The Earl A. Thornton Papers contain research files, personal notes, audio recordings, videocassettes, photographs, and publications on the fields of aviation, aeronautics, and aerospace. The research files include files on individuals and subject files, as well as publications. Additional materials include reproduction airplane blueprints, press reports about missiles and satellites, and a poster depicting the history of air travel.

Individuals listed include: Sir George Cayley, Octave Chanute, William Samuel Henson and John Stringfellow, Frederick W. Lanchester, S.P. Langley, Otto Lilienthal, Charles Matthews Manly, Charles Fayette Taylor, Theodore von Karman, Edward P. Warner, Francis Herbert Wenham, Wilbur and Orville Wright, Pearl I. Young, and Alfred F. Zahm. Topics include: Aerodynamics, Aeronautical Education Development, Aviation Progress, Challenger Launch Decision, Development of Aircraft Structures, The Evolution of Aircraft Design, Metal Airplane Construction, Propulsion, Structures History, Trusses, Wilbur Wright Memorial Lectures, and Wing Spars and Beam Columns.