Ten classic American aircraft from the 1930s, ’40s and ’50s will be doing their flying in the form of postage after the Postal Service dedicates its American Advances in Aviation commemorative stamp sheets at EAA’s AirVenture in July. The first-day-of-issue ceremony will take place in AeroShell Square July 29, beside at least six of the rare airplanes pictured on the stamps. The stamps will be available at post offices starting July 30.
A description of each airplane is on the back of the stamp sheet, which includes images of Boeing’s 247 airliner and B-29 Superfortress, the Consolidated PBY Catalina and B-24 Liberator, Lockheed’s P-80 Shooting Star, Grumman’s F6F Hellcat, a Republic P-47 Thunderbolt, Northrop YB-49 Flying Wing, Engineering and Research Corp.’s Ercoupe 415, and a Beechcraft 35 Bonanza. The header illustration includes the Hughes H-1 racer and a Boeing B-52 Stratofortress.