Howie Wing

Background

Bill Moore, who created and wrote Howie Wing, was one of the creators of another old-time radio aviation program, The Air Adventures of Jimmie Allen. Moore was a pilot with the Royal Flying Corps in World War I and a barnstorming pilot thereafter, both of which provided a background for his writing about aviation. An article in Radio Guide magazine described the program as "an authentic saga of aviation." Moore enhanced the show's authenticity by taking the cast and sound-effects people flying to help them appreciate the atmosphere needed for the program.

Story line

Howie Wing began as a flier with the Cadet Aviation Corps. Later, Captain Harvey, who owned an airline in South America, made Wing his co-pilot. The program's plots focused on Wing's battles against corruption, especially that involving Burton York, a saboteur who operated under the cover of being an insurance agent.
In light of research that showed 70 percent of the program's audience was children, the scripts avoided situations that might have been confusing for children.
Howie Wing was sponsored by Kellogg's.

Legacy

In 1939, American Airlines named a flagship Howie Wing, the first time in air transportation history that a plane had been named for a radio program. The trade publication Broadcasting described the designation as "a tribute of the airline to the work of Kellogg Co. in making American youngsters air-minded."