Crossing the Alleghenies in 1919
The man who saved the airmail describes “Hell Stretch.”
- By Jack Knight
- AirSpaceMag.com, September 09, 2008
After his career with the airmail service, Knight flew for United Airlines between 1934 and 1937, when the airline was still flying single engine Boeing aircraft. By the time Knight retired, he had flown more than 2 million miles.
NASM (SI-81-4954)
Jack Knight became famous in February 1921 for flying the first overnight trip to carry the mail from North Platte, Nebraska, to Chicago. But the more harrowing journeys he and his fellow airmail pilots faced were the flights over the Allegheny mountains between Cleveland and New York. The pilots developed a coffin humor about this leg of the trip, which they called “hell stretch.”
In Knight’s notes recalling the experience (see the photo gallery at right to view his handwritten pages—typescript below), the pilot refers to the “variety of weather, ranging from dense fog, to sleet and freezing mist—interspersed with terrific blizzards.” In an open cockpit biplane, the trip must have been at best a miserable experience; frequently it was a fatal one.
The notes appear to have been written in hotels where Knight stayed when he flew the mail on the central part of the transcontinental route. After he became famous, he was probably urged by newspaper editors and others to tell his stories of flying the mail.
The notes are part of the James H. “Jack” Knight Collection donated to the National Air and Space Museum archives in 1988 by J. Ted Beebe.
Flying the U.S. Mail: Hold Everything—1919 Version
Introduction, Part 1
Our business of flying the U.S. Air Mail has changed considerably, since 1919.
In the old days—the motto was—The mail must go—regardless of fog, sleet, etc. We were flying Liberty motorized DHA ships, and in those days the Liberty Motor had many bad faults, such as burning out bearings—breaking connecting rods, stripping cam shafts, gears, etc.
It was truly a survival of the “fittest” (and luckiest) because any of the pilots in 1919 would pull out of a terminal field in fog and practically impossible weather rather than risk the possibility of another ship flying in while they were held up for weather.
The Allegheny Mountains between Cleveland and New York have a choice variety of weather, ranging from dense fog, to sleet and freezing mist—interspersed with terrific blizzards.
The character of the terrain is such that at times our future health [and] happiness depended on our [“motto”?] “in good weather”—Well! In bad weather we hung on every explosion of the exhaust with a prayer. (A thankful prayer.)
Deep gullies and high hills heavily timbered made fog flying a very risky touchy affair. Flying at 30 to 50 feet with never over 100 feet forward visibility in the average fog—made a great many angels of good pilots. Rushing thru this murk at 100 M.P.H.—Suddenly a wooded hillside looms up—just about 1/10 of a second of indecision and it’s just too bad.
Scene 1, Part 2
Woodland Hills Park—improvised flying field 1919 for U.S. Air Mail.
Superintendant—field manager chief mechanic and pilot in office waiting for mail truck to find its way from Cleveland P.O. to air field.
Very dense fog limiting ground visibility to about 200 feet. Pilot apparently very nervous—divides his time smoking cigarettes and looking out of window trying to kid himself into believing that the fog is lifting and flying conditions are getting better.
Superintendant very irritable and apparently determined that if mail truck gets to field—pilot will fly it out—or else.
Well! The [truck] arrived—it was my turn to go—the other ship had left New York—where flying conditions were better. Weather at Bellefonte (our intermediate station) was reported “dense fog” with probability of clearing. Bellefonte 215 miles distant, and in the heart of the Allegheny Mountains approximately 2’-10” [2 hours, 10 minutes] flying if things went well.
Climbing into my suit as slowly as possible—without invoking suspicion that I was stalling for a few more additional minutes.
“Pull the blocks,”—another minute gained in adjusting goggles and final inspection of motor instruments—finally a half hearted wave to chief mechanic—and I fed her the gun and was off in the fog.
Pushing forward at 100 mph through murky damp fog—just clearing house tops—brushing thru tree tops, finally after ten minutes of this I began to lose sight of ground although my wing tip had been practically even with the insulators along a telephone line.
Just one of two things left to do—cut the switches and land blind—or take another chance and try to pull up through.
The latter was my choice so I struggled and fought the old [“bus”?] for 15 minutes finally emerging into sunlight at 7000 feet with a white sea of unbroken fog underneath as far as [I could] see.
Now cam[e the] real test—fly a compass course above this supposed to be innocent looking sea of soap suds—for two hours and then come down through and hope to see the ground before hitting it.
Incidentally it’s a great help to make up your mind that at the end of about 1’-50” you will find a break through the layer and be able to get an occasional glimpse of terra firma—the more firma (the less terra).
Comments (2)
These pilots were either a quart low on the dipstick or
simply brave beyond comprehension!
I love airplanes and am an 88 yr. old pilot,but,I never would have had the guts to fly the mail in that period.
Posted by Richard J Slavin on January 12,2009 | 12:00 AM
Flying now with VOR's, GPS, and ILS it is hard to Imagine what these guys did. Today if someone flew an aircraft with the instrumentation they had they would be called a moron, if they continued to do it they would be called suicidal! I can't imagine flying a flight like the one described into Bellefonte and then getting up and going out to the field to fly another that could be just as risky. No wonder one pilot quit citing "shattered nerves"
The fact is that these are the guys that made instrument flying possible. They are the ones who invented the instruments and went up and tested them. They are the ones who created the instrument flying techniques still used today and they paid the price......34 of them died and the the survivors did so by sheer luck. If they hadn't done so we would still be following rail lines and flying only in day light.
One of my first jobs as a commercial pilot was flying a Piper Aztec on charter. I remember dread when the pager buzzed on a thunderstorm ridden night because the Aztec had no radar. To this day I appreciate radar every time I turn it on. But these guys had nothing.... and carried on to pave the way for the rest of us on sheer guts. I can't agree more with Mr. Slavin, Every one who either rides on airliners or flies them owes a huge debt to these men. It is tragic that what they did is not honored or at least exposed to the public.
Posted by John J. Hughes on February 2,2010 | 08:04 PM