Airmail Odyssey

Three historic mailplanes commemorated the anniversary of U.S. airmail by tracing the original coast-to-coast route.

  • By Linda Shiner
  • AirSpaceMag.com, September 08, 2008
 
$Alt

George Perks

Photo Gallery (1/0)

Addison Pemberton

The 2008 Flight

90 Years of Airmail

Video Gallery

The First Day of Airmail, 1918

The First Day of Airmail, 1918

President Wilson was on hand for the inaugural ceremonies.


Build a Mailplane in 37 Seconds

Build a Mailplane in 37 Seconds

Time-lapse view of a Boeing 40C restoration


Air Mail Service ca. 1923

Flying the Air Mail ca. 1923

An early Post Office documentary on Air Mail.


Related Links


More from AirSpaceMag.com

One chapter of American history has everything you could ask for in a national epic: visionary leaders, triumph over technological hurdles, exploration of the unknown, heroes skillfully battling an implacable foe. The action wasn’t directed by the military or by NASA, however, but by the U.S. Post Office. The establishment of airmail service in the United States, 90 years ago last May, is a whopper of a story, yet it hasn’t had the attention that historians and filmmakers have paid to the U.S. space program, say, or the expansion of the West, or World War II. Somebody call Ken Burns.

In a way, that’s what Addison Pemberton is doing this week as he retraces the first U.S. coast-to-coast airmail route, flying a mailplane built only 10 years after the first mail flights of 1918. Pemberton will carry 700 envelopes that will receive special cancellations from postal representatives to commemorate the flight. With a daily blog and historical features drawing from Smithsonian archives, this Web site will follow his group’s progress—from the first stop in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on September 10, to the last stop in San Francisco on September 15.

Pemberton, owner of a Spokane-based manufacturing company, has been flying since he was 15 and is a collector of vintage aircraft. (He has restored 19.) He likes all open-cockpit, round-engine varieties, but his favorites have always been the machines that carried the U.S. Mail. On the reenactment, he’ll fly his Boeing Air Transport, one of the early companies awarded a government contract to deliver mail. It is the great grandaddy of today’s 747s, one of the first aircraft to carry paying passengers along with a load of letters, and key to the Boeing Company’s eventual success. Pemberton’s is the only one flying today.

Two other pilots will fly mailplanes on the cross-country trip: Larry Tobin of Colbert, Washington, will fly the oldest airworthy Stearman biplane, a 1927 Stearman C3B, and Ben Scott will fly a 1930 Stearman 4E Speedmail. (Scott and Pemberton, who also owns a Speedmail, flew the pair on a reenactment flight in 1993 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of airmail.)

Pemberton inherited his enthusiasm for mailplanes from his dad. “My father grew up in Greenfield, Iowa,” he says, “a town between Omaha and Iowa City”—two stops on the transcontinental route the early mailplanes flew. “Every bedtime story I heard had something to do with the airmail.”

There could hardly be a more colorful crew than the pilots who flew for the Post Office during the first years of airmail. There was Frank Yager, who once flew in fog so heavy that he landed and taxied for 35 miles across the prairie, getting airborne only to hop fences; Slim Lewis, who was said to have been able to fly better drunk than most pilots could sober; and Homer Berry, who, until he got caught, ran an unauthorized taxi business from Laramie to Rawlins, Wyoming by charging passengers $50 to ride in the mail pit.

To get a good idea of the personality types attracted to the job, look at Nathaniel Dewell’s photograph of pilot William “Wild Bill” Hopson, one of the most iconic portraits in American art, or read Dean Smith’s memoir By the Seat of My Pants. Of a two-ship mission he once flew with William Hopson he wrote:

Not long out we noticed a film of ice forming on the struts, wires, and entering edges of the wings; but it built up slowly…. I saw Bill signal that he was going to land, and I followed him into a large pasture.

Since it had taken over half an hour to accumulate that much ice, if we could get the ice off we ought to be able to go another half hour and land again. We found some clubs along the fence row and beat off the ice as well as we could, organized a team to crank our propellers from the inevitable spectators, and took off. It went as planned.  Ice slowly formed…, Bill pointed to a pasture; we landed; we hacked off the ice, and soon we were again in the air.

Pemberton’s childhood hero was mail pilot Jack Knight. Of the many courageous fliers, why Knight?

“Because Jack Knight saved the airmail!” Pemberton says. “Jack Knight is the airmail hero.”

One chapter of American history has everything you could ask for in a national epic: visionary leaders, triumph over technological hurdles, exploration of the unknown, heroes skillfully battling an implacable foe. The action wasn’t directed by the military or by NASA, however, but by the U.S. Post Office. The establishment of airmail service in the United States, 90 years ago last May, is a whopper of a story, yet it hasn’t had the attention that historians and filmmakers have paid to the U.S. space program, say, or the expansion of the West, or World War II. Somebody call Ken Burns.

In a way, that’s what Addison Pemberton is doing this week as he retraces the first U.S. coast-to-coast airmail route, flying a mailplane built only 10 years after the first mail flights of 1918. Pemberton will carry 700 envelopes that will receive special cancellations from postal representatives to commemorate the flight. With a daily blog and historical features drawing from Smithsonian archives, this Web site will follow his group’s progress—from the first stop in Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, on September 10, to the last stop in San Francisco on September 15.

Pemberton, owner of a Spokane-based manufacturing company, has been flying since he was 15 and is a collector of vintage aircraft. (He has restored 19.) He likes all open-cockpit, round-engine varieties, but his favorites have always been the machines that carried the U.S. Mail. On the reenactment, he’ll fly his Boeing Air Transport, one of the early companies awarded a government contract to deliver mail. It is the great grandaddy of today’s 747s, one of the first aircraft to carry paying passengers along with a load of letters, and key to the Boeing Company’s eventual success. Pemberton’s is the only one flying today.

Two other pilots will fly mailplanes on the cross-country trip: Larry Tobin of Colbert, Washington, will fly the oldest airworthy Stearman biplane, a 1927 Stearman C3B, and Ben Scott will fly a 1930 Stearman 4E Speedmail. (Scott and Pemberton, who also owns a Speedmail, flew the pair on a reenactment flight in 1993 to celebrate the 75th anniversary of airmail.)

Pemberton inherited his enthusiasm for mailplanes from his dad. “My father grew up in Greenfield, Iowa,” he says, “a town between Omaha and Iowa City”—two stops on the transcontinental route the early mailplanes flew. “Every bedtime story I heard had something to do with the airmail.”

There could hardly be a more colorful crew than the pilots who flew for the Post Office during the first years of airmail. There was Frank Yager, who once flew in fog so heavy that he landed and taxied for 35 miles across the prairie, getting airborne only to hop fences; Slim Lewis, who was said to have been able to fly better drunk than most pilots could sober; and Homer Berry, who, until he got caught, ran an unauthorized taxi business from Laramie to Rawlins, Wyoming by charging passengers $50 to ride in the mail pit.

To get a good idea of the personality types attracted to the job, look at Nathaniel Dewell’s photograph of pilot William “Wild Bill” Hopson, one of the most iconic portraits in American art, or read Dean Smith’s memoir By the Seat of My Pants. Of a two-ship mission he once flew with William Hopson he wrote:

Not long out we noticed a film of ice forming on the struts, wires, and entering edges of the wings; but it built up slowly…. I saw Bill signal that he was going to land, and I followed him into a large pasture.

Since it had taken over half an hour to accumulate that much ice, if we could get the ice off we ought to be able to go another half hour and land again. We found some clubs along the fence row and beat off the ice as well as we could, organized a team to crank our propellers from the inevitable spectators, and took off. It went as planned.  Ice slowly formed…, Bill pointed to a pasture; we landed; we hacked off the ice, and soon we were again in the air.

Pemberton’s childhood hero was mail pilot Jack Knight. Of the many courageous fliers, why Knight?

“Because Jack Knight saved the airmail!” Pemberton says. “Jack Knight is the airmail hero.”

Under enormous pressure from Congress to prove in February 1921 that transcontinental airmail delivery was worth the money appropriated for it—that it was consistently faster than train delivery—Knight pulled the first all-nighter for the air service. Having already flown his assigned 248-mile leg from North Platte, Nebraska, to Omaha, Knight volunteered for a second leg, in weather so bad the pilot scheduled for the route refused to fly. Taking off at about two in the morning with only a compass and the conviction that the mail must get through, Knight flew over territory he’d never flown before, lighted occasionally by bonfires that ordinary citizens had set to help show the way. He fought to stay awake, he later told reporters, once trying to fend off sleep “by hammering my own face.” He flew through snow, then in rough air as low as 100 feet above the ground in order to see the railroad tracks he followed into Iowa City. Once there, he spent 10 minutes “dodging steeples” until he located the airfield and landed. He waited two hours for the weather to improve, but, facing a deadline, he took off again at 6:30 a.m. Two hours and 10 minutes later, Knight handed the mail off to another pilot in Chicago. He had been in the air for 10 of the 33 hours it took to make the coast-to-coast run. Aircraft had flown the trip in about a third of the time it would have taken the train. The demonstration secured Congressional funding that would start to build a national system of airway beacons and other enhancements that eventually made possible regular night flights.

Although Knight’s heroics stand out—and were a turning point for the air service—the conditions in which he flew were typical of what the early pilots faced. Otto Praeger, the man in charge of airmail for the Post Office, knew that the speed aircraft offered was not enough. Congressional and public support would continue only if deliveries became daily and dependable. But Praeger was not a pilot and didn’t understand that a strong will simply couldn’t compensate for primitive equipment and dangerous weather.

In August 1918, the U.S. Army backed away from the mail service, after only three months of flying, because of the tension between the demand for daily service and the impossibility of flying in bad weather. It took another year for the inevitable showdown between Praeger and his civilian force. In July 1919, three days after a fatal crash in rain and fog, several pilots refused to fly from New York to Washington in similar weather. Praeger fired two of them without investigation, and the rest of the pilots went on strike, demanding a hearing. A compromise was reached—one of the fired pilots was reinstated, and future decisions on whether to fly would be made not by Praeger or any another bureaucrat in Washington but by managers in the field—but it did little to decrease the hazards of flying the mail. Thirty-two pilots were killed during their service, most of them in crashes caused by weather.

The Post Office nursed the air mail service through a troubled infancy before handing it off to private companies in 1925. The first eight years saw a number of critical developments: a national system of airway beacons connecting lighted airfields, new navigational aids and more capable airplanes, and a corps of pilots seasoned from years of following now-familiar routes. These are the accomplishments that Addison Pemberton is celebrating this week in his six-day reenactment flight.

“My father used to say that that the mail flights were so regular you could set your watch by them,” Pemberton says. And the mailplane his father saw in the early 1930s flying over Iowa City and Omaha on Contract Mail Route 18 was the Boeing 40.

“I guess that planted the seed,” Pemberton says. In 1982 he visited the Henry Ford Museum in Dearborn, Michigan, and saw for the first time the airplane his dad had watched above the Iowa farm. “I studied the airplane for two days,” he says. “It was made of flat stock and round tubes. There were none of the forgings and castings that would have been prohibitive to a small operator like me.”

He came to the conclusion: “I can do this.” That year he started searching for a Boeing 40 to restore; 17 years later, he found one.

When Pemberton and his friend Ben Scott flew their Speedmails from Reno to Iowa City in 1993, they were greeted at stops along the way by anywhere from a hundred to a thousand people. “The amazing thing is that people would bring pictures of family members” who had been on hand when the airmail pilots first connected those cities.

Pemberton expects to see more photographs on next week’s cross-country trip. The photos are likely to express a little of the wonder people felt at the sight of an airplane in the early 1920s, when Charles Lindbergh was not an international celebrity but just one of the pilots who flew the mail. And who knows?  Maybe somebody will collect the photographs and make a documentary.

Check back with airspacemag.com beginnning this Thursday, September 11, to follow the pilots’ progress and read more about the history of airmail.


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Comments (38)

Addison and friends,
We're praying for your safety and cheering you on!!
The Staff of Life Center

Posted by Penny Kafflen on September 8,2008 | 02:34 PM

Absolutely amazing!! Having watched the progress of the Boeing 40C restoration, in person, it's fantastic to see it reenact its original existence with this cross country flight. What a rewarding feeling it must be! Wishing Addison, Larry and Ben safe travels and looking so forward to hearing your stories when you get home safe and sound.

Posted by Denise Rouleau on September 9,2008 | 04:43 PM

As the archivist for the Oregon Aviation Historical Society and a "died in the wool" lover of antique aircraft, my thoughts and prayers are with you three courageous, talented pilots as you "fly the mail" across the U.S. We are SO looking forward to seeing all of you in Cottage Grove. You are THE BEST!

Posted by Carol Skinner on September 9,2008 | 09:31 PM

Blue skies and tailwinds to you my friends! Can't wait to read of the progress along the way and wish you all a fantastic journey!

Posted by Ryan Keough on September 9,2008 | 09:41 PM

Addison,
With your restoration of the Boeing you've done something many though impossible. Your love of the early days of airmail, your piloting and restoration skills, plus your profession as an engineer made you uniquely qualified for the ressurection of the Boeing.

Some might say you were born 50 years too late. I say you were right on time to insure that exciting part of aviation history is brought to the attention of new generations of Americans.

God Speed. Have a safe flight.

John

Posted by John Boyle on September 9,2008 | 10:54 PM

Does anyone know how far they made it on the 10th? I'm trying to find out when they plan to stop in Bryan, Ohio (that's west of Toledo for you non-Buckeyes).

Posted by Jim Miller on September 11,2008 | 06:16 AM

Thank you Addison and all the others for continuing to keep the heritage of flight alive in this country. Though only a few hundred years old, no other country in the world can claim the aviation success's of the United States of America. And it's because of individuals like you who 'keep the dream of flight' alive.

God's speed and 'butter' air.

Posted by Dave Maxwell (USAF Retired) Now with Boeing on September 11,2008 | 11:22 AM

Addison, Ben,& Larry, one of the most "colorful"threesomes during the Air Tour of 2003 are at it again!! Great news indeed! Best of luck to all of you, what a great tribute to the early Air Mail Pilots. The airplanes are beautiful, pilots are wonderful,success has to be a "given"!
Have a great time! Phil

Posted by Phil Chastain on September 11,2008 | 11:50 AM

Larry, Addison and Ben,
Congrats on the progress of the Reenactment Airmail flight! We’re all cheering here at Bergstrom’s in Pasco, WA.

Come down to Pasco after some rest at home and Celebrate with us on Wed. Sept. 24th as static display with the Wings over Washington Airshow! www.wowairshow.com

We are honoring our local and military heroes with a Heroes Parade, USAF A-10 and F-15E Demonstrations, civilian performers and the Canadian Air Force Snowbirds 9 Jet Demonstration Team! It will be a great one-day show, Wed. 9/24 just down the way from you.

Malin Bergstrom
Volunteer Airshow Director
Wings over Washington AirShow presented by Robert Young
509-547-6271 work
509-547-7931 fax
509-521-7117 cell
W.O.W. AirShow - September 24, 2008 Tri-Cities Airport, Pasco WA.
www.wowairshow.com

Posted by Malin Bergstrom on September 11,2008 | 11:51 AM

Looking good guys - we're cooling the champagne! God Speed.

Posted by Arne Weinman on September 11,2008 | 12:15 PM

Working at Boeing Wichita we are well aware of the legacy that we have (Stearman & Boeing). Thank you for continuing in the "highest traditions" of the Heroes. God Speed.

Posted by Steve Luhnow on September 11,2008 | 03:12 PM

I was at the Bellefonte Airport and saw them yesterday around noon (Sept 10). They were leaving yesterday afternoon for Cleveland, unless they are flying at night I suppose they were going to stay there.

Posted by Bob Peters on September 11,2008 | 04:23 PM

Jim - I hope you made it to Bryan, OH in time for the landing this morning. I understand they had a very moving ceremony. I believe they got there about an hour and a half early - around 8:40am. They left Cleveland at 7 am in anticipation of bad weather ahead. They were warmly welcomed in Lansing, IL even though they got there 2 hours early. The entire crowd loved the talks given by the pilots and the planes were on their way - again - 2 hours ahead of schedule to beat the weather. As visibility diminished and the weather worsened, the 3 pilots decided to do the safe thing and land in Rochelle, IL - about 140 miles shy of their Iowa City destination. They will overnight there and will fly to Iowa City as soon as weather permits in the morning. I will post an update tomorrow.

Posted by Mary Weber, USPS on September 11,2008 | 08:16 PM

I enjoyed talking with you on the radio as you approached Capital City Airport in Harrisonburg, PA the other day. I was in a Helio, returning from a missions event in Vermont. I remember my half hour helping as you prepared to mount the engine on 339 last September. Glen and I were in Spokane for just a day and we visited you at the hangar. Trust all will go well on the "Airmail Tour". We'll follow your progress. Best wishes and prayers go with you all.

Posted by Mike Mower on September 11,2008 | 09:44 PM

Thanks for restoring those wonderful airplanes and for highlighting the story of the brave air mail pilots who flew them. It was Pittsburgh's congressman Clyde Kelly who sponsored the Kelly Air Mail Act in '26 that provided funds for civilian air mail and finally made flying it profitable. Because of the airmail stipends, passenger flying grew, and these small operations later became the major airlines.
Clifford Ball Airlines, now part of United, had airmail Contract Route 17 out of Pittsburgh. One of the planes, a retored WACO 7 hangs in the rotunda of Pittsburgh International.

Godspeed you on your historic journey.

Posted by Erik Wagner, Past Pres, Aero Club of Pittsburgh on September 11,2008 | 09:47 PM

In 1932 my dad would take me to the Springfirld, Ohio Municipal Airport at night to see the mail plane come in.
I was 7yrs old at the time, but was already bitten by "the bug". We would park close to the fence, and I could see the
pilot climb out and go into the operations shack. Even in snowy weather , because I can recall the gloud of snow he would produce when he picked the tail off the ground to do a 180 to line up with the runway, prior to takeoff.The pilot loked like a teddy bear in the huge flying suit, as he waddled to and from the plane. Great memorie from a truly
pioneering era in aviation history. Scenes like I just described inspired me to pursue a career in the aviation field that lasted 60 yrs of my life. From a J2 Cub to Air Force fighters.
Thanks for the memories.
Bill Lindsay

Posted by William C. Lindsay on September 11,2008 | 11:29 PM

Larry the Stearman looks fntastic, possibly the best one in the World.
Good luck and safe landings, we'll see you at Jack and Dan's.Wayne Gibson 09-11-08

Posted by Wayne Gibson on September 11,2008 | 11:31 PM

Larry the Stearman looks fntastic, possibly the best one in the World.
Good luck and safe landings, we'll see you at Jack and Dan's.Wayne Gibson 09-11-08

Posted by Wayne Gibson on September 11,2008 | 11:31 PM

we love you at lansing airport

Posted by paul on September 12,2008 | 08:56 AM

Hi Big Brother Larry, Your family is with you all the way. Travel safely and have a great trip. Remember Mom is with you every step of the way, as are we all.HANG IN THERE!


LOVE AND LOTS OF PRAYERS ARE WITH YOU AND THE OTHERS, YOUR SISTER AND FAMILY FROM PASCO

Posted by Kathy Corbin on September 13,2008 | 01:58 PM

ADDISON, LARRY, BEN, AL AND WENDY
NICE GOING ALL. WE ARE ALL FOLLOWING YOUR ROUTE AS WE ARE RESTORING MORE OF THE OLD ONES HERE AT THE KANSAS AVIATION MUSEUM IN WICHITA. IT SEEMS ALMOST IMPOSSIBLE THAT THE 40C AND THE C-3B ARE DOING THIS WITH BEN'S 4E AFTER SEEING THEM UNASSEMBLED IN SPOKANE LESS THAN A YEAR AGO.

GOD SPEED
WALT HOUSE
CURATOR, KANSAS AVIATION MUSEUM

Posted by WALTER D. HOUSE on September 13,2008 | 02:41 PM

I heard on the radio this morning that the flights were delayed across Wyoming because of weather. September 19th was mentioned as a possible date. Where can I get more detailed news of the flight to make sure I don't miss them at the stop I heard was planned for Rock Springs, Wyoming?

Thanks,
Don

Posted by Don Larson on September 13,2008 | 07:38 PM

God speed to the three of you. Looking forward to your stop in Utah next week. (Thanks for the up-date, Addison.)
Your cousin, George Pemberton

Posted by George Pemberton on September 13,2008 | 09:43 PM

It's Sunday 09/14 and I have been trying for 2 days to find out when and where in San Francisco the three planes will arrive. I have even tried to call Hayward Airport (no answer), S F Newspapers, etc.etc. It has been to no avail. Again I will be missing an event because the information does not seem to be accessible. Crissy Field or SFO were given as possibilities, neither has been confirmed as far as I know. I was really looking forward to the event. Sorry, I can not comment on the "Odyssee".
Susan Eisen.

Posted by susan eisen on September 14,2008 | 03:18 PM

The planes have been grounded by weather in Rochelle, IL since Thursday night. We are keeping our fingers crossed that they will be able to get out this morning (Monday). The hope is that they will reach Iowa City, Omaha and North Platte today(Monday); then on to Cheyenne, Rawlins and Rock Springs on Tuesday - probably arriving in Rock Springs by 5 pm. Then on Wed. the plan is to go from Rock Springs to Salt Lake City to Elko then on to Reno. The last leg is projected to be on Thursday from Reno to Hayward, CA.

Posted by Mary Weber, USPS on September 15,2008 | 08:35 AM

Are mail planed due into Cheyenne today Monday - when?

Duke

Posted by Duke Sumonia on September 15,2008 | 09:39 AM

Susan - Arrival at Hayward, CA airport is anticipated to be on Thursday morning around 11 or 11:30.
Duke - Arrival in Cheyenne is now anticipated to be around 10am on Tuesday.

The planes are expected in Iowa City today by about noon (They think they will be able to leave Rochelle within the hour) and then will be on to Omaha and North Platte today.

Posted by Mary Weber, USPS on September 15,2008 | 10:28 AM

Please update us out here in Hayward CA. We want to give them a warm greeting when they arrive (with mail).
Vic Neves
USPS VMF Hayward

Posted by vicneves on September 15,2008 | 10:40 AM

I went all the way to Oshkosh this summer to see the 40C, but somehow missed it. What a treat to see it arrive at Bellefonte last Wednesday, just a few miles from my home town of State College. My AirVenture experience for this year is now complete! Many of my old pilot buddies were also there. We are all avid aviation history buffs, and we enjoyed the experience immensely.

Skip Smith
(retired Penn State Aerospace Engineering Prof)

Posted by Hubert C. "Skip" Smith on September 15,2008 | 02:21 PM

The TWA family is all the way rooting for the 3 of you. Larry, the retired TWA pilot-you make the TWA family so proud of you. We look forward to your tales when you join us for the annual Xmas luncheon. We love you and looking forward to seeing you in Hayward on Thursday!

Posted by StillJetBoy on September 15,2008 | 10:18 PM

The TWA family is all the way rooting for the 3 of you. Larry, the retired TWA pilot-you make the TWA family so proud of you. We look forward to your tales when you join us for the annual Xmas luncheon. We love you and looking forward to seeing you in Hayward on Thursday!

Posted by StillJetBoy on September 15,2008 | 10:18 PM

Although the planes finally escaped the weather in Rochelle and had very successful stops in Iowa City and Omaha, they ran out of daylight before North Platte and overnighted in Grand Island, NE. They will be off early this morning and should arrive in North Platte by 8:30 or 9am. The local times anticipated for the rest of today's stops are:
Cheyenne - between 11:30-12:30; Rawlins - between 2:30-4pm; Rock Springs - between 5:30-7pm.

Posted by Mary Weber, USPS on September 16,2008 | 09:09 AM

On Sept 10th, Larry, your trio flew into Cleveland, OH (Burke Lakefront Airport). How exciting! I wish more people could have been on hand. The planes are in super condition and a sight to behold! I love the old planes because my father not only built his own, but it is said he flew air mail from Cleveland to Tampa as a fill-in, not on a regular basis. It was a dangerous business - and we are forever indebted to those courageous pilots. Blessings for safe travel as you cross the country and thanks for sharing your flying passion with Cleveland and the IWASM members. It was a great experience.

Posted by Jill West on September 16,2008 | 10:36 AM

On September 16 the three fantastic mail plans arrived in Cheyenne, WY. The weather was beautiful with sunshine and light winds. Light winds are unusual here in southeast Wyoming but somehow Mother Nature decided to give us a perfect day for this most memorable flight. A crowd of 200 or more was thrilled by the sight of the beautifully restored biplanes and was then treated to the wonderful sound of three radial engines as the planes taxied out to continue their flight to Rawlins at 12:45 PM. Thanks for making the flight guys, its living history at its best.

Posted by Paul Wise on September 17,2008 | 10:10 AM

Addison, hope you read this.
Dad left for Spokane today to see your return and get a ride in the Boeing 40
Finally someone has made our family famous. Yes, Addison is my cousin. and my dad helped a few days working on the Boeing 40
Congrats Cousin

Your Florida Cousin, Steve, I'm next to ride, when I come out.

Posted by Steve Vallas on September 17,2008 | 02:25 PM

Thanks guys for stopping in Elko, NV. I brought my 5 year old great-granddaughter to the airport to see you and your biplanes. She said she wanted to fly when she grows up. I'm a student pilot and really enjoyed seeing your biplanes. Thanks again for a great experience for both of us. Happy to read you made it to the Hayward, CA airport. Wishing you a safe trip home.

Posted by Marilyn Pennington on September 18,2008 | 12:30 AM

Great job Larry , Addison and Ben,enjoyed your pictures and comments. My oldest son was aware of your trip , and had been in San Francisco on business , departing SFO at about 3:30. As they were rolling down the runway,looking out the window he saw you on the tarmac. Said what a beautiful sight to see three spectacular vintage airplanes setting next to modern business jets . He said you three outclassed them all .Larry and Addison have a safe trip back to Spokane. Gene and Karen

Posted by Gene Terrell on September 19,2008 | 02:00 PM

Good going guys!! You are no longer just pilots but now "aviators" I was privalaged to see you come into Hayward and had my own special interest in your accomplishment as my father Claire K. Vance flew the first leg of the first transcontinental east to west mail flight in 1921. all the best for any future endeavors. Sincerely Dick Vance Moraga CA

Posted by Dick Vance on September 19,2008 | 05:51 PM

Addison, Larry and Ben, with the excellent aircraft you have rebuilt, your flight should go well. Congratulations on the successful flight. Long live open cockpit bi-planes.

Posted by Bert Zimmerly on September 19,2008 | 11:43 PM

Addison, Ben and Al, It was good to see you again after flying together on The National Air Tour in 2003. Larry and George, It was a pleasure to meet you in Hayward.

The aviation community owes all of you a great thanks for showing the difficulty that the early Mail Pilots endured. Without the early Mail contracts, commercial aviation may not have developed into the industry that it is today.

Pang's Cousin, JR

Posted by Jack Roberts on September 23,2008 | 01:49 PM

Congratulatios Addison, Larry and Ben. What a magnificent venture.

And thank you for overnghting at Lunken Airport on your way East. I nearly fell out of my Cessna 180 when I taxied into the South Line and saw what was on the ramp.

You thrilled all of us. We won't forget you.

Posted by Martha Lunken on September 25,2008 | 08:31 PM

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