National Air and Space Museum Archives

Winfield B. "Bert" Kinner Collection

Summary

Collection ID:
NASM.1995.0004
Creators:
Kinner, Winfield B. "Bert,", 1882-1957
Dates:
1919-1993
Languages:
English
.
Physical Description:
1.31 Cubic feet
3 boxes, 1 folder, 1 map folder
Repository:
This collection consists of approximately 1.31 cubic feet of material relating to Winfield B. "Bert" Kinner, a pilot and businessman active in the aviation industry.

Scope and Contents

Scope and Contents
This collection consists of the following: copy negatives, newspaper and magazine clippings, brochures, correspondence, invitations, photographs, Kinner corporation documents; and letters to the Kinners from Amelia Earhart.
In the fall of 2013, the South County Historical Society transferred two binders containing mostly copy photography that had been given to them by the same donor.

Arrangement

Arrangement
The collection is currently arranged by type of material and by size.

Biographical / Historical

Biographical / Historical
Winfield B. "Bert" Kinner (1882--1957) enlisted in the Air Corps during World War I, but the war ended before he was trained to fly. So in 1919, Kinner moved to Los Angeles, CA, where he rented a barn, built his first airplane and taught himself to fly. Until his retirement in 1941, Kinner remained active in the aviation business. Kinner organized the following aircraft and engine companies: Kinner Airplane & Motor Corp; Security Aircraft Corp; American Aircraft Corp; and Security National Aircraft Corp. Aircraft produced by these corporations included: Kinner K-1 Airster -- which was the first aircraft Amelia Earhart purchased; Kinner B-2 Sportwing; and the Kinner B-1 and Kinner K Sportsters. Kinner is perhaps most famous for producing the popular Kinner K5 engine and for designing the first folding wing aircraft -- the Security Airster S1-A and S1-B.

Administration

Author
Patricia Williams
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Donna Hunter Kinner, Gift, 1994, NASM.1995.0004. Additional material received via the South County Historical Society in 2013.
Processing Information
Arranged and described by Patricia Williams, 1994. Updated and encoded by Jessamyn Lloyd, 2023.

Using the Collection

Conditions Governing Access
No restrictions on access
Preferred Citation
Winfield B. "Bert" Kinner Collection, NASM.1995.0004, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Conditions Governing Use
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

Keywords

Keywords table of terms and types.
Keyword Terms Keyword Types
Airplanes -- Motors Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinner K-1 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinner Sportwing B-2 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinner Sportster B-1 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinner Sportster K-100 Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinner K-5 Engine Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Security National Airster S-1-A Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Security National Airster S-1-B Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Aeronautics, Commercial -- United States Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Correspondence Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Periodicals Topical Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Photographs Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Publications Genre Form Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinner, Winfield B. "Bert,", 1882-1957 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Earhart, Amelia, 1897-1937 Personal Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Kinner Airplane and Motor Co. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
Security (Security National) Aircraft Corp Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid
American Aircraft Co. Corporate Name Search Smithsonian Collections Search ArchiveGrid

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