To view items in this collection, use the Online Finding Aid

Floyd Kenton Smith was born in Chicago, IL in 1894 and was raised there. He and his wife, Hilder, were both trapeze artists in a circus until 1912, when Smith built his own airplane and began doing exhibition flights. When he gave up his plane to pay off debts, both he and and his wife turned to parachute jumping. Shortly thereafter, Smith got involved in the manufacture of parachutes, having designed and experimented with different models of chutes while he was a jumper. Eventually he created his own Floyd Smith Aerial Equipment Co., on behalf of which he engaged in several lawsuits against patent infringement on his designs. He was also engaged by the military during World War I to design a safer unattached parachute for new aircraft

 Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0684

Creator

Smith, Floyd

Date

undated

Provenance

Paul Garber, Gift

Extent

0.05 Cubic feet ((1 folder))

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a variety of correspondence and published articles, some authored by Smith himself. One part of the correspondence is a set of letters between Arthur Lapham and Ernest Jones, on the verification of the history of the early parachute jumpers. There is also a set of letters between Floyd and Hilder Smith and Jones, and later with Lapham as well. The papers also include information on other contemporary jumpers besides Smith and his wife.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests

Restrictions

No restrictions on access.

Citation

Floyd Smith Collection, XXXX-0684, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics

Parachuting

Aeronautics -- Exhibitions

Aeronautical sports

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Correspondence

Articles