Flying Aces (magazine)

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Flying Aces (magazine)

Flying Aces was a monthly American pulp magazine about aviation, published from October 1928 to April 1945 by Periodical House, Inc. It started as a traditional pulpy adventure magazine with air stories, often set during World War I, printed on rough paper and sold for 15 cents.

In November 1933 it switched to a slick, glossy format (8.5 by 10 inches) with fewer pages—about 74—and began including full-size plans for model airplanes in every issue. The magazine also expanded to include non-fiction aviation articles and aviation news. Its tagline became “Fiction, Model Building, Fact — Three Aviation Magazines in One.” As modeling content grew, the magazine eventually evolved into Flying Models, a publication devoted entirely to aeromodeling.

The era’s aviation boom helped Flying Aces attract well-known writers such as Lester Dent, Donald E. Keyhoe, Joe Archibald, and Arch Whitehouse. Most of the authors did not have personal flying experience, with Keyhoe and Whitehouse being notable exceptions who served in World War I. Cover art featured dramatic air battles by artists like Alex Schomburg.

A total of 44 Griffon stories appeared between 1935 and 1942, and some were reprinted by Altus Press in 2010. The magazine also fostered a fan culture, creating a reader club with regional “squadrons,” flying-themed stationery, and opportunities to meet pilots. The Flying Aces Club helped inspire later model airplane clubs; a Connecticut squadron even named its airstrip Pinkham Field after a fictional character from the stories.

The final issue appeared in April 1945. Over its life, Flying Aces had several editors—Harold Goldsmith, Helen Wisner, Neil Coward, and Herb Powell—and staff writers including Donald E. Keyhoe, Joe Archibald, and Arch Whitehouse.