Guide to the San José State University Aviation Department Records
SJSU Library Special Collections & Archives
© 2010
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Guide to the San José State University Aviation Department Records
Collection number: MSS-2010-06-08
SJSU Special Collections & Archives
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Library
San José State University
One Washington Square
San José, CA 95192-0028
Phone: (408) 808-2062
Fax: (408) 808-2063
Email: special.collections@sjsu.edu
URL: http://library.sjsu.edu/sjsu-special-collections/sjsu-special-collections-and-archives
Finding aid funded by the generous support of the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC).
- Date Completed:
- 2010
- Encoded by:
- Robert Donahue
© 2010 Trustees of the California State University. All rights reserved.
Title: San José State University Aviation Department Records
Dates: 1938-1994
Bulk Dates: 1951-1976
Collection number: MSS-2010-06-08
Creator:
San José State University
Collection Size:
6 boxes,
6.75 linear feet
Repository:
San José State University. Library.
San José, California 95192-0028
Abstract: The San José State University Aviation Department Records 1938-1994 (bulk 1951-1976), include reports and publications concerning
test fuel cells for the aviation department, newspaper articles and publications concerning the San José State University
Aviation Department, and the Flying 20, a student flying organization associated with the Aviation Department. Photographs
depict the students, faculty, classrooms, and aviation equipment used by the department. Also included in the photographs
is a scrapbook of historic photographs featuring famous pilots such as Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Sir Charles
Kingsford. This collection is arranged into a single series: Series I. Aviation Department Records, 1938-1994 (bulk 1951-1976).
Physical location: For current information on the location of these materials, please consult the Library's online catalog.
Languages:
Languages represented in the collection:
English
The collection is open for research.
Copyright has been assigned to the San José State University Library Special Collections & Archives. All requests for permission
to publish or quote from manuscripts must be submitted in writing to the Director of Special Collections. Permission for publication
is given on behalf of the Special Collections & Archives as the owner of the physical items and is not intended to include
or imply permission of the copyright holder, which must also be obtained by the reader. Copyright restrictions also apply
to digital reproductions of the original materials. Use of digital files is restricted to research and educational purposes.
San José State University Aviation Department Records, MSS-2010-06-08, San José State University Library Special Collections
& Archives.
This finding aid was created as part of the Survey and Cataloging Project, a two-year San José State University Library grant
project funded by the National Historical Publications and Records Commission. The project began in 2008.The Project Director
is Danelle Moon. The Project Archivist is Erin Louthen.
Collection processed by Robert Donahue. Finding aid EAD encoded by Robert Donahue. Reviewed by Danelle Moon.
In 1857 the San Francisco Board of Education established Minns' Evening Normal School for current and prospective teachers
in the city. Named after its principal, George W. Minns, the institution was formally established as the first California
State Normal School by the State Legislature in 1862. A decade later, the Legislature voted to move the Normal School to San
Jose, and the school relocated to its new home on Washington Square prior to the fall term of 1872. After a fire destroyed
the Normal School building in 1880, the Legislature authorized $200,000 to construct a new building on the same site. Completed
in 1881, the building was commonly referred to as the Second State Normal School. After several names and curriculum changes,
Minns' Normal School is now San José State University, offering more than 134 bachelor's and master's degrees with 110 concentrations,
and is recognized as one of the top public universities granting such degrees in the West.
The San Jose State University Aeronautics Department began in the 1936-1937 school year. At the time it was called the Civil
Pilot Training program and was sponsored by the U.S. government in anticipation of World War II. During World War II, the
Aeronautics Department was used extensively for training pilots for the war and several of the instructors who taught after
1945 had been involved in aviation. In 1945, the Civil Pilot Training program became the Aeronautics Department and was located
in the basement of the San Jose State College Physics Building as part of the Engineering and Mathematics Program. The Aeronautics
Department was renamed the Aviation Department in 1988 and in 2001 again was renamed the Aviation and Technology Department.
Gilbert, Benjamin F., and Burdick, Charles.
Washington Square, 1857-1979: The History of San José State University. San José, California: San José State University, 1980.
San José State University.
About SJSU.
http://www.sjsu.edu/about_sjsu/
Walsh, James P.
San José State University: An Interpretive History, 1950-2000. San José, California: San José State University, 2003.
San José State University.
Aviation & Technology Department.
http://www.engr.sjsu.edu/avtech/
Scope and Content of Collection
The San José State University Aviation Department Records 1938-1994 (bulk 1951-1976), include reports and publications concerning
test fuel cells for the aviation department, newspaper articles and publications concerning the San José State University
Aviation Department, and the Flying 20, a student flying organization associated with the Aviation Department. Photographs
depict the students, faculty, classrooms, and aviation equipment used by the department. Also included in the photographs
is a scrapbook of historic photographs featuring famous pilots such as Amelia Earhart, Charles Lindbergh, and Sir Charles
Kingsford.
This collection is arranged into a single series: Series I. Aviation Department Records, 1938-1994 (bulk 1951-1976).
The following terms have been used to index the description of this collection in
the library's online public access catalog.
San José State University Aeronautics Dept. -- History
San José State University Aviation Dept. -- History
San José State University -- History
Education, Higher -- California -- San José
Aeronautics -- California -- San José
Collection Contents
Series I: Aviation Department Records 1941-1996 1951-1976
Creator:
San José State University
Physical Description: 6 boxes
Series Scope and Content Summary
The material in this series documents the San José State University Aeronautics Department. It includes photographs depicting
people associated with the Aviation Department such as students and Professor Leonard, chairman of the Aviation Department
(1954-1985). Other photos depict the different incarnations of the Aviation Lab and the department's equipment, conferences
or social gatherings, such as the Federal Aviation Administration Flight Instructor's Seminar. Of note, one department scrapbook
includes famous pilots including Amelia Earhart, Sir Charles Kingsford, Charles Lindbergh, and there is a a photograph of
an Aviation Department professor meeting U.S. President Ronald Reagan.
The collection also includes reports, papers, and business correspondence concerning the building of a fuel test cell facility
within the Aviation department, reports on noise suppression for the test cell, news concerning the department, a scrapbook
concerning a 1981 air collision in San José, and news concerning the Flying 20, a student organization associated with San
José State University.
The Flying Twenty was originally formed in San Jose in 1939 for flight enthusiasts associated with San Jose State College.
After the passing of California Executive Order 82, which prohibits university students from using non-commercial carriers
for university-related activities, the Flying 20 club and other California flying clubs lost access to university funds.
Many of the articles in this series chronicle the Flying 20's attempt to change or repeal California Executive Order 82.
This series is arranged by format and chronologically by date range.
Box 1
Flying 20, Aviation Seminar, Publications, Photograph of Reagan, Aero Lab, Aviation Dept. People, Leonard Retirement 1938-1993
Box 2
Aviation Dept. People, Aero Lab, Bakersfield Conference, Scrapbook of Famous Pilots, Scrapbook of 1981 Airplane Collision 1941-1981
Box 3
Fuel Studies, Reports, and Published Articles 1948-1976
Box 4
Aviation Equipment Tests and Reports, Information on Acoustics, Aviation Business Correspondence 1951-1963
Box 5
Aviation Equipment Reports, Fuel Cells, Noise Suppressant Studies, Business Correspondence 1953-1963
Box 6
Photographs of Aero Lab, Students; Commencement, Newspaper Articles on Aviation Dept., Aviation History in Santa Clara Valley 1964-1994