United Airlines and Continental Airlines, although one company today, sprouted roots at Pearson Field in Vancouver. Likewise, so did the first airline magazine, Tails Spins. The magazine was written and illustrated by hand, reproduced using a mimeograph, put in an envelope and mailed. Today, we might call it a comic book or a ’zine.
First published in Portland, Tail Spins was the in-house publication for the Rankin Flying Service, started by the stunt pilot Tex Rankin, who taught flying at Pearson Field for about 18 months in the mid-1920s. The magazine spilled from the creative minds of the brother-and-sister duo Walt Bohrer, as illustrator and writer, and Ann Bohrer, as writer and editor.
Besides being pilots, Ann and Walt Bohrer were aviation writers. Both exhibited an irreverent sense of humor. The siblings’ effort emerged as America’s first humorous aviation magazine, published from 1927 through 1939. The magazine title flowed across the cover in the vapory, spiraling contrails of a tiny plane spinning off into the upper right corner. Although the image flowed horizontally, the magazine’s readers knew the aircraft was out of control, like the humor they’d find inside.
Above the title ran the words, “The monkey glands of aviation,” referencing a 1920s bogus medical procedure promising men rejuvenation, longer life, better memory and eyesight. Any revitalization the magazine promised was aimed at the reader’s funny bone. A 12-month subscription ran $1.50 ($26.20 in 2023) and included aviation news, gossip, humor and contributions by humorist Will Rogers and pilot Wiley Post, among other celebrities.
