Come Fly With A Pulp Writer!

The Aviation Age had begun in earnest during a period when pulp writers were producing popular stories for a new literary genre known as "Air Adventure."

The U.S. Post Office Department had already scheduled transcontinental airmail service between New York City and San Francisco. Barnstorming pilots and Arial demonstrations were immensely popular. During the 1930s the National Air Races offered spectacles of speed and courage as contestants raced over a ten mile course.
These courses were marked by fifty-foot high pylons that set the limits for pilots as they sped across the countryside. The high speeds and tight turns tested a pilot's ability as audiences on the ground marveled at the roaring sight of planes approaching air speeds as high as 300 mph.

Known as "Closed Course" races, crowds in grandstands could easily watch the action because the planes flew at a low altitude. These races were crowd pleasers and profitable venues for pilots looking to demonstrate their skill for prospective employers. But the more common type of flying events was "Point-to-Point" races. Less popular due to the fact that audiences were generally confined to grandstands at the starting line or finish line, these races offered but a glimpse of the action. The challenge of long distance racing was partly responsible for highlighting the commercial possibilities that the airline industry were soon to embrace.

The popularity of these races inspired a whole new genre of writing "Air Adventure Stories" and a generation of writers creating barnstorming, hair-raising aerial adventures that captivated readers of all ages. Pulp fiction writers such as C. M. Miller, L. Ron Hubbard, Harold F. Cruickshank and Steve Fisher, to name a few, often wrote from their own personal aviation experience and this allowed the reader to savor every nuance of the story.

The National Air Races would not regain its popularity after World War II but by 1939 the air races were already considered as something nostalgic from our recent past. Technological advances on airplanes and the onset of World War II would change forever the dynamics of the airline industry.

But for the pulp writers of the 30s and 40s the era of air races and barnstorming pilots would always represent the heroism and ingenuity of the American spirit. But now, these stories from the golden age are entertaining a new generation of pulp fiction fans. These many great tales of danger and excitement offer a pantheon of heroes from a time when men braved danger in the darkest jungles, on turbulent seas, or on hurtling wings! The significance of these reprints has not been lost on pulp fiction fans who treasure the swift action and solid writing from these early prolific writers. So, come fly with a pulp fiction writer!