"Racing the Storm" depicts a fictitious, but certainly common, moment from the early 1930's as a Curtiss Condor airliner of American Airways and a farmer in his trusty Ford Model T head for shelter ahead of an approaching line of severe summer thunderstorms.

The Curtiss Condor was one of the first practical airliners to serve the fledgling US airline industry. Developed from the B-2 bomber design and powered by two 720hp Wright engines, the Condor carried 12 passengers in modern, enclosed-cabin comfort.

Nevertheless, the Condor maintained the fabric-covered, biplane configuration of its predecessors, bridging the gap between the old and the new as Curtiss worked to produce more modern designs. American Airways bought several Condors in 1934, utilizing them primarily in the Allegheny mountain routes in central New York. Some were converted to "Sleepers", which offered bunks to passengers for night flights.

As the pace of aircraft technology and development accelerated in the mid-1930s, the relatively slow but stately Condor was quickly overtaken by newer, faster, all-metal designs like the Boeing 247 and legendary Douglas DC-3. By 1934, all Condors had been retired from service, carving for themselves a small but important niche in the evolution of the American airline industry.

"Racing the Storm" fine art print measures 16" x 24" (image size) and was published in 2003 from an original oil painting. It is signed and numbered by the artist and is limited to an edition of 300 copies. Each print is suitable for framing.