Photo Album - From Civil Aeronautics Authority (CAA) to FAA

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• Mr. Hinckley's "Air Force"
• Two Important New Centers
• An Airport for the Nation's Capital
• A Memorable Aircraft
• The Birth of FAA
• Dulles International Airport

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Mr. Hinckley's "Air Force"

In 1938, oversight of civil aviation passed to a new independent agency, the Civil Aeronautics Authority. The second chairman of the Authority was Robert H. Hinckley, shown at right with Orville Wright. Hinckley was the force behind the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP).

Beginning on a regular basis in the 1939-40 school year, the CPTP graduated thousands of new pilots as a means of strengthening the nation for possible war.

After the Pearl Harbor attack, the program was renamed the War Training Service (WTS).

(CAA photos from Paticia Strickland's The "Putt-Putt" Air Force, a 1974 FAA publication.)