"The sirens of the sky."  From Popular Mechanics, 1911.

"Are ships supposed to sail above us?"  From 1942.

Here's a precursor to Chariots of the Gods: Tutankhamen's flying machine.  From Die Bühne, 1925.

You've heard that an airplane is "alive and in dialogue with the aviator" (Denice Turner, Writing the Heavenly Frontier, 2011).  Well, here's textbook "proof that the airplane is alive, well and an important part of the national transportation system" (Richard L. Collins, Flying Magazine, 1974).  Our illustration is from Biology and Man by Benjamin Gruenberg, 1944.

You've heard of Lindbergh's so-called monoplane, Spirit of St. Louis, but which one?  Indeed, "Spirit is not singular" (Glenn Poveromo, The Spirit's Self-Help Book).  Our photo is courtesy of the San Diego Air & Space Museum Archives.

You've heard of an airplane's "horsepower," but did you know how literally to take that?  From c. 1937.

Here's one way to entice lunatics, New Zealand National Airways style.  Date uncertain.

Forgive the obviousness, but the world's largest air traffiic controller is in Rio.  (The date of our proof is uncertain.)

"Airline technology has not gone through any radical changes" (Brian Clegg, Final Frontier: The Pioneering Science and Technology of Exploring the Universe).  Image courtesy of the San Diego Air and Space Museum Archive.

"My mistake, April 12, 1925."  Live to photograph it.