Pepsi Cola sponsored aerial sky writing as an advertising promotion for their soft drink business in the 1930’s. A modified 1929 Travel Air 4000 open cockpit biplane was known as the Pepsi Sky Writer. It was powered by a 330 hp Wright engine with the ability to make a well defined smoke trail. This aircraft visited the Cumberland area and was based at Mexico Farms for a few days in 1939 waiting for ideal clear weather with low winds for the best viewing altitude of 10,000 to 12,000 feet for sky writing. This aircraft was a well known airplane that was prominently featured in other forms of Pepsi Cola advertising. Tom Murphy was a popular pilot in the aviation world who flew the Travel Air for many years through the 1970’s, making some stops at the Cumberland Airport. At the end of his career he visited Cumberland again dressed as a 1930’s pilot with leather jacket, helmet and goggles, leather lace up type boots, and riding breeches. On this visit he based the Travel Air at the Cumberland Regional Airport. Tom Murphy was a colorful individual who filled the position admirably for all those years as pilot of the Pepsi Sky Writer. The Travel Air is still sponsored by The Pepsico Company and was still working as a sky writer as late as 1997 when it was observed at the Patuxent Naval Air Station Air Show. It was then operated and flown by Susan and Dick Oliver. The Travel Air, named “Nancy’, has been rebuilt many times, is in immaculate condition, and is fully equipped for instrument flying which is necessary today.
Skywriting is an aviation technique created by injecting oil into the exhaust system, and when burned, forms the smoke to form letters in the sky. Each letter is about one mile in length, and the average message is written across a 10 mile slate of sky. The Pepsi Sky Writer writes nearly 500 messages over some 150 cities each year.
Pepsi Skywriter work photographed over Patuxent River NAS. The word ‘Pepsi’ covered a huge amount of sky and could not be totally included, even with a wide angle lens.
The Pepsi Skywriter at Mexico Farms in 1939, and on the right at Patuxent River NAS in 1997.
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Wings Over Cumberland 