jcturpin

Wright Model B of 1912

Cannot say for certain, but that appears to be Cliff Turpin at the controls. It's probably worth it for someone at SDASM to take a look at a larger resolution version of the photo and see if it is indeed Turpin. Here is a fine piece on Turpin authored by Paul Glenshaw for Air & Space Smithsonian Magazine, in the February 2016 issue: Air & Space Smithsonian - Clifford Turpin, King of the Air - He was one of the great original airshow pilots. Why did he hide his past?

At the Kentucky State FairGrounds in November 1911, the purple handbill promised armored cars, motorcycles, artillery, an ambulance corps, a re-enactment of Mexican guerrillas battling U.S. Army infantry, and most important, the “Wright’s Aviators—Kings Of The Air.” The copy was breathless: “Aviator P.O. Parmelee who did scout duty for U.S. Government on the Mexican border during the revolution, and Aviator Clifford Turpin, the world’s two greatest Aviators fight a desperate duel in the skies.” Parmelee and Turpin were not only best friends, they were something very rare for the time: veteran airshow pilots. Were they the world’s greatest? Did it matter? The fact that they were pilots was enough, or so the organizers hoped. Despite a spectacle of impressive-looking troops and sombrero-clad “Mexicans,” the press at the fair reported lousy weather and small crowds. But there were rave reviews of the flying, which included a “pistol duel” and all the standard Wright team dips, spirals, and glides. Cliff Turpin and Phil Parmelee were absolutely world famous, at least according to the promoters in Kentucky. Earlier that year, the state fair organizers in Illinois (and three other states) said they were world famous too. Turpin and Parmelee themselves said the same thing the next year to the passengers in Venice Beach they sold rides to, and at dozens of other jobs. They were on an adventure that would make a fine epic poem, and they invented the airshow business that, to this day, reflects their influence. Turpin made it out alive; Parmelee didn’t. It ended so badly that for the next five decades, Turpin almost never spoke about his flying days. . . .

TVL1970 I blew the photo up, it sure is him! Thanks

A remarkable collection of early aviators (as described on the photo) in St. Louis in October 1911. From left to right: Walter Brookins A. Roy Knabenshue Howard Gill Dr. Henry W. Walden Andrew Drew George W. Beatty Albert B. Lambert Phil Parmelee Cliff Turpin Alfred Elton John D. Cooper