![]() I was standing on the step with my head in theĬockpit and my leg mindful of the soon to be very hot exhaust stack. Through the start sequence and the engine lit up almost instantly after a Glenn climbed over the side easily finding the step below the longĮxhaust stack (he has done this before) and plopped into the seat. Glenn's craftsmanship and Al's vision is impressive. Magnificent and restored to a high standard in Robertson mail plane livery. Other aircraft could have prepared me better for my pending Boeing 40C testĪfter a wonderful Creve Coeur Sunday lunch prepared by Al Stix andĪnnounced by the familiar dinner bell we made our way to Glenn Pecks hangerĪnd the awaiting 1919 deHavilland DH4-M2 mail plane. These aircraft cross county on daily mail runs. I had flashīacks to Lindbergh, Jack Knight ,Dean Smith and "Wild" Bill Hopson flying St Louis is burned into in my brain for the rest of my life. Vision of looking down that long DH nose at Lambert Field from 1000 ft over This wonderful gift was deeply felt with emotion and careful thought. ![]() Of my 38 years and 10,000+ hours of flight time (mostly in the old stuff). The restorer of the airplane for one of my most memorable flying experiences Other aircraft, manufactured by companies such as Douglas, Ford and Boeing, helped provide airmail with the steady reliability that was needed to make the service something Americans could count on day in and day out.įirst of all I want to thank Al Stix the owner of the DH4 and Glenn Peck Some, like the twin de Havilland and Junkers-Larsen JL-6, proved deadly to the service's pilots. These JN-4 "Jennies" and de Havilland airplanes, originally designed for military use, had to be modified to meet the demands of regularly scheduled airmail service.įirst the postal service, then private companies, commissioned airplanes designed for the rigorous demands of Air Mail Service. The fad of carrying mail through the air had moved from balloon to heavier than air craft, and was about to take its next steps.Īfter World War I, surplus army airplanes were donated to the Post Office Department for airmail use. The same year, Henri Pequet carried airmail in India, while Gustav Hamel flew mail in England. Fred Wiseman and Earle Ovington of the U.S. Only eight years after the Wright Brothers' historic flight at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, airplanes were carrying mail on experimental, semi-official trips. NOTE If your screen is jumping, stop the slide show at the bottom of the page!įrom single to triple engine crafts, biplanes to single wingled airplanes, an assortment of airplanes were used to carry the mail.
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