Sperry Artificial Horizon set (2) Unique & Vintage "Aviation related Book Ends"
with a link to tragic "Rock & Roll" history.

Other display use?:
An interesting historical (1959) detail to this model of the Sperry Artificial Horizon is a CAA investigation into the crash that took the lives of Buddy Holly, The Big Bopper, Ritchi Valens Faults the Pilot as being unfamiliar with the model of artificial Horizon. This was a result of the artificial horizon that was in the aircraft and was familiar to the pilot, had been replaced with the Sperry instrument just prior to the fatal flight.

Here in an excerpt from the official CAA report: Note, I will email a pdf copy of the complete report
to the purchaser.

CIVIL AERONAUTICS BOARD AIRCRAFT ACCIDENT REPORT
ADOPTED: September 15, 1959
RELEASED: September 23, 1959
BEECH BONANZA, N 3794N
MASON CITY, IOWA
FEBRUARY 3, 1959

Pilot
Roger Arthur Peterson, 21 years old, was regularly
employed by the Dwyer Flying Service as a commercial
pilot and flight instructor, and had been with them about
one year. He had been flying since October of 1954, and
had accumulated 711 flying hours, of which 128 were in
Bonanza aircraft. Almost all of the Bonanza time was
acquired during charter flights. He had approximately 52
hours of dual instrument training and had passed his
instrument written examination. He failed an instrument
flight check on March 21, 1958, nine months prior to the
accident. His last CAA second-class physical examination
was taken March 29, 1958. A hearing deficiency of his right
ear was found and because of this he was given a flight test.
A waiver noting this hearing deficiency was issued
November 29, 1958; According to his associates he was a
young married man who built his life around flying. When
his instrument training was taken, several aircraft were used
and these were all equipped with the conventional type
artificial horizon and none with the Sperry Attitude Gyro
such as was installed in Bonanza N 3794N. These two
instruments differ greatly in their pictorial display.
The conventional artificial horizon provides a direct reading
indication of the bank and pitch attitude of the aircraft
which is accurately indicated by a miniature aircraft
pictorially displayed against a horizon bar and as if
observed from the rear. The Sperry F3 gyro also provides a
direct reading indication of the bank and pitch attitude of
the aircraft, but its pictorial presentation is achieved by
using a stabilized sphere whose free-floating movements
behind a miniature aircraft presents pitch information with a
sensing exactly opposite from that depicted by the
conventional artificial horizon.