw the introduction of the Boeing 727 by Piedmont Airlines to its routes. The first 727 to visit Woodrum Field is seen here. Just a few months earlier, in November 1966, Piedmont Airlines had opened routes through Roanoke to New York.…

The progress made at Woodrum Field is seen here in 1971. Among the facilities shown are the terminal dedicated in 1953, the nose-in hangar (left of center, top), general aviation hangars and the service hangar for Piedmont Airlines (upper right).…

Many types of military aircraft were present in Roanoke at the dedication of the airport. Among them were the Douglas B-23 Dragon (left) and the Douglas B-18 (right).

The first flight of an aeroplane in the Roanoke Valley occurred at the Great Roanoke Fair, when aviator Eugene Ely flew his Curtiss Pusher biplane from a hill in South Roanoke. Ely flew across the Roanoke River and circled the fairgrounds, where he…

Martha Anne Woodrum displays her trophy for winning a trancontinental air race in 1950. She and her Beechcraft Bonanza were sponsered by Johnson-Carper Furniture of Roanoke.

An early Roanoke aviator who used flight for commercial success was George H. Mason, shown here in 1929 with his Waco. Mason sold textbooks throughout Virginia, the Carolinas, George and Florida. He would circle a town, drawing attention, and then…

Mayor Sidney F. Small (left) and pilot B.A. Carpenter at the inauguration of Roanoke's passenger air service by American Airlines.

An unidentified couple poses next to a Baltimore Airways plane in front of the Cannaday Farm. The Cannaday Farm would become Roanoke Municipal Airfield, then in 1941 Woodrum Field. It is the current location of Roanoke-Blacksburg Regional Airport. …

Modern Air Transport plane parked at Woodrum Field. Modern Are Transport commenced commerical operations in 1946.
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