Ed. High School, 1 yr of college His first wife Berndine [Myers] was killed in a car accident in 1928 prev. Corporal in US Army Apr 1917 to Feb 1919, then a charter pilot He competed in the 1937 Bendix Air Derby from Los Angeles to Cleveland, (won by Frank Fuller) but damaged his Beechcraft in a ground-loop, and in the following year (won by Jaqueline Cochran, later of the ATA) he finished outside the time allowed for completion. For the 1939 race, he was due to fly Amelia Earhart's old Lockheed Vega but it was by then too slow to be competitive and he withdrew before the start. In 1939, he was one of "about 20 people in the world who make a living as 'sky-writers' - using smoke to write letters a mile long at 125mph." In May he wrote a new record-length message of 23 letters: HELLO NAVY - DRINK PEPSI-COLA to welcome the fleet home to Wilmington, CA. On 6 Jun 1940, he flew Beechcraft Staggerwing NC16441 from Turtle Bay, Mexico to Lindbergh Field, San Diego, CA Address in 1940: Grapevine, Texas; later 24 W 55 St, New York. Postings: 1FPP, 6FPP One accident: 25 October 1940, when he did a wheels-up landing in a Fairey Battle after engine failure. Seconded to AtFero 20 Mar 1941 He held the record for a Montreal to Scotland crossing, 19hrs 50min. His flights for AtFero as an ATA pilot in 1941 include:
He was still a ferry pilot in Mar 1945, then returned to airline flying, then real estate. d. 1981 - San Bernadino, CA Download ATA Pilot Personal Record (.zip file): |
1930
1939
