On Byrd’s first trip to Antarctica in 1929, one of the aircrafts he took with him was the Fairchild FW2W2. The plane was built at Fairchild’s Farmingdale, L.I. factory.

In this front view, you can see the way the wings folded. The skis could be changed to a wheel landing gear. The spread of the ski gear was 10ft. The wheel gear had only 7ft 7in.

Harold Jane, pilot of the “Stars & Stripes”, is holding an antenna wire that leads to drag wire under the wing.

The plane was used on Byrd’s 1929 expedition in South Pole. It was then left there in a hanger constructed of ice blocks. In 1934, Byrd returned on his second expedition and dug out the “Stars & Stripes” from its deep freeze storage. At the end of this expedition, the plane was brought back to the U.S. It was returned to the Fairchild factory by Alton Walker for reconditioning. Fairchild Aerial Surveys used it in L.A. Later it was acquired by the Smithsonian Museum and then sent to the Cradle of Aviation Museum at Mitchel Field for restoration.

Below are some photos of the restoration of the “Stars & Stripes”

The bare bones of the Stars & Stripes being delivered to the CAM Museum.

Stripping the rust and grime from the frame.

Starting to look like a plane.

Engine installed and the start of painting. Color was midnight blue with orange wings similar to the American Airlines colors.

Nick Boro and crew putting the finishing touches on the wings.

Here you can see how the wings folded. The front part folded on top of the wing as the wing swept to the rear.

The finished plane with the skies alongside the wheel landing gear.

The wings folded and the ski landing gear mounted. The skies are 22in. wide by 9ft.1in. long.

This was a labor of love by dedicated volunteers working to restore this historic aircraft. Below are some of the men that worked so hard to put it in shape.

This beautiful plane is now on exhibit at the Virginia Air Museum.

D.L.Horn

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© 2008 The Long Island Early Fliers Club, P.O. Box 221, Bethpage, NY 11714-0221 • info@longislandearlyfliers.org