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

This collection consists of aviation-related photography created by American photojournalist Ron Burda at air shows and air races between 1970 and 1999, and reference documents and publications collected by Burda during that period to aid in identifying the aircraft and people depicted in his photographs.

Identifier

NASM.2013.0026

Creator

Burda, Ron

Date

bulk 1971-2001

Provenance

Ron Burda, Gift, 2013

Extent

5.44 Cubic feet (14 boxes)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists predominantly of aviation-related photography created by American photojournalist Ron Burda at air shows and air races between 1970 and 1999, and reference documents and publications collected by Burda during that period to aid in identifying the aircraft and people depicted in his photographs. Burda's photography from the 1970s and 1980s is predominantly 35mm black and white roll film negatives (accompanied by contact-printed proof sheets), with 35mm color transparencies (generally mounted as slides) becoming more prevalent in the 1980s before shifting to 35mm color negatives in the 1990s. The collection also includes 8 x 10 inch black and white (and a few color) enlargement prints made by Burda and 4 x 6 inch color prints made by commercial photo finishers. The photography includes views of aircraft in flight and on the ground, pilots, ground crew members, and other participants at air shows and races as well as some miscellaneous coverage of other aviation-related events in the southern California area including antique aircraft and hang glider fly-ins. A major feature of the collection is Burda's extensive coverage of the National Championship Air Races held annually at Reno, Nevada, including official race programs and press materials for each year from 1973 to 1996. Also covered are the California National Air Races (Mojave '74, '75, '76, and '79) and features on racing pilots R. J. "Bob" Love and Marvin Lee "Lefty" Gardner.

Arrangement note

Collection materials are grouped in series by type of material (documents, photography, reference publications and books, etc.) Folders within a series are generally grouped by event title or subject and arranged in chronological order. The creator, Ron Burda, had originally arranged the bulk of his aviation photography in binders (and later in large envelopes) by calendar year, then event within a year; this arrangement has been retained as much as possible. Photography groups which span multiple years or were undated have been grouped at the beginning of the Photography series as Aviation by Subject. The Aviation by Year section of the Photography series has been grouped into subseries by photography format and arranged in chronological order. Additional arrangement details can be found at the series and subseries levels. NOTE: Only a small amount of the photography contained in this collection has been digitized at this time.

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

Ron Burda Air Racing Photography Collection, NASM.2013.0026, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics
Stunt flying
Airplanes
Air shows
Airplane racing

Type

Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Photographs
Black-and-white negatives
Color slides