Description:

AMERICAN ARMY TEST PILOT'S PHOTO AND DOCUMENT ARCHIVE
Important collection of hundreds of photographs and documents gathered by and largely concerning Army test pilot Stefan Cavallo. According the the Smithsonian Air & Space Museum website, Cavallo graduated from New York University with a degree in aeronautical engineering. Before World War II, he learned to fly and earned a civilian pilot's license with the Civilian Pilot Training Program and he was to enter the Army Air Corps as a pilot cadet after he graduated. Even though the military was in desperate need of pilots with the nation at war, Cavallo's unique resume made him even more valuable to the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). They immediately offered him a position as an engineer in the Flight Section at Langley Field, Virginia. During his first six months at Langley, Cavallo evaluated engineering data from the flight test program to improve aircraft design, and then due to his previous flying experience, Cavallo transitioned into the NACA's Pilots Office. The flight testing Cavallo experienced at Langley was diverse. The pilots evaluated a wide range of aircraft types, from the Consolidated PBY-5A flying boat to one of the first American jet aircraft, the Lockheed XP-80. Most of Cavallo's work on these aircraft first determined, then helped, improve their stability and control. In all, he test flew nearly 75 different aircraft, and could explain their problems from the perspective of both a pilot and an engineer. NACA would correct the problems and at times, reject the design. A fabulous archive incorporating hundreds of original photographs, documents, analyses, and even Cavallo's handwritten diary for a period during 1944 while he was testing aircraft. Of special importance are the approx. 250 8 x 10 in. original photographs in the collection, virtually all from the war years and immediately after. Images include the B-17, B-29, Lockheed P-80, L-39, F6F3, P-47N, P-40Q, P-63, XP-51, XOSE-2, JRF seaplane, an experimental Piper Cub, F8F, P-51H, various helicopters, cockpit views, groups of test pilots, Langley Field (NACA base of operations), Wallops Island, and many more aircraft unidentified by us. Many of the images show aircraft in flight, and there are close-up images of some parts of various aircraft as well. Also present is Cavallo's 24pp. 4to. handwritten diary for May 1 - Sep. 28, 1944. Cavallo first discusses testing a variation of the Cub in all types of conditions, flying pylons, steep climbs and dives, lazy eights and stalls, landing on one wheel, etc. He also mentions flying an SB2C, a Stinson, a 'SNJ', a C-78, an unspecified Lockheed, XRK, and others whose performance in many aspects he describes explicitly. He also describes an intentional ditching of a B-24 in the James River which resulted in breaking the aircraft's 'back': 'this ship will never be satisfactory for ditching'. Twelve 'Pilot's Test Flight' reports are included, most only a page long, all for the XOSE-1, XOSE-2, Grumman Widgeon, and PA-12, along with three hand-drawn views and 12 pages of test notes on the Edo XOSE-1 and XOSE-2 seaplanes. Other ephemera includes a list of 19 different aircraft flown by Cavallo in 1945; a report on an on the ground collision; several pages of orders; Cavallo's NYU paper on the testing of a wing panel; four packets of information releases of A.A.F. navigators and radio officers; his 'Quiet Birdmen' certificate; three photographs signed by various test pilots and a photo inscribed to Cavallo by ace GABBY GABRESKI; membership rosters; NACA news letters; an aluminum aircraft piston head; and a small quantity of additional related ephemera. A trove of rare material, a good deal of it undoubtedly unique and irreplaceable.

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November 14, 2025 10:00 AM EST
Elkton, MD, US

Alexander Historical Auctions LLC

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Bid Increments
From: To: Increments:
$0 $99 $10
$100 $499 $20
$500 $999 $50
$1,000 $1,999 $100
$2,000 $4,999 $250
$5,000 $9,999 $500
$10,000 $19,999 $1,000
$20,000 $49,999 $2,500
$50,000 $99,999 $5,000
$100,000 $999,999 $10,000
$1,000,000 $1,999,999 $50,000
$2,000,000 + $100,000