SOME EXCERPTS FROM THE PAGES OF
AERIAL AGE
SPRING OF 1917
AMERICA HAD JUST ENTERED INTO WW1 IN APRIL

"PRACTICAL PATRIOTS"
Father & Son

NEVER FEAR
"GYRO" IS HERE !


ODD MAN OUT ?
J. F. Knapp aka Dodi Knapp whose estate in Mastic Beach hosted the airbase
He May Of Been Away On Business When The First 12 Men Took The Oath
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"CHIP"
Ensign Archie G. McIlwaine, Naval Aviator ( J. F. Knapp's Step Brother)
Chip Was A Member of Unit 1 The First Yale Unit In Huntington LI
He went to France in 1917 and flew many combat missions.
This is the uniform of the WW1 Naval Aviator Of Which There Were 36 Of At The Knapp Estate
In The Fall of 1917
AVIATION LINKS TO THE MASTIC BEACH KNAPP AIRBASE