Wright Brothers' First Controlled Flight

Outgoing postcard US-3772207 to Brazil has a 37-cent First Flight commemorative stamp in the front, issued by USPS on May 22, 2003 to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the first controlled, powered, and sustained flight in a heavier-than-air flying machine. At Kill Devil Hills near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina on December 17, 1903, Wright Brothers tested Flyer I with a four-cylinder engine for the first flight that lasted 12 seconds and 120 feet or 37 meters, followed by three even more successful flights later that day.

The miniature souvenir sheet has ten pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) stamps. The card has address, messages and additional postage on the back. It was sent to the Post Office in Kitty Hawk, NC for the 2015 edition first flight pictorial postmark in a package with several other postcards. Tracking shows the package left Las Vegas on January 16, 2016 and was delivered in January 19, 2016.

I did an inquiry on February 22, 2016 for the service update via USPS.COM, and got a prompt call back the next day asking me for more information, and another call the day after informing me that the cards were mailed out on Monday, February 22, 2016. Sure enough, I received the one addressed to myself today on February 26, 2016.

However, the SURPRISE was that they used the 111th anniversary edition rubber stamp from 2014 with a date of "DEC 17 2014", rather than the 112th anniversary edition on Dec 17, 2015 !!! Interesting.

Winnie Mae: Lockheed 5C Vega

Outgoing postcard US-3755619 to Canada shows "Winnie Mae", a seven-seat monoplane Vega 5C, on display at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC. It was made by Lockheed in 1930 with modified tail surfaces for higher gross weight operations. Flew by famed aviator Wiley Post, it set many records, including around the world flight in eight days by Wiley Post and navigator Harold Gatty in 1931; the first solo flight around the world in 1933; the world's first flight using pressure suit in 1935 that reached the stratosphere at 547 km/hr or 340 m/hr. The "Winnie Mae" was named for the daughter of F. C. Hall, the original owner and a close friend of Wiley Post.

Today it is the 112th anniversary of Wright brothers' first powered flights. According to USPS Postal Bulletin 22430 published on December 10, 2015, Kitty Hawk, NC Post Office is offering a pictorial postmark to commemorate the occasion. I am sending the card, along with several others, to get this special postmark. Such requests must be postmarked no later than 30 days following the requested pictorial postmark date.

Old Saint Petersburg, Russia

Postcard RU-3302574 from Russia shows the main facade of the Stock Exchange Building at Saint Petersburg, Russia in 1903. According to Wikipedia, the Stock Exchange Building, designed by French architect Thomas de Thomon, and inspired by the Greek Temple of Hera at Paestum,  was constructed between 1805 and 1810. The Rostral Columns erected on either side of the Stock Exchange were completed in 1811. One of the columns can be seen on the left side of the postcard.

The Old Saint Petersburg Stock Exchange and the Rostral Columns are significant examples of Greek Revival architecture.

The postmark indicates that the card was mailed on December 22, 2014 and had traveled more than 120 days.

America's Cup

Outgoing postcard US-3280219 to Germany was a stamped card honoring the America's Cup yacht races issued by USPS at San Diego on May 6, 1992. It was sold for 50 cents, with 19 cents toward postage.

The front of the card features a full-color reproduction of the Ranger, winner of the 1937 America's Cup, as Ken Boyd, spokesman for the postal service, described to Los Angeles Times. "Wind-filled ocher sails, the bright white dress of the crew and a complementary green ocean and blue sky fill the card, which is trimmed in white."

A 1-inch by 2-inch drawing of the Reliance, the 1903 winner of the America's Cup,  appears in the upper right stamp area on the back of the card.