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I,c;5ii sur: _111

Restorer'SCorner
$11
.J. R.NIELANOER.JR.
Some months ago we discussed in this column the
advantages of building a replica of our favorite antique
or classic design when a restorable basket case was not
available. That particular column brought forth more
comment and suggestions from you members than the
sum total of all of the other" Restorer's Corners" writ-
ten to date. Apparently we hit upon a vital point, and
we were very happy to learn that we had . All of the
replies were very favorable, and some members were
kind enough to send along information concern ing
where certain plans could be obtained, or who might
happen to have a full or partial set for a particular air-
plane. We assure you that all of the information supplied
has been cataloged for future reference, but we are a
long way from having a complete file on all of the old
designs which could conceivably become popular rep-
licas.
A reasonable start wou Id be to catalog the names and
addresses of the suppliers of copies of original plans
which are commercially available at the present time. To
accomplish this initial task, we need your help. If you
have bought any copies of original plans, please send us
the name and address of the supplier. Also, those of you
who are offering copies of original plans commercially
please send us your names and addresses and tell us what
plans you have for sale. As soon as sufficient informa-
tion is forwarded to us, we shall run the listings in a
future issue of THE VI NTAGE AI RPLANE and plan to
update it thereafter on an annual basis. With your help
we can have the most complete and accurate informa-
tion available anywhere.
We hope that, with the help of all of you who have
plans or information, we shall be able to compile a list of
available drawings which will have sufficient diversifica-
tion so that there will be something of interest for every-
one. Wouldn't it be great to see many of the almost
extinct, but not forgotten, airplanes of the 30's back in
the sky again, or a whole squadron of World War I
fighters fly by in formation?
This year we would like to publish reports and pic-
tures of all of the Antique/Classic Fly-Ins around the
country. However, to accomplish this we shall need the
help of local chapter reporters and photographers, as
your editor and his staff can not possibly attend all of
the fly-ins, even though they would certainly like to try.
Now is the time for each of you fly-in chairmen to estab-
lish your press coverage committee and staff it with your
best reporter and your best photographer. Please be sure
to remind your photographer to use bl ack and white
film and to send us glossy prints, preferably 4 x 5 inches
in size or larger. Please ask your reporter to write a story
telling about all of the interesting things which happe ned
at your fly-in. We all would like to know abo ut what
went on as well as reading the list of trophy winners.
Here is your chance to get the best possibl e free public-
ity for your fly-in. And while we are talkin g about free
publicity, please send us the dates and other important
information concerning your planned fly-in this year. We
need over ninety days lead time on everyth ing we print,
so the sooner you get the information to us, the sooner
you will start getting that free pUblicity.
NOMINATIONS FOR ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION
OFFICERS AND DIRECTORS
I n accordance with the division By- Laws as amended,
the terms of two officers and four directors will expire
at the 1977 EAA Antique/ Classic Division Annual Busi-
ness Meeting to be held on August 6, 1977 at Oshkosh,
Wisconsin, during the 25th I nternational Fly-I n Conven-
tion. Those offices which will expire are:
VICE-PRESIDENT Jack C. Winthrop
TREASURER E.E. "Buck" Hilbert
DIRECTORS William J. Ehlen
Claude L. Gray, Jr.
James B. Horne
George E. Stubbs
All of th e incumbents have indicated that th ey will be
candidates for reelection. Additional nominations for
these offices shall be made on official nomination forms
obtainable from the Headquarters of the Experimental
Aircraft Associ at ion, Inc., P. O. Box 229, Hales Corners,
Wisconsin 53130. The nominating petition shall include
a recent photograph of the candidate and shall contain a
brief resume of his background and experience. Can-
didates must have been members of the EAA Antique/
Classic Division in good standing for the previous two
consecutive yea rs. Each petition requires a minimum of
ten (10) signatures of Antique/Classic Division members
in good standing with their Division membership number
and expiration date.
Nominating petitions must be submitted to the Chair-
man of the Nominati ng Committee, EAA Antique/
Classic Division, c/o EAA Headquarters no later than
March 9, 1977. Voting instructions and proced ures will
be published in a later issue of THE VINTAGE AIR-
PLANE.
Arthur R. Morgan , Chairman
No minating Committee
Editorial
Staff
Edit or AssistantEditor
AI Kelch Lois Kelch
Editor Associate Editor Associate Editor
H.Glenn Buffington Robert G. Elliott Edward D. Williams
818W. CrockettSt. No. 201 1227Oakwood Ave. 713 Eastman Dr.
Seattle,Washington 98119 Daytona Beach, Florida 32014 Mt. Prospect, Illinois60056
Associate Editors will be identified in the table ofcon
tents on articles they send in and repeated on thearticle
if they have written it. Associate Editorships will be
assigned to those who qualify (5 articles in any calendar
year).
ANTIQUEANDCLASSIC
DIVI SI,ON
OFFICERS
PRESIDENT
J. R.NIELANDER,JR.
P,O.BOX2464
FT. LAUDERDALE, FL 33303
VICEPRESIDENT
JACKWINTHROP
RT, 1, BOX 111
ALLEN,TX75002
SECRETARY
RI CHARDWAGNER
P,O,BOX 181
LYONS,WI 53148
TREASURER
E.E."BUCK" HILBE:RT
8102 LEECH RD,
UNION,IL60180
Directors
Claude L. Gray. Jr . AI KelCh
9635Sylvia Avenue 7018W. Bonniwell Road
Northridge,California 91324 Mequon,Wisconsi n 53092
James B. Horne Evander M. Britt
3840Coronation Road Box 1525
Eagan, Mi nnesota 55122 Lumber ton. North Carolina28358
George E. Stubbs M. C. "Kelly" Viets
Box 113 RR 1,Box 151
Brownsburg. Indiana46112 Stillwell,Kansas 66085
WilliamJ. Ehlen Morton Lest er
Route8, Box 506 P.O. Bo.3747
Tampa, Florida 33618 Martinsville. Virginia 24112
Advisors
W. Brad Thomas. Jr. Oale A. Gustafson
301 Dodson Mill Road 7724 Shady Hill Drive
Pilot Mountain.NorthCarolina 27041 Indianapolis. I N 46274
Robert A. Whi te Roger J. Sherron
1207 Falcon Drive 446-C Las Casitas
Orlando, Florida32803 Santa Rosa, CA95401
Maunce "Sonny"Clavel Stan Gomoll
Box98 104290th Lane, N.E.
Wauchula, FL 33875 Minneapolis, MN 55434
OFFICIAL MAGAZINE
ANTIQUE / CLASSIC
DIVISION
of
THE EXPERIMENTAL AIRCRAFTASSOCIATION
FEBRUARY 1977 VOLUME 5 NUMBER 2
The Restorer's Corner . . . . " . . ,""" " " ", . "' ," "" ', . ,, . ,'"
The Lincoln Flies . . , ... """ """"""' , ... . , "" " "", .. , ' 3
Knight Night Flight. , . , , . , , , , , , . , , , . , , , .. , . , , . , , , , , , , ... . .. , .. " 6
"Let's Get The Show On The Road" (by H, Glenn Buffingto n, Assoc, Ed.) . " 7
Vintage Album " " ,. , "' , . . ,', . . ,.,., ... ," ." " ""', .. , . .. . 11
A Si lver Eagle (by Robert Elli ott, Assoc. Ed,) , . ," " "" ", . ,. , ... . . , 13
EAA ANTIQUE/CLASSIC DIVISION MEMBERSHIP
o NON EAA MEMBER - $34,00. Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division. 12
monthly issues ofTHE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; one year membership in the ExperimentalAircraft Associa-
tion,12 monthlyissues ofSPORTAVIATION and separate membership cards.
o NON EAA MEMBER - $20.00, Includes one year membership in the EAA Antique/Classic Division, 12
monthly issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE; (;ne year membership i n the Experimental Aircraft Associa-
tion and separate membershipcards.SPORTAVIATION notincluded.
o EAA MEMBER - $14,00, Includes oneyear membership inthe EAA Antique/Classic Division, 12 monthly
issues of THE VINTAGE AIRPLANE and membership card. (Applicant must be current EAA memberand
must give EAA membership number.
PICTURE BOX
ONTHE COVER (Back Cover)
jim Hayden's Lincoln PT- W flies at The B& W- l A in flight during the
last. See story page 3, tour o f the East. Flo wn by Clayton
Leigh Scott, See story page 7,
Copyright 1977 Antique Classic Aircraft, Inco All Rights Reserved.
THE VINTAGE A I RPLANE is owned exclusively by Antique Classic Aircraft, Inc. and is published monthly at
Hales Corners. Wisconsin 53 130. Second class Postage paid at Hales Corners POSt Office, Hales Corners, Wisconsin
53130. Membership rates for Antique Class Aircraft. Inc. at $14.00per 12monthperiod ofwhich $10.00 is for the
publicat ion ofTHE VINTAGE A I RPLANE. Membership is open toall whoare interested inaviation.
2
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check.
TIlE LINCOLNfLIE8
By: jimHayden
4774Pasadena Dr.
Boise, Idaho 88705
Photos furnishedbyauthor
Editor's Note: In 1970, Jim Hayden, Boise, Idaho final inspection. As a "zero" time biplane pilot, he was
antiquer,found the remains ofa Lincoln PTW sticking often reminded of this fact through the previous restless
out ofa farmer's junkpile. The detailsof its restoration night. Work now had stopped altogether at Hubler
are described in the November 1974 issue of the Field near Caldwell, Idaho. Most of the spectators
VINTAGE AIRPLANE. present were pilots and ownersofolderaircraftbased at
the sandy strip along the Boise River. Lee Coch, owner
of Lee's Aero, had signed the logs certifying that the
The weatherman was cooperating. Saturday, April 3, machine was airworthy. Now he too made a last round
1976 was sunny and mild with only alight breeze blow ofinspections.
ing. The Lincoln PTWthat had been rolled out of it's The Lincoln was built in 1929 by the Lincoln
hangar was groomed to near perfection. Only one thing Aircraft Company of Lincoln, Nebraska. According to
remained...to fly it. Owner Jim Hayden completed the
Above: Antique airspeed indicator mounted
on right wing strut is a gift from Buck
Hilbert in appreciation for Hayden's help in
the final preparations for United Airlines
Commemorative Swallow Flight. The
indicator is fairly accurate at slowerspeeds
with abouta 70 mph variance withairspeed
indicatorin cockpitat90mph.
its logs, it had flown only 450 hours at the time of its
last flight in 1943. Its reputation was respectable. Older
pilots who had flown Lincolns had tagged them gentle
and forgiving (ifany plane built during thatera could be
so described). The Lincoln was built as a pilot trainer
with large control surfaces for good control at low
speeds.
The first order ofbusiness was to be a series of taxi
runs. Hayden lowered himself into the rear cockpit and
fastened his belt. Gas on...switch on...brakes...clear. .
.contact! The 125 Warner radial started quickly: its zerk
3
Above: Basic flight instruments are located in
rear cockpit only. Gauge on left side of front
cockpit is oil temperature. Oil pressure is on
right side.
lubricated rockers moved up and down smartly. The first
taxi run was followed by a second. Each time the tail
came up quickly and directional control was easy to
maintain. The controls, while stiff, seemed co-ordinated.
The brakes were effective. No doubt about it, the
Lincoln was eager to fly.
One final mag check. Then, the airplane headed down
the sandy runway breaking free of the ground in less
than 250'. After briefly circling the airport, the most
difficult test for its pilot remained ...the landing.
True to its reputation, the Lincoln settled evenly,
touching down in a smooth three point attitude. The
landing was perfect. Rollout was accomplished easily
with good control from the large rudder and heel-type
brakes.
Two more flights that day confirmed what owner Jim
Hayden had been hoping for. The Lincoln was indeed an
easy airplane to fly. "Perhaps too easy considering its
primary job was to train pilots" Jim suggests, recalling
the handling characteristics of contemporary aircraft
such as the KR21 Fairchild and Waco 10. Hayden, who
has also owned a Cessna 195 for a number of years,
found control response to be much slower than that to
which he was accustomed. "It's a straight forward
machine with no bad tricks" he says, after 50 hours in
the Lincoln. He explains, however, that manuevers have
been limited to the ordinary with the exception of
Chandelles. "After all, an aircraft surviving 47 years of
rough treatment is deserving of some kindness" Hayden
declares.
Below: Shield shaped insignia was used on most
Lincoln aircraft company models. Hayden's
insignia is hand painted as were the originals.
NC number was assigned at the time of
certification by the CAA.
4
Above: Front view shows 72 volt wind-driven generator mounted on landing gear cabane strut. Perforated
exhaust stacks reduce bark of 725 Warner. Breeze shielded ignition harness is early style used on radials for
radio noise suppression. The system was installed on the Lincoln during the early '40's, along with a low
frequency radio.
On X-C the Lincoln has a tendancy to wander and
must receive the pilot's regular attention to stay on
course. It gets off the ground well with or without a
passenger. Baggage is limited to 50 Ibs. Starter, battery
and generator reduce the craft's useful load by 75 Ibs.
Even so, Hayden relates "performance is excellent even
on 90 degree days". On a recent air tour of the Scarf and
Goggle Flying Club , a Northwest biplane group, the
Lincoln also performed well at the higher altitude strips.
During the tour which included stops at Pendleton,
Oregon; Boise, McCall and Sun Valley, Idaho; and
Jackpot, Nevada, the Lincol n shared the company of
such illustrious machines as a Brunner Winkle Bird, C3
Stearman, Navy N3N and a Fairchild F24 (the latter
monoplane handled the baggage chores for the group).
The 125 Warner burns 7gph and oil consumption is
about one quart in three hours. According to Hayden,
the aircraft's range of four hours is probably beyo nd the
range of human endurance. Oil temperature, even on hot
days, seldom exceeds 150
0
F. The eight foot Hamilton
Standard ground adjustable propeller provides rapid
acceleration and gives the power pl ant very smooth run-
ning characteristics. Original literature advertising the
Lincoln PT-W gives it a top speed of 10Smph and a
cruise of 87mph. Both figures are very close to that
provided by Hayden's machine. Red line speed is lOS
mph.
Passengers will find the front cockpit relatively qu iet.
A large windshield, perforated exhaust stacks and
smooth running engine keeps the noise level quite tol-
erable. During the first few hours of flight the flying
wires sang a bit. Tightening and aligning them solved this
The Lincoln PT-W flies, with pilot jim Hayden!
problem. The tail wheel assembly, fabricated from the
type used on N3N's, shimmied despite a bungee cord
designed as a dampner. A change in caster proved to be
the solution. A lack of anti-friction bearings in the
control system resulted in an initial over tightening of
the cables. This sit uation was corrected during the first
few hours the machine was flown. The bungee cord on
the landing gear was also shortened. To solve the
problem of access to controlled air fields a small
transceiver will be installed later at the right side of the
pilot's seat.
All those who view the Lincoln PT-W, including
veteran restorers of past grand championship antique air-
craft, have been impressed by the craftsmanship invested
in the restoration. At its first fly-in appearance held at
Boise's Strawberry Glen Airport, the Lincoln won the
best biplane trophy. Recently at a fly-in sponsored by
the Northwest Antique Airplane Club in Evergreen,
Washington, the Lincoln was chosen "Best Biplane"
(1919-1935) and "Grand Champion" of the event. Head-
winds on the return flight to Boise helped prove that
biplane pilot's wives must be patient and understanding.
The 3S0 mile course took ~ hours to cover. During
that time, Jim relates no complaints were heard from
wife, Verna, in the front cockpit.
When asked if the end result was really worth five
years of toil and expense, Jim Hayden has an answer,
"Affirmative! "
5
knight
u.s. AirMailServicePilotjack Knight
By: Lee Williams
(EAA No. 709844)
Apt. E7006Stoney
Valley Park, Mq.,6308E!
I'
Fifty-five years after his historic nightair mail flight,
James Herbert (j ack) Kni ght is being immortalized by
his hometown of Buchanan, Mich., which pl ans to build
a memorial chapel in his honor, and the city has good
reason t o be proud ofJack Kni ght.
It was Knight, who through sheer determination
assured the future of air mail service. Piloting a de
Havill and DH-4B through darkness, snowstorms, bitter
cold and fog, Kni ght flew thef irst ni ghtair mailflight in
hi story in Febr uary, 1921.
As a boy in Michi gan, Jack acq uired the first ofsev-
eral ni cknames, "Sky" (Kni ght) , an interesting portent
of his flying career. Jack attended the Michi ganAgricul-
tural College, now Michigan State University. At Mich-
igan Agricultural, "Sky"picked up the name"Jack", the
name of an older brother who previousl y attended the
same institution. The name Jack remained his favored
name throughouthis career.
With the outbreak of World War I,he joined the U.s.
Army, where he learned to fly. Instead of being sent
overseas, Knight was assigned to dutyas aflight instruc-
tor in the 122nd Aero Squadron at Ellington Field near
Houston, Texas.
The war's end found Jack, by this timealso known as
"Skinny", facing the possibility oftaking an office job.
Certainly not willing to live with the confinement ofa
desk,he soughtaflying career.
Otto Praeger was then the Second Assistant Post-
master General of the U.S. Postal Service. His posit ion
put him in chargeofthe transportation ofall mails. This
included the responsibility for the infant United States
Air Mail Service. By late 1920, the Congress had
presumed the service to be a failure. No other country
had a workable air mail system and the U.S. system
utilized the railroads to transport the mails during the
night whi le the aircraft flew during daylight. Poor
weather,with its attendantpoorvisibilities, was aserious
flight
obstacle. This was particularly trueduringwinter month
snowstorms. By winter 1920, things were looking grim
for the fledgling air mail service. Additionally, the
administration of Woodrow Wilson would beendingthe
following March 4th. Wilson had given the air mail serv-
ice its beginning and had showed unseeming confidence
in it. The incoming Harding Administration, however,
campaigned on a platform of "areturn to normalcy." It
was understoorl that this philosophy included drastic
cuts in funding for several domestic programs, the air
mail service was assumed to be one of them.
So Otto Praeger, a hard-driving, tooth and nail ad-
vocate of the air mail service, was up against the wall.
The air mail service had to prove its value immediately.
Jack Knight previously had signed up as an air mail
pilot and was regul arly flying thedayti meroute between
Cheyenne, Wyoming and Chicago, Illinois. He was tobe
an element of Praeger's plan to save the concept ofair
mail.
There were to be two eastbound flights out ofSan
Francisco and two westbound flights out of New York.
The flights were to go coast-to-coast with per iodic
changes of plane and pilot. Ni ght flying would be a
req uirement. The fli ghts would be conducted during
February, on Washington's birthday to provide anadded
ele ment of drama. Success would demonstrate the
practicality of all-ai r, day-and-night routes and em-
phasizetheurgentneed for li ghted airways. Delivery time
could be at least cut in half.
On February 22, 1921, fo ur de Havi ll and DH-4's
departed their respective airfields. Di sasters pl agued
three of the fli ghts; the worst caused thedeath ofCapt.
W. Lewis. Capt. Lewis had departed fromSan Francisco
and successfull y completed the legs to Reno and Elko,
Nev. On takeoff fro m Elko, his plane stalled and Lewi s
died in the resulting crash.
(Continuedon Page 79)
6
Above: Clayton Leigh Scott (Scotty) gives
the word "Contact", through the B& W wires!
\
Right: Airborne in the B& W replica, helping
to celebrate The Boeing Company's 50th
anniversary, Summer of 7966. (Photo by
Boeing)
Clayton Leigh Scott, a native Pennsylvanian, has
made an enviable flying career from its beginning at
Pearson Field, Vancouver, WA, February 25, 1927 when
he soloed an OX Waco 9. He still holds a very active
S&MEL&S with Instrument License Number 2155 and
he is considered to be one of the Pacific Northwest air
pioneers. A stalwart member and past Seattle Hangar
Governor of the Quiet Bird man, Scotty also served as
the first Northwest President of the OX-5 Club of
America. He was cited for the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers
Hall of Fame at the annual convention at Charleston,
SC, October 12, 1974 and was inducted into the Hall at
Hammondsport, NY, the following Spring.
A couple of his most recent OX-5 outings have taken
him to Yakima, WA and San Diego, CA. September 18,
1976 he flew his Cessna 310 to Yakima to attend the
feting of Charlie McAllister, Yakima's oldest pilot-
instructor still in business. Flight time was 35 minutes
which compares favorably to the one hour 25 minutes
required) une 2, 1928, via OX-5 Travelair, when Scotty
won the race from Seattle and was awarded a silver
trophy, a feature of the 1928 dedication of Yakima Air-
port. In the ensuing airshow, Scotty finished second to
Tex Rankin in both the aerobatic competition and the
closed-course pylon race. He travelled to San Diego Octo-
ber 1-3 for the annual convention of the OX-5 Club,
sponsored by the Orange County/San Diego Chapter, at
which fifteen pioneers, four posthumously, were cited
for the Hall of Fame.
Prior to JOining William E. Boeing as his per-
sonal pilot, Scotty had worked as a station attendant
for Pacific Air Transport, and had flown Loening
Air Yachts (1929) for the Seattle-Bremerton Air
8
Above: The Dornier with the float
instal/ation on Lake Washington.
Below: The Piper Aztec and the
B& WI A on the Post-Rogers Memo-
rial Seaplane Ramp, north end of
Renton Airport, WA.
Above: Jobmasters 01/ -- Cessna 310, two D(Havilland Beavers
and a Howard, south of the Renton tower, by the second and
present home of jobmaster.
Ferry owned by Verne Gorst, the founder
of PAT. Duri ng those formative years,
they set a record of carrying 10,000 pas-
sengers during a 90-day period. Scott
then went to Alaska, representing Gorst
there, and did charter work in the
Loening, primarily out of Cordova. Here
he met Myrtle Smith, a school teacher,
formerly of Windom, MN, who became
his better half and they currently enjoy a
beautiful home at the north end of
Mercer Island overlooking Lake Wash-
ington. He flew the right seat for United
Airlines in 1933 on the Portland-Salt
Lake City run in Boeing 247s and then
joined William Boeing, flying a Boeing
Flying Boat, a Douglas Amphibian "Dol-
phin" and then a DC-5.
CLS joined Boeing Flight Delivery, the
forerunner to Production Flight Test, in
June of 1941 as an acceptance pilot for
the B-17, DB-7B and the A-20C aircraft.
After Slim Lewis' retirement in early
1947, Scotty became chief pilot and
headed up the group. During his Boeing
affiliation over 11,300 new airplanes were
delivered - all models from the B-17
Flying Fortress to current models of the
jet-family, 13 years into the jet age.
Scotty says some of his most in-
teresting flying assignments were a survey
flight to the South Pacific with Orvis
Nelson's Trans-Ocean Airline shortly after
the end of WW II and subsequent Boeing
flights to the far-corners of the world
making test hops after aircraft repairs and
modifications.
As a person who had always liked to
"tinker", CLS launched The J obmaster
Company as retirement age approached
and Sandy McMurray assumed the lead in
Prod. Fit. The first J obmaster project was
an air spray unit for use with offset print-
ing. In only a short time, Scotty renewed
9
Clayton Scott ready for a test hop in a
Boeing B-29, Winter of 7945. Note the au-
Notables at the christening of the 8&W-7A replica, Summer of 7966 -- (L to R),
tograph "Lets get the show on the road."
Claire Egtvedt, Mr. and Mrs. George Martin, Mrs. William Allen, who did the chris-
tening, Mrs. C. L. Scott, Mrs. Claire Egtvedt, Mrs. Frank Dobbins, Clayton L. Scott,
Frank Dobbins and Fred Laudan.
his love for "floats" and Howard DGA-
15s were used in [he conversion from
wheels to floats. Hi s ex perti se was called
upon in 1966 when The Boeing Company
o b se r ved its 50th year an n iversary
celebrati on and decided to construct a
replica of its first aircraft, the Boeing &
West ervelt.
Wh e n another company defaulted,
Scotty and six other people took on the
project and the airpl ane was built in the
re maining four months. At the same time
the floats were being built in the Boeing
model shop. The B&W replica was test
f lown a nd ready for the schedul ed
an niversary, Jul y 15, 1966. After nu-
merous flights in and around the Seattle
area, and a demonstration flight between
Philadelphi a and New Yor k, the airpl ane
was taken to Wichita where wheels were
attached for operation on land. I n spite
of the added drag induced, Scotty flew it
up to the Abbotsford, B.C. Air Show that
year. The unique difference between the
original aircraft and the replica was the
installation of a 260 hp. Lycoming engine
which was limited to 150 hp. The air-
pl ane was retired and now hangs in the
Flight Foundation Mu seum at the Seattle
Center; it could be ready for flight once
again with new fab ri c on the wings.
Scotty has made, and is making,
conversion kits for the Howards as well as
having finished fiftee n of the complete
units ready for fly-away. In addition, he
has done the initial install ation, conver-
sion and FAA tests for approval o n a
number of aircraft; among others, the
German Dorni er, Itali an Lasa, Swiss
Pilatus-Porter and the Piper Aztec. The
"now" project is the rebuilding and
"floating" of a couple of surplus De-
Havill and Beavers. Shop activities contin-
ue to hum, at Jobmaster, located at
Renton Airport, Renton, WA.
Being an avid sportsman, Scotty enjoy-
ed a partnership in the sailboat "Despy"
for a number of years, and he has been
able to utilize hi s aircraft on floats by
winging into Northern Canadian woods
and some of the higher mountain lakes
wh ere good fishing and hunting are
assured.
(Continued on Vintage A/bum pages 7 7 & 72)
10
Vintagl
Men and ThE
Pictures from Claytol
Regarding retirement, Scotty recommends that a perSOf
mind to do befon should have something definite in
Above: Scotty in the Seattle Flying Service OX-5 Travel
making the move, and then retire as quickly as possible
Air with student Madelene Takaberry. From the looks of Below: Scotty at Cordova, Alaska with the Loening Air
things he is telling her which way is up! Yacht.
Above: Time out for leisure with the
Dolphin "Rover".
Album
Vintage
"Scotty" Scott's album.
For him, it hasn't exactly been retirement; more a
matter of recycling his flying activities! So, the show
Above: "Northland" togs were very
necessary for winter flights in the cold
continues to roll along!
north. Scotty suited up for a Seattle
Above: Suited up for "Northland" flight with the OX-5 Travel Air. In
7929 it was a chore to get the engine started. Hot water and hot oil
were necessary.
Below: Scotty and the Loening Air Yacht at Percy Barnes' dock at Lake Union, Seattle.
Below: Seattle Flying Service OX-5
Travel Air on exhibit at the (7929)
boat show.
Flying Service Inc. trip.
--.. .... ---.

about
flights
in a
pilot. His
CLINTON E. HERBERGER
A SILVER
E a g l e ~
By: Robert G. Elliott (Assoc. Editor)
7227 Oakwood Ave.
Daytona Beach, FL 3207 4
My first introduction to Captain Clinton E. Herberger
occurred during the production of an Air Force training
film at the Hal Roach Studios in Culver City, California.
I t was late in 1943. The First Motion Picture Un it
had been organized primarily by gathering together all
varieties of studio talent already in military service. As
an Air Force motion picture studio, our prime function
was the production of training films, ...and in so doing,
on a certain picture, I was a production camera assistant
and Captain Herberger was pilot-technical advisor.
During the months that followed, until
September, 1945, it was my good fortune to have been
assigned as an aerial cameraman on numerous
with Capt. Herberger as pilot. Whether we flew
Beech AT-11 or our old B-17, "Allez Oop", none of us
were ever concerned with Capt. Herberger as
unblemished reputation as a motion picture stunt and
camera pilot was known to all, but was overshadowed by
his calm, friendly serene nature.
The passing years now found Clint and I visiting and
reminiscing about the past. ..Clint's aviation career...
unique to the extent that most of his years were spent in
aviation for the motion picture studios in Hollywood.
So it was, during June of 1975, in Orlando, Florida,
Clint's retirement home ...that he unfolded a view of his
aviation career.
"I was ten years old, when, at the Boise, Idaho, State
Fair, I saw my first airplane in 1912. The fact is, there
were two planes on exhibition, a fourth generation
Wright and a Farman boxkite. Both were peculiar by
today's standards. The Wright had no ailerons...wing
warping effected similar control that later was provided
by ailerons. The Farman, of French design, had fabric
between the front and rear wing struts hopefully to
provide more directional stabil ity.
One of the feature attractions at the San Francisco
Pan-Pac ific I nternational Exposition, was to be the
appearance of Lincoln Beachey with f:lis mid-wing mon-
oplane. We visited that Exposition as did thousands of
others, in 1915.
I had an opportunity to examine his plane. The single
wing was wire braced from the landing gear to a cabane
Hell's Angels Pilot.
Clinton E. Herberger, Lt. Col. U.S.A.F. (Ret.),
J une 7975, Orlando, Florida (Photo by
Robert G. Elliott).
strut, but in spite of this design feature, the wings
collapsed on what became his final flight. The plane had
a tri-cycle landing gear, and if I recall correctly, it was
powered by a LeRhone rotary engine.
Beachey's crash was an unfortunate quirk of luck, in
that he survived the impact upon the water, but was
drowned before he could free himself from his safety
belts.
13
I
I n order to continue the aerial attractions, Art Smith
was engaged to fly what was known then as a clip-wing
Martin biplane. Being such an awe struck kid, I was
hanging around the plane doing any odd job necessary,
from polishing wings to carrying gas, for Art Smith was
my idol.
One day, shortly after having overhauled the engine,
he was about to take it up on a test hop. He turned to
me and said .. . "Hey kid ...you want to go up with me?"
darn near flipped right then and there and
said... "Sure". Well ...it was a single seat plane, so he
strapped me on the leading edge of the lower wing next
to a strut, tying me to the strut . ..and that's the first
ride I had in the air ... right out in front. I never told my
mother of that first ride until much much later.
Like so many others of that era, I learned to fly in a
JN-4, and later graduated to a great big bomber. ..the
DeHaviland ...which incidently was the first airplane
with a 400hp engine. This particular subject really gripes
me, because, when I was an active military pilot in the
1940's or shortly thereafter, the Air Force decided that
any time under 400hp wouldn't count on your
record...so I lost about 3000 hours flying time right
then. And I asked them... "When in the Hell did you
think we got 400hp?"
"While in high school during WWI, they inaugurated
a military training program called ' Hi gh School Cadets' .
It was the forerunner of the ROTC. As it happened, our
school had no instructor, so I volunteered. What success
I had, was directly related to the fact that I immediately
went to the Army-Navy store to buy an Army Drill Man-
ual, and by diligent study and no little amount of manip-
ulation, I managed to stay one step ahead of the class.
My rash gamble paid off later, because our school won a
military competition. This must have been in mid 1918.
As high school ended, our Cadet group became Reg-
ular Army. We spent about a month and a half in Army
training and were actually entrained for Europe on
Armistice Day. I then returned to high schoo l, but the
following May I en li sted in the Signal Corps for Air.
My first actual military organization was the Second
Aero Squadron. For our Primary Training we were
assigned to March Field. Here, we were exposed to the
workings of an aircraft in the one and only tried and
true way. We had to disassemble the plane engine,
overhaul it by hand, scrape and polish bearings, fit it all
back together after completely going over every piece.
Then it was a re-assembly job, climaxed by the best test
of al l. .. we had to get in and fly it.
After Primary, we moved to Mather Field for
advanced flight. Mather was just a plain dirt field with
no runways, in fact not much else either. Part of our
advanced training was participation in the first forest
fire aerial patrol in northern California. Our planes, five
of them, were old DH-4B's. The patrol schedule called
for one round trip daily from Mather Field to Yreka,
California and back ...but it wasn't that simple. Yreka
was quite high in elevation, and with the heat of mid
day... we couldn't get those DH-4B's off the ground as
they didn't have the power. So ...we'd wait until the
afternoon began to cool off some, then we'd make the
return fl ight."
"Flight training concluded in 1920. For several
months we had been at North Island in San Diego,
training in Navy flying boats. The reason for this was
that our first tour of duty was to be on Corregidor.
Being a rugged island with no space for a landing strip,
the Second Aero Squadron was assigned HS-2L flying
boats to be used from anyone of the numerous small
beaches.
Our whole Squadron had about ten of these flying
boats. They were large single engine pusher biplanes with
a three-man crew.. . pilot, co-pil ot and gunner/radio
operator.. .my job. Mine was the best seat in the
plane . . . right out front in the nose."
"Clint".. . 1 asked, "how did your Squadron planes
come to have that familiar nose design?"
Smiling and laughing, Clint responded .. . "You've no
doubt heard that the Flying Tigers of WWII were
supposed to have originated the menacing sharks teeth
design on the nose of their P-40's ... well, t'ain't
so...our planes had th is decoration in 1920, and here's
the picture to prove it."
With that exclamation Clint launched into a brief
description of how it all came about.
"The design and idea were mine. As it happened, the
ground crew was planning to refinish the hulls, so...on
this particular plane I created my masterpiece after the
basic refinish was completed. There was the mouth with
the sharp white teeth, towards the rear was an eye on
both sides, with scales to the rear completing the
dragon-like creature.
When it was finished the Commander came down for
Above: Clinton E. Herberger, uponentry
in Regular Army, justprior to Armistice
Day, 7978. (Photo courtesy of C. E.
Herberger).
what he supposed was a routine paint inspection. He
took one surprised look at our plane and quickly
asked ..."Who did that?". ..to which I responded ..."1
did, Sir". Directly to me, he said ..."Well, I like
it. . . paint the others", meaning the rest of the Squadron
planes.
Our operation was somewhat hampered by the fact
that a tractor was necessary to launch and retrieve each
plane from the water. Makeshift hangars and work areas
were higher on the beach somewhat in the jungle.
Some years ago, my wife Virginia, and I, were visiting
the Smithson ian Museum and we observed an HS-2L fu-
selage. I n checking the Serial number, I was surprised to
learn that it had been one of the planes in our old
Squadron...one that I had flown."
"Clint. ..you've told me in time past that your even-
tual association with Howard Hughes in the production
of 'Hell's Angels' began in an odd manner ."
14
"It sure was an oddity. I was working for an aircraft
company in Glendale. You see...strangely enough ...in
all these years.. . 1 've never owned an airplane. I've
always been paid for all my flying. So ...1 was flying one
of this company's aircraft, then known as a
'Thunderbird'. I think there were only about three of
them built, and they never received CAB flight certifica-
tion. This was about the time that the licensing agency
was formed . The inspectors were not engineers, just
former pilots.
I had been scheduled to fly the spin tests one day and
these guys incorrectly loaded my plane, as I later discov-
ered.
Well ...it spun alright. ..the flattest spin you can
imagine...seventeen turns in 3000 feet. I bailed out. It
was a free jump from open cockpit, not a pullout.. . and
as I rolled out and dropped, the wing rotated above me
as I pulled the ripcord. I did ONE ...TWO...THREE ...
swings and hit the ground . That emergency jump ad-
mitted me to the Caterpill,ar Club.
Strangely enough, years later a lad came to the house
selling Capitol brushes. He looked at me kinda funny
and said to me..."Didn't you used to be a pilot?" . ..
and I said, "Yes". He continued, "Didn't you bailout of
a plane over the Baldwin Hills?" ...and I said, "Yes" ...
he says, "I've got the stick of that plane . .. wou Id you
like to have it?" I've still got it today ...it was about the
only piece of that plane which hadn't been smashed.
This Thunderbird was one of the first planes that had
an adjustable stabilizer. It was powered by an old WWI
Hispano Suiza. You could land it very slowly.. . or set
the stabilizer and it was hotter than a pistol. It would
have made a great training plane, but it was never cer-
tified."
Above: Fokker D- V/I, similar to those flown
by Clinton E. Herberger during his participa-
tion in the filming of Hefl's Angels. This
particular plane, when photographed, was
part of the Tallmantz Collection. (Photo by
Robert G. Elliott).
Below: Launching and retrieval of the
HS-2L's from the beach was accomplished
with the aide of a tractor and manpower.
Lack of sufficient flat, clear land on the is-
land, demanded the use of the water-based
planes. Note the 'shark nose' design. (Photo
courtesy of C. E. Herberger).
15
"That was the plane I was flying when Hughes con-
tacted my Company to rent it for Hell's Angels. A deal
was agreed upon which included the plane with me as
pilot. After I arrived on the filming location, they
discovered I was the only military trained pilot. My first
assignment then, was to spend over a month teaching all
those other film pilots how to fly formation. Frank
Clark was Chief Pilot, and he had introduced me to
Howard Hughes after I'd been there about a week.
Howard said ... "How much are you getting,
Herb?"...and I told him . . . he said "I'll double it"...
and he did. I collected two salaries all through that
picture...one from my Company and one from Hughes.
I was with them for just over a year, until all the
flight sequences were finished . You know .. . the first
version was silent, but when sound came in, Hughes did
it allover again.
Hughes had two fields, at first, which represented the
German and Allied home bases. Caddo Field was the
All ied Squadron Headquarters and was close to Van
Nuys in the San Fernando Valley. His other field was up
near Newhall from which the German Squadron flew."
Because Clint had numerous opportunities to fly WWI
aircraft, I asked if he thought any single aircraft was
superior . To this he responded ..."Well, the Fokker
O-VII was very definitely a superior plane. Incidentally, I
logged more time in a Fokker O-VII than most any
individual German pilot had during WWI, and it was
logged while making Hell's Angels as well as other pic-
tures later on.
I considered its design to be superior. It was a very
maneuverable airplane. You see...actually, the O-VII
was one of the first full cantilever wing aircraft, but the
pilots wouldn't trust it, so they put struts in it. I've seen
it flown without them.
Above: Clinton E. Herberger, in nose of
HS-2L, during tour of duty on the island of
Corregidor with the Second Aero Squadron,
in 7920. (Photo courtesy of C. .
Herberger).
Below: Clinton E. Herberger, third from left,
during his advanced flight training at Mather
Field, California. This was one of the five
DH-4B's which were used in the first forest
fire aerial patrol. (Photo courtesy of c..
Herberger).
16
Nieuport 28, similar to those flown in the filming
of Hell's Angels, earning a reputation for being
hazardous to fly because of the characteristics of
the LeRhone rotary engine. This particular plane,
when photographed, was part of the Cole Palen
collection. (Photo by Robert G. Elliott).
Group photo showing some of the 87 planes and
78 pilots who were engaged by Howard Hughes for
the filming of Hell's Angels. In the center is the
Sikorsky S29A, converted to resemble a German
Gotha bomber. Included in the photo are British
SE-5's, Fokker D- VI/'s, Nieuports and converted
Travel Airs. (Photo courtesy of C. E. Herberger).
I he wreckage of Stuart Murphy's plane laying in a
cow pasture, after the mid-air collision with Ira
Reed. (Photo courtesy of C. E. Herberger).
An outstanding characteristic was its ability to fly
very slowly and still retain sensitive control response. It
could literally hang on its prop in a steep climb, a
deadly maneuver against the underside of Allied planes.
Conversely, a plane that ruined many a pilot was the
French Nieuport 28. Garland Lincoln owned the
Nieuports flown in the picture. One day Garland said .. .
of one Nieuport. .. "There's a little vibration here" ...so
we took off the cowl and looked. Of the fourteen bolts
that should have secured the LeRhone rotary to the
motor mount, there were only three left. ..no wonder
there was vibration.
That's another thing the youngsters of today don't
believe...the rotary engine. The engine rotation acted to
create a gyroscopic effect. ..a positive reason why you
never made turns to the right at low altitude without
being very careful to counteract that tremendous pull to
the right. Those old LeRhones could not be idled with
retarded throttle as was the custom on conventional
engines. So .. . on top of the stick was what we called a
blip-button, which cut out each alternate cylinder, thus
reducing power. Instead of the sharp staccato exhaust in
normal operation, the blip switch created a succession of
"Thrruupp...thrruupp . ..thrruupp, blasts. It was this
tremendous torque which caused a near fatal accident
during the fil ming of Hell 's Angels.
Howard Hughes decided he wanted to takeoff in...as
I recall. . . either a Thomas Morse or a Nieuport, down
the line of hangars and do a right Chandelle up over the
hangars. When the flight crew was informed of his inten-
tion... we all tried to talk him out of it, judging that he,
being a novice pilot, would be attempting a very dan-
gerous maneuver.
There was no stopping Hughes however. The more we
cautioned him, the more excited he became...and in
those days his voice rose to a high pitch falsetto as he
finally cried ..."Oh ...you bunch of damn pansy pilots
... "1'11 show you how to do it".
I was near him when he started to climb into the
plane and I said ... "Howard, don 't try it now . .. we
know the risk", but he said, "I'll do it".. _as he settled
himself in the cockpit.
Next thing we knew, his chocks were pull ed and he
went barreling down the field just in front of the hang-
ars."
"As Hughes lifted off, he began a tight climbing turn
to the ri ght and WHAM . .. he went righ t into the side of a
hangar. We were all running towards the wreckage by
then and thinking to ourselves ..."My God ... there goes
our Angel". All there was to see was a pile of fabric,
splintered wood, tubing and lots of smoke. We just stood
there momentarily stunned. Fortunately there was no
fire.
Suddenly the pile of junk erupted and out staggered
Hughes with hardly a scratch. We were so shocked with
his sudden appearance that Hughes broke the silence
with his falsetto voice, remarking ... "Well. .. 1 guess you
knew what you were talking about".
As I was leafing through Clint's collection of pho-
tographs, a group photo of many Hell's Angels planes
prompted Clint to continue.
"That group photo included many of our 87 planes
and our 78 pilots. Across the front are the pilots, guess I
was somewhere near the middle. Behind, in the center
was the converted Sikorsky S29A, made to appear as a
German Gotha bomber. The two light colored planes
near the front were authentic SE-5's. Behind are four
Fokker D-VII' s, while the rest were not only authentic
Nieuport 28's but also converted Travel Airs.
Filming another Hell's Angels couldn't be done
today, I'm sure. In the first place there wouldn't be
enough old planes that could be made airworthy, and
the newer ones, converted, would fly too fast. At one
time during the main dog-fight sequence, we had fifty
planes within camera view ...all milling about, one upon
the other's tail_ . . or spinning down out of action."
Interrupting Clint for a moment I questioned how
they communicated the complicated directions to each
pilot from the lead camera plane.
To wh ich Clint repli ed ..."Each scene was di-
agrammed on a blackboard with all participating pilots
present. Much the same as football plays are planned.
Each plane's move was thoroughly planned before we
went up. As a backup, we'd all memori ze an alternate
scene, just in case the clouds weren't exactly right for
camera, or something else had prevented our following
the original plan. We would communicate by hand sig-
nals in such an instance and change to the alternate
scene, which indeed ... we did frequently.
During the filming of Hell' s Angels we had relatively
few accidental crashes. There was one though that stands
out in my memory . . . as I very nearly became a part of
it" ... chuckled Clint.
He had flipped through the photo co ll ection and had
17
stopped to study a pil e of wreckage on a hilly field.
"That wreck is the resu lt of a near fatal mi shap and it
happen ed over the foothills near Oak land, Cali fornia.
Actually, this pil e of junk was in th e middl e of a cow
pasture.
The day's shooting was pl anned around a dog fight
with 50 planes. Stuart Murphy and I were German, and
Ira Reed was the Briti sh. Stuart, ahead of me, was
making the proper attack on Ira, when suddenl y, he
dove down and went right t hrough the upper and lower
left wings of Ira's plane. It all happened right in front of
me and I damn near was the third vict im, but luckil y
managed to pull up over them as they split apart. As I
came abo ut I saw Stuart bailout so I fo ll owed him down
to make sure he safely landed.
Ira, in the meantime, was limping along down coun-
try looking for a likely land ing place. Darn if he didn't
make it too ...and all the more miraculous because his
converted Travel Airhad a broken mai n spar in his top
wing.
"Talking it over with Ira soon after he landed I as ked,
" Ira. . . why in heck didn't you bail ouP", to which he
responded in a murmur.. ." 1 was afra id to". But he
never ad mitted it to anyone else", chuckled Clint .
We all went back to that pasture to pick up the pieces
of Stuart's plane. The whee ls were about all we cou ld
fi nd that were useable. I mpact had been on top of a low
rise in the pasture fu ll of cows. When they saw this
monster fal ling upon them, they took off with tails high
and not a one was hurt.
The Unit manager and all of us, for that matter, fully
ex pected we'd find an irate farmer ready to sue, but
instead . . . he came to meet us laughing way down in his
boots. "You know" .. . he gasped .. . "every one of those
darn cows will go dr y fro m th at scare". He really thought
it was hilarious ... much to our rei ief.
"For the record , Clint" . .. 1 continued as he fell silent
a moment.. ." 1 suppose the background of that Sikorsky
should be clarified somewhat. Your photo of this
re-constructed pl ane shows it in its final configuration,
that of resembling a German Gotha bomber.
The Sikorsky S29-A was built in 1924 by Igor
Sikorsky, his first aircraft built in America after im-
migrating from his native Russ ia. Igor struggled for
months to finance and build that 14 passenger, 100 mph
commerical aircraft. He flew it successfully on more
than 200 flights, carrying both passengers and freight,
.s
I."" ,th",,!",.t




'\.:J ..
. I' 141-e 14
Group photo of a number of pilots who figured prom-
inently in the filming of Hell 's Angels standing beside the
conllerted Sikorsky S29A. Clinton E. Herberger is first to
the right of the skull. (Photo courtesy of C. E. Herberger).
proving its commercial worth to many skeptics. TO BE CONTINUED IN MARCH ISSUE
In 1926 Roscoe Turner bought the S29-A for
A Sillier Eagle
$11,000, a sizeable sum in those days. Roscoe flew it on
Clinton E. Herberger
various money mak ing ventures for nearly two years
until he entered into the sales agreement with Howard
Hughes in 1928. The Sillier Eagle series is an honorary deSignation of the
The S29-A was to star in the picture, though in doing Florida Chapter, the series being researched and written
so... its career would be ended." by Robert G. Elliott, Associate Editor.
18
Above: A typical "pick-up" on an early air mail flight.
Note the Model T Fords.
(Continued from Page 6)
The pilot of the first airplane out of New York was E.
J. Leonhardt. He discovered that his aircraft could not
develop full power, and with the prevailing bad weather,
he chose to execute a forced landing somewhat south of
Du Bois, Penn. The second fl ight made it to Ch icago
where weather conditions also forced its termination.
The second eastbound fl ight was piloted by F arr
Nutter. He broke the earth's bonds at 4:29 a.m., San
Francisco time. His cruising altitude reached 12,000 feet
so that he could clear the peaks of the Sierra Mountains
and landed at Reno as the sun was rising, 6:45 a.m. With
the mail loaded onto another plane, pilot Jack Eaton left
Reno at 6:55 a.m. for the second leg of the flight. He
reached Elko at 9:24 a.m., refueled, and departed at
9:31 a.m. His leg was completed upon his landing at Salt
Lake City at 11 :30 a.m. Pilot James Murray, also with
another DH-4, throttled up his 400-horsepower Amer-
ican Liberty powerplant, and took off at 12: 37 p. m.
The DH-4 these pilots were flying at this time were
reconverted Army armed observation planes used during
World War I. They were constructed of wood, their
fabric coverings replaced by natural finish birch plywood
for use by the air mail service. The open-cockpit biplane
had been lightened during reconversion. As a result, it
could carry 500 Ibs of mail in the area where the observ-
er's seat had been. The limited fuel capacity, 100 gal-
lons, gave the workhorse a range of only 350 miles max-
imum. This meant that the refueling stops were too fre-
quent to please the pilots. The alternative, however, was
even less desirable.
Instrumentation consisted of a compass, airspeed in-
dicator, tachometer, altimeter, ignition switch, and
Above: jack Knight beside his plane, with his
name stenciled on the wooden side.
water temperature gauge. Only the latter two could be
considered reliable. Although it wasn't much, it was a
beginning.
Jimmy Murray touched down at Cheyenne, Wyoming
at 4:57 p.m. From Cheyenne, pilot Frank Yaeger took
over, and left that field at 4:59 p.m. He made North
Platte, Nebr. by 7:48 p.m. Jack Knight was waiting to
begin his segment .
Jack had already flown his usual day flight from
Omaha to Cheyenne. He had to depart immediately
from Cheyenne for North Platte to meet Yaeger. Knight
was to fly the important payload on to Omaha. He had
had no sleep and no supper when he met Yaeger after
the latter landed at North Platte.
Although Yaeger was there at 4:48, there were
complications with Knight's plane. Three hours of
19
Above: Jack Knight after arriving in
Chicago on the 20th anniversary of
his epic flight.
mechanic's time was required to get the engine started
and running properly. Also, a tail skid was being
replaced.
The pilot also had problems; he had a broken nose
and other injuries sustained in a landing mishap seven
days previous.
The North Platte-to-Omaha leg finally began at 10:44
p.m., in the dark. Knight climbed to 2,200 feet. "I
didn't dare go any higher because land markings were
barely discernible from this level ," he said. "Through
occasional slits in the clouds I caught glimpses of the
Filling the radiator
dim silver thread of the Platte River. It was my guide."
The other major navigation aid was bonfires, which were
lighted by enthusiastic farmers and chambers of com-
merce along the proposed route. The postal service had
requested the fires, and cooperation was enthusiastic.
"All along the route were bonfires built to serve as bea-
cons and I fel t as if I had a thousand friends on the
grou nd . . . Lexington, Kearney, Grand Island,
Columbus, Fremont slipped by, warm glows of well-
wishers beneath the plane's wings," Knight said. "And
then I saw the lights of Omaha. The field was magnif-
icently illuminated. There were at least 2,000 persons at
the airport to welcome me -- indicating the true enthu-
siasm for the mail." Blazing gasoline drums guided Jack
to his touchdown at 1 :10 in the morning of the 23rd. " I
climbed out of the ship thinking only of supper and
sleep."
So much for routine. Inside was Bill Votaw, Omaha
airport manager , who related the news that Knight's
relief pilot had failed to make the trip from Chicago to
Omaha. Also, he found out that the westbound flights
20
Below: Jack Knight ready to take off on U.S. air
mail route. Note the poor forward visibility.
Above: Reno, Nev., U.S. air mail stop.
were both snowbou nd. Jack m uttered to Votaw, "I t's
too damn bad to get halfway across the continent and
have the flight fizzle out. I'm going to take this mail on
to Chicago." Votaw felt the fli ght should be terminated
and Jack pleaded to be allowed to continue. Against
continuing were the facts that: 1) no bonfires would be
available along the route, 2) the weather was atrocious,
3) Knight had never flown the route before .- even
during the day, 4) Knight was already exhausted, and 5)
the on ly map available was an old railroad map. The
only factor for continuation was that this flight was
required to secure the future of the air mail service. Jack
won his point. He studied the map and his plane was
refueled. "It was one minute before 2:00 a.m. when I
opened the throttle and skimmed away from the Omaha
field."
A strong crosswind from the north compl icated
navigation. "From here on I was flying over territory
absolutely strange," he said. "I knew nothing of the land
markings', even if they had been visibl e. I had to fly by
compass and by feel. I passed over Des Moines." Des
Moines was scheduled to be a refueling stop. In addition
to poor visibility, snow was deep on the Des Moines real
estate. Too deep to land. The fuel selector was switched
to the emergency tank. "By this time I was dead for lack
of sleep," Knight recalled. "I wanted to doze off. The
throbbing rhythm of the motor didn't help matters. It
was almost a lullaby. I gripped the control stick with my
knees and began slapping my face to keep awake. I stuck
my face over the side of the cowl and let the rush ing
zero air bite my cheeks almost raw.
" It was a new danger that restored my wakefulness,
however, fog. I dropped to low altitude trying to catch
a glimpse of some kind of marker. The landing gear
grazed a treetop. I tried again, praying that this time it
wouldn't be the ground. Luckily, I spotted a railroad
track. I followed it because I thought it would lead me
to Iowa City.
"There was a break in the clouds and I saw lights
which I thought to be I.e. but I couldn't find a field.
The gasoline was running low. I think it was good for
about five more minutes . . . I just kept circling. Then I
spotted a red flare. I t might have been for a railroad
train, but I had to take the chance and went down. The
flare was planted in the center of the field and I made a
rather rough landing." This was Iowa City. All the
ground personnel, thinking the flight was cancelled in
Omaha, had left the field. The one remaining person, the
night watchman, had heard the twelve pounding cyl-
inders above and lit the red flare. The landing was at
4:45 a.m.
The watchman helped Knight refuel the DH-4's tanks.
They waited for the snow to let up a little. "A ham
sandwich and I was in the air again," Knight continued.
"I didn't dare eat any more for fear it would put me to
sleep. It was 6:30 a.m., Wednesday. The rest of the way
I flew by instinct. I just pointed the plane's nose for
Chicago and kept going. Snow whirled around the ship
for a wh ile and the wi nd blew stiff from the east. I twas
hellishly cold. But as the day grew brighter, I saw the
grey smoke of Chicago mixing with the clouds and it was
the finest sight I have ever beheld. Within sight of the
field, the motor started to sputter. I guess I could forgive
it then because the job was done."
"Go ahead and quit," Knight told the engine, "we'll
make it anyhow." And that they did, he landed at
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Checkerboard Field in Maywood at 8:40 in the morning,
February 23. The Buchanan native, had to have his
clothes cut loose to get out of the cockpit and was
greeted by a wild crowd welcoming a hero. It was a
jubilant scene, but his mod est statement to the news
medi a was, "I happened to be the man on the spot, but
anyone of the rest of the fellows would have done what
I did. We all knew how important this flight is, and we
are all deter mined to make it succeed. Too many pilots
have sacrificed their lives flying the mai l during the past
couple of years to let this thing fold up. This isn't just a
case of 'the mail must go through '; the whole idea of the
transcontinental airway is at stake."
The news immed iately began to spread nation-wide.
Head lines procl aimed him as a hero. From Chicago, pilot
Jac k Webster left at 9:00 a.m. and arrived at Cleveland
at 12:52 p.m. Ernest M. Allison took off from Cleveland
at 1 :03 p.m. and ended the transcontinental flight at
4:49 p.m. at Hazelhurst Field on Long Island.
It took 33 hou, sand 20 minutes to cover the 2,629
miles. Average speed was 104 mph (with a flying time of
25 hours and 16 minutes). The first night air mail flight
was mad e. The coast-to-coast time of delivery was more
than halved. One pilot had given his life.
As a result of the last two day's events, the American
public was sure that air mail was here to stay. Congress
was impressed and approved $1.25 million for the
continuation and expansion of the Air Mail Service and
for airway lighting. The Congress also began work on
legi slation governing civil aviation. The flight was a
terrific success -- a success made possible by the
determination, the skill, and, perhaps, the luck of Jack
Knight.
For many years after his historic flight, Jack Knight
continued the battle to moderni ze the airways and make
the job of navigation less a life-a nd-death proposition.
Two-way radio communications was in the works, too.
In the fall of 1923, Jack flew the same route, at night,
but this time there were operating beacons and he had
radios aboard. It must have seemed like a milkrun.
Left: jack Knight and Henry Ford in re-
enactment offirst through day andnightcoast-
to-coastairmailflight.
His long distance flights were not ended either. Also
in 1923, he made another important flight, flying 960
miles in 14 hours, from Cheyenne to Buchanan, to be at
the bedside of his dyi ng father.
Later, he became a pilot for United Airlines. He
retired from fulltime flying in 1937 to take the job of
Director of Public Education for United, after having
flown 2,400,000 miles without an accident. Retirement
followed several years later.
World War II brought Jack again into service. He flew
to South America to get rubber for war materials; he
contracted malaria while on this mission. After the war
had ended, Jack took a severe fall while at a lecture. The
injuries suffered in that fall precipitated his death from
malaria on February 24, 1945, in his mother's home. He
was only 53. At his previous request, his ashes were
scattered from an airplane over Lake Michigan.
His memory has lived on. In 1967, the city of Omaha
conducted a re-enactment of Knight's flight from
Cheyenne to Omaha. That city and North Platte had
declared Jack Knight Days. And now, the Jack Knight
Memorial Chapel in Buchanan will honor him for poster-
ity.
Because of Jack Knight' s outstand ing service and
because of the example he set, it is understandable that
his successor air mail pilots proudly took on the motto,
Civis Aerius Sum -- "I am a citizen of the air."
Below: Crowd atone ofthe stops on the coast-
to-coastairmailflightre-enactment.
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