In September 2008, to celebrate 90 years of flying the U.S. mail, three pilots in three vintage mailplanes retraced the original route flown by Airmail pilots in the 1920s. Air & Space followed their trip with daily reports, photos, and feature stories.

At approximately 11:30 a.m. on May 15, 1918, the U.S. Post Office inaugurated regular airmail service with Curtiss JN-4H biplanes, which flew between Washington, D.C. and New York City with a stop in Philadelphia. It took two more years of dogged effort and experimentation, marred by dozens of crashes and 16 fatalities, for the service to fly the mail all the way across the country. By 1927, the Post Office had nursed the airmail service through its infancy and was ready to hand it off to private companies, like Boeing Air Transport and National Air Transport, which eventually developed into United Airlines. With aircraft like the Boeing 40C and Stearman Speedmail and with pilots like Charles Lindbergh, contract mail carriers laid the foundation for the most expansive national air transportation system in the world.

With major sponsorship from Bill Boeing Jr. and Jeppesen, the three pilots departed Long Island, New York, on September 10. Addison Pemberton was in today's only flying 1928 Boeing 40C, Larry Tobin in a 1927 Stearman C3B, and Ben Scott in a 1930 Stearman 4E Speedmail. The pilots stopped in the 17 cities that served as layovers and fuel depots for the early airmail pilots. After eight days and 28 hours of flying time, the mailplanes completed their cross-country trip on September 18.

Airmail Odyssey: 1918-2008

Pilot Max Miller and Air Mail Service superintendent Benjamin Lipsner (right) before Miller's pathfinding flight between New York and Chicago in 1918.

AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE

The Great Race

Addison Pemberton pilots his restored Boeing 40C earlier this year. On the September 10 flight, the author rode in the compartment beneath the upper wing.

AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE

A Ride in the Boeing 40C

Postmaster Farley did his part to promote airmail on its 20th anniversary.

AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE

“Receive To-morrow’s Mail To-day!”

Reno, Nevada, Postmaster Austin Jackson (left) hands a mail bag to pilot Harry Huking in his DH-4 mailplane, July 1924.

AIR & SPACE MAGAZINE

From Reno to San Francisco

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Airmail pilot William “Wild Bill” Hopson (seen here circa 1921) submitted a photograph of himself to the Air Mail Service along with the note: “Enclosed please find photo of bum pilot…. When finished with picture just post in cellar, it’s guaranteed to keep away all rats, mice and other vermin.” He would eventually log more than 4,000 hours of flight time, and cover some 413,000 miles. NASM (SI 75-7024)
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On August 6, 1918, pioneers of the airmail came together at the Standard Aero Corporation factory in Elizabeth, New Jersey, where the six JR-1B aircraft that would begin the service were manufactured. Otto Praeger (second from left), the second assistant postmaster general, has been called “the father of airmail.” He hired engineer Benjamin Lipsner (fourth from right) to run the operations. Lipsner in turn hired four pilots and one reserve pilot. From right, the first four civilian pilots: Robert Shank, Max Miller (killed in a crash in September 1920), Maurice Newton, and Edward Gardner (to Lipsner’s right). NASM SI-83-8168
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U.S. Airmail flights begin. On May 15, 1918, Army Lieutenant James C. Edgerton, having received a parcel of mail flown from New York, takes off from Bustleton Field in Philadelphia toward Washington, D.C. NASM (SI-A-38903-4)
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Second Lieutenant George Boyle (right) thought he’d scored a coup when he learned he was assigned to fly the mail out of Washington, D.C. on the first day of service. Unfortunately, the rookie got lost twice during his attempt to fly from Washington, D.C. to Philadelphia, the route’s halfway point. “The Atlantic Ocean and lack of gas prevent him going further,” noted Major Reuben Fleet (left), who was assigned the task of setting up the first regularly scheduled airmail service. Here, Major Fleet and Lieutenant Boyle review a map of their flight route on the Polo Grounds in Washington, May 15, 1918. NASM (00138840)
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When de Havilland DH-4s first flew mail across the country, the mail sacks would have to be transferred to a train to keep the mail moving at night. By 1923, mail was transferred to another DH-4, which could follow a lighted airway from Chicago to Omaha, Nebraska, where this photograph was taken. NASM (SI-75-7026)
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An unidentified clerk at the Fort Crook landing field in Omaha, Nebraska, poses with a dispatch board listing the stops on the Chicago, Illinois to Cheyenne, Wyoming, airmail run. Airmail movements were tracked by moving cardboard disks with pilots’ names and airplane’s numbers. NASM (SI-91-7061)
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Mechanics who serviced the DH-4s (one in the hangar in background) were sometimes blamed for the inadequacies of the Liberty engines that powered them. This group worked at the Fort Crook airfield, in Omaha, Nebraska, in 1928, after the Post Office had handed off the mail to contract carriers. NASM (SI-91-7029)
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Between January 1922 and June 1927, airmail pilots flew more than 14 million miles, delivering more than 250 million letters. National Air Transport flew Boeing 40s, and was one of the first companies to form in 1925 after legislation authorized the government to award contracts for airmail delivery. NASM (SI-89-12166)
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Charles Lindbergh was one of three pilots who flew for the St. Louis-based Robertson Aircraft Corporation, which won the contract to fly mail between St. Louis and Chicago in 1926. Possibly because Lindbergh crashed two of the company’s four airplanes—bailing out once because his engine quit and a second time after a snowstorm kept him from landing and he ran out of gas—Robertson sold its operations to a company that eventually became American Airlines. NASM (SI-78-12207)
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James “Jack” Knight (left) was one of the best-known airmail pilots, making a heroic night flight from Omaha, Nebraska, to Chicago, Illinois, on February 23, 1921. At the conclusion of his epic journey, Knight told the New York Times “I feel fine, except that I need some eats and some sleep.” Other pilots weren’t so sanguine. Clarence Lange would briefly quit the Air Mail Service, reporting shattered nerves due to the strain of night flying. Knight and Lange are shown here modeling winter flying clothing issued by the government in January 1922. NASM (SI-83-8165)
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Pilot Eugene Johnson lands in Hazelhurst, New York, carrying mail from the West Coast, in the first transcontinental air mail flight on August 22, 1923. Coast-to-coast flying was made possible only with the advent of night flying. As the Los Angeles Times breathlessly reported in 1923, “The line of lights by which the night transit of the airplanes between Chicago and Cheyenne is guided appeals to the imagination as well as to practical instincts…. This chain of glittering points seems to have a mystical significance. It may be regarded as typical of the light of science, showing the way to mankind in his flight against time and distance.” NASM (SI-A-32904-M)
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Use Airmail Airmail played a major role in reestablishing diplomatic, economic, and emotional ties among Europeans after World War I. As aircraft became faster and more efficient, airlines added cities each year to the continental mail route system, speeding letters and packages to their destinations. Airmail, promoted in this poster, also accelerated Europeans’ adjustments to a postwar map of redrawn national boundaries, with new nations carved mainly from the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. At first, airplanes were not powerful enough to make a profit carrying passengers; they relied on carrying the mail to stay in business. Airmail paved the way for air transportation. During the 1920s and early 1930s, airlines gave pilots the task of scouting air routes to later carry passengers across Europe, to South America, and across the North Atlantic to the U.S. In the U.S., federal money paid for building a network of beacons, which pilots used to navigate across the mountains and featureless prairies of the continent. In Europe, pilots followed coastlines, river valleys, and railroads. The British even dug a 310-mile trench across the deserts of Jordan and western Iraq to help Imperial Airways pilots navigate from Cairo to Baghdad, first with mail, then passengers. (Image and excerpted text from Fly Now!: A Colorful Story of Flight from Hot Air Balloon to the 777 “Worldliner” by Joanne Gernstein London (National Geographic, 2007). Reprinted with permission.) Fly Now!
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The Ubiquitous F-13 Between 1921 and 1926 aircraft designer and entrepreneur Hugo Junkers traveled the European continent, seeking airmail and airline companies needing aircraft. Finding markets in Finland, Estonia, Latvia, the Free City of Danzig, Austria, Hungary, and Switzerland, he built a broad network of clients. Junkers’s all-metal airplane, the F-13, with its distinctive corrugated metal skin, became a common sight on airstrips all over Europe. The first all-metal, commercial plane, the F-13 served as mail carrier and passenger transport. It also became the flagship for Junkers’s own airline, Europa-Union, founded in 1925 and featured in this poster. In 1926 the German government subsumed Junkers’s Europa-Union Airline into the newly created national airline, Deutsche Lufthansa.(Image and excerpted text from Fly Now!: A Colorful Story of Flight from Hot Air Balloon to the 777 “Worldliner” by Joanne Gernstein London (National Geographic, 2007). Reprinted with permission.) Fly Now!
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Reaching Out to America Throughout the late 1920s and early ’30s, posters played a significant role in convincing Americans of the need to speed up the delivery of their letters and general correspondence. Unlike businessmen, bankers, and lawyers who were quick to see airmail’s potential, ordinary letter writers could not justify spending a few extra cents just for better service. An onslaught of advertising changed their minds. Slogans like ‘Use Airmail’ appeared on city sidewalks, mail chutes, and posters decorating U.S. Post Office trucks and neighborhood post offices alike. This often-repeated message reminded citizens that the airmail network reached beyond rural mailboxes and connected small-town Americans to the nation’s urban centers. In 1932 post office representatives traveled the country to raise awareness for airmail service. In El Paso, Texas—self-proclaimed ‘International Air Center of the West’—a display in post office windows during the city’s first Air Week featured the poster at left, its bright style the epitome of 1930s public service announcements. (Image and excerpted text from Fly Now!: A Colorful Story of Flight from Hot Air Balloon to the 777 “Worldliner” by Joanne Gernstein London (National Geographic, 2007). Reprinted with permission.) Fly Now!
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Airplanes and Propaganda Take away the airplane—a Fokker F.XI—and the scene seems to predate the poster by at least 30 years. The docked ships, at the poster’s bottom left, are old technology, and the women wear traditional Korean dress. The gray, pale pink, and red shades of their clothing indicate that they belong to the working class and are dressed for a celebration, perhaps the inauguration of the Shinkyo-Ranan route, which Manchuria Air Transport, Ltd. opened in 1932. Since 1931 Japan had occupied Manchuria—a large region of northeastern China and part of Korea. The Shinkyo route worked this way: Ships from Japan brought mail to Ranan (now Ranam, North Korea); then airplanes transported the mail to the Manchurian city of Shinkyo (now Changchun, in northeast China). The poster, announcing mail service, plays a propaganda role. The women look pleased, in spite of the changes brought about by the 1931 Japanese occupation. One woman (with her hair in a bun, indicating she is married) holds a letter to her heart—perhaps from her husband sent to Manchuria’s interior to help build new cities.” (Image and excerpted text from Fly Now!: A Colorful Story of Flight from Hot Air Balloon to the 777 “Worldliner” by Joanne Gernstein London (National Geographic, 2007). Reprinted with permission.) Fly Now!
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The Christmas Express Airports, two-way radio systems, an array of lighted beacons, and more had to be developed and built before airlines could fly regularly at night, in the winter, or reliably through inclement weather. Even before World War I, engineers had begun to investigate new methods to improve airplane systems. During the 1930s aeronautical engineers developed a series of instruments, including altimeters, radio transmitters, and receivers, that allowed pilots to keep their airplanes on track even in the worst of storms. Developments on the ground also improved air safety. Airports were constructed to cater to the increase in air traffic. Landing strips were lighted, and the first air traffic controllers began using colored flags to communicate with pilots preparing to land. Eventually these controllers moved into radio towers, from which they transmitted information about weather conditions to pilots and directed air traffic to and from the ground. (Image and excerpted text from Fly Now!: A Colorful Story of Flight from Hot Air Balloon to the 777 “Worldliner” by Joanne Gernstein London (National Geographic, 2007). Reprinted with permission.) Fly Now!
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Sept. 9. We are in New York!! We arrived at Republic Airport at about 5 PM and were welcomed by the folks at the American Airpower Museum, where a very enthuastic team helped to get the planes parked and made arrangements for the crew. A super friendly reception! As we neared NY, Air Traffic Control handled us well with a routing that took us directly over JFK Airport. George Perks
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Sept. 9. Today is a down day for the crew as they get the planes ready for departure west tomorrow and the mail is processed and loaded for the first leg. If weather and traffic allow, we are going to attempt to photograph the mailplanes against the backdrop of the Statue of Liberty. Here is another shot of the New York skyline. George Perks
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Sept. 10. The three mailplanes left New York this morning with a great sendoff from Republic Airport on Long Island. On hand were media reporters and dignitaries from the Post Office and the American Airpower Museum. Here Addison Pemberton is being interviewed about the re-enactment flight. George Perks
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Sept. 10. The U.S. Post Office processed the mail that we are carrying, which was then loaded into the mailplanes. Here Mary Weber of the U.S. Postal Service, wearing full period costume, cancels the postage on many of the letters. George Perks
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Sept. 10. Our departure included a low pass over JFK airport at the request of Air Traffic Control so they could see the rare old aircraft making our flight. George Perks
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Sept. 10. The three aircraft passed over the Statue of Liberty as we started our first day of the trip west. Ben Scott's 1930 Stearman 4E Speedmail is in the foreground, Addison Pemberton's Boeing 40C in the background. George Perks
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Sept. 10. Our first stop was at Bellefonte, Pennsylvania, where the folks provided a terrific reception with media. More than 200 local residents came out to see the planes. Bellefonte was one of the early stops on the original flight 90 years ago. George Perks
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Sept. 10. Our last stop of the day was at Cleveland, Ohio, where again there was a great reception by U.S. Postal Service officials, local residents and many others. We will overnight here and be off early in the morning to continue the trip west to San Francisco. George Perks
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Sept. 11. We left Cleveland Ohio early this morning (Thursday) and headed west again with our load of mail. As we left the city behind, we could see the beautiful skyline. The 1927 C3B Stearman flown by Larry Tobin looked a bit out of place against the modern skyscrapers. George Perks
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Sept. 11. Our first stop was at Bryan Ohio, where we were welcomed by a very enthusiastic crowd. They had a program prepared, with a large group of local residents attending. The Post Office processed the mail while the other activites were taking place. Here the mail is being delivered by Airmail crew (and trip photographer) George Perks to the Bryan Postmaster. George Perks
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Sept. 11. After leaving Bryan, we flew across miles of beautiful farmland in eastern Illinois. George Perks
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Sept. 11. Our next scheduled stop was at Lansing, Illinois. Once again we received a very warm welcome from the local residents and representatives of the Post Office. They processed the mail on site, and after a nice program by the Postmaster, we set out for the last leg of today's trip. George Perks
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Sept. 11. We headed to our last stop of the day, Iowa City, but were turned back because of poor weather. So we are spending the night instead at Rochelle, Illinois. Tomorrow we will again load up the aircraft and head west with the hope of making up the lost time. George Perks
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Sept. 12. With ceilings on the ground and visibility less than one mile, we had no choice but to stay another night here in Rochelle, Illinois. The view from the hangar tells the whole story. With up to several inches of rain expected Saturday, it is possible that we may be here yet another day. We wondered what it was like 90 years ago when pilots were caught in similar types of weather. George Perks
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Sept. 12. The word that three antique mailplanes were at the Rochelle airport spread quickly in the town of less than 10,000, and the day was filled with a steady stream of students, folks interested in aviation, local officials and television and radio crews. George Perks
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Sept. 12. At one time the sky was so thick that a flock of geese on a VFR flight plan landed at the airport to get directions and a weather briefing!! George Perks
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Sept. 12. Of course there was some down time that was used for a little R & R! George Perks
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Sept. 12. With the airplanes now in a beautiful hangar owned by the city, we will rest assured that they and the mail they carry will be safe and sound. The airport crew has done an outstanding job of helping us with everything that we could possibly need, making arrangements for our stay, lunch today, transportation and fuel. This airport is highly recommended to anyone traveling through this area. George Perks
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Sept. 12. The down time was also used to catch up on maintenance of the airplanes, probably something that was done 90 years ago whenever there was a chance. George Perks
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Sept. 12. The radar map shows the whole story. Getting out of here Saturday may not be an option, and folks that sent checks in their mail will just have to tell the recipients that "the check is in the mail"! George Perks
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Sept. 14. Well, we are still here in beautiful Rochelle, Illinois, now going into three days since we were able to fly. We had a break in the weather today, packed the planes, pulled them through...and then another storm started dumping on us. We have hope that if there isn't fog Monday morning we will be able to make it to Iowa City. In the meantime, we continue to give tours to folks visiting the hangers to see the airplanes. George Perks
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Sept. 14. Last night we toured a local private museum featuring WW2 armory items, a quite extensive collection. George Perks
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Sept. 14. Addison discovered that human comfort was not considered when the designers went to work on this equipment. George Perks
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Sept. 14. The airport staff provided an excellent lunch yesterday for us including fresh sweet corn on the cob, the first we have had on this entire trip. George Perks
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Sept. 14. Our goal is to make North Platte, Nebraska, Monday night if the weather gives us a break. George Perks
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A scene from earlier in the trip: All three airplanes on the ground. George Perks
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Another shot from earlier in the trip: Ben Scott and Al Holloway in Ben's beautiful Speedmail. George Perks
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Larry Tobin in his newly restored Stearman C3B. George Perks
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Sept. 15. Today the ceilings lifted barely enough for us to safely depart Rochelle after spending four nights there waiting for a break in the weather. We headed west toward our first stop at Iowa City. George Perks
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Sept. 15. One of the more striking sights you see flying this route are the large windmill electric generators. I was thinking about the contrast in technology as I was flying in a 1928 airplane over this very modern equipment. George Perks
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Sept. 15. Once we got about 100 miles west of Rochelle, the skies cleared and we were on our way again. George Perks
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Sept. 15. Our spirits were high once again -- here Larry Tobin maneuvers his C3B in close and gives us a wave! George Perks
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Sept. 15. We traveled low to the ground over the farmlands due to higher headwinds at the upper elevations. George Perks
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Sept. 15. Ben Scott brought his 4E Stearman Speedmail in for a photo while over the vast farmlands of Iowa. Al Holloway in the front cockpit looks us over as they fly by. George Perks
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Sept. 15. As we left the airport tonight in Grand Island, Nebraska, we looked over our shoulder to the east and saw this magnificent full moon on the horizon. Tuesday we will rise early and push on to North Platte, Nebraska, then on to Cheyenne, Wyoming, then to Rawlins, Wyoming, and lastly to an overnight stay in Rock Springs, Wyoming. (Wyoming was the only state on the early mail route that had three stops.) At Rock Springs we will be joined by Mary Weber of the U.S. Postal Service, who will be traveling with us to San Francisco. George Perks
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Sept. 16. Today was the most spectacular day we have had regarding weather! We started out this morning from Grand Island, Nebraska. It was just daylight as we pulled the planes from the hangar, the air was dead calm and not a cloud in the sky, Everyone was excited about flying the mail today! George Perks
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Sept. 16. Addison waves goodbye to Grand Island as the sun comes over the horizon behind us and we once again head west. George Perks
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Sept. 16. Our first stop this morning was North Platte, Nebraska, where the Post Office was on hand to process the mail, which they did efficiently as we had four legs to fly today. As at other stops, a very interested group of folks from North Platte came out to welcome us and take a firsthand look at the antique airplanes that are flying coast to coast. George Perks
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Sept. 16. Cheyenne was our next stop. We were greeted by a very large group of townspeople, and the Post Office handled the mail while we visited with the crowd. It was difficult to leave, as there were so many questions from young and old, and many stories from people who had knowledge of the airmail planes stopping here many years ago. George Perks
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Sept. 16. The Boeing 40C casts an interesting shadow just seconds before touching down on the runway. George Perks
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Sept. 16. Our third stop today was at Rawlins, Wyoming. The altitude of this airport is nearly 7000 feet, which really reduced the performance of these vintage aircraft. Very friendly residents came out to meet the pilots and see the mailplanes. George Perks
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Sept. 16. We could tell that we were not over Iowa anymore. Where once there were miles of fertile farmland below us, now our vintage aircraft passed over harsh mountains and sagebrush. We began the day cruising at altitudes below 2500 feet, and finished the day flying at 10,000 feet to safely clear the peaks. George Perks
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Sept. 16. Our final stop of the day was in Rock Springs, Wyoming. The five of us were pretty tired as we pushed the planes into a hangar for the night. Today was probably the best traveling day we have had, but it also included the most stops of any day on the trip. After the mail was processed we headed for the motel and the first meal of the day! Wednesday we will load up and head for Salt Lake, then on to Elko and finally Reno, Nevada. George Perks
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Sept. 17. Only one more day and the adventure will be drawing to a close! On Wednesday we got an early start from Rock Springs, Wyoming. As we departed, the junior high school had all the students out in the yard to see us leave. George Perks
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Sept. 17. Dropping down from high altitude over the rugged Utah mountains, into Salt Lake City. George Perks
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Sept. 17. Salt Lake tower asks for a low pass over International as we make the first stop of the day. George Perks
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Sept. 17. The mail was quickly canceled and the planes refueled. There was a nice lunch for us, and a great reception. George Perks
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Sept. 17. The Boeing 40C flying over the Salt Flats on our way to the next stop, Elko, Nevada. We had great weather for this flight. George Perks
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Sept. 17. Larry Tobin makes a right break over the desert. The little C3B has to really pedal hard to keep up with the larger and more powerful Boeing and Speedmail. George Perks
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Sept. 17. The folks at Elko were very interested in the aircraft, and we had a great time talking about the trip across the U.S. from New York. The Post Office processed the mail and we fueled the planes and were off for Reno. George Perks
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Sept. 17. At Rock Springs we had picked up a passenger, Mary Weber of the U.S. Postal Service, who will be traveling with us to San Francisco. Thursday's leg will be our last as we make the hop over the hills to San Francisco, where there are programs and receptions planned to celebrate the completion of the adventure. George Perks
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Sept. 18. The mail has been delivered! We arrived at Hayward airport in San Francisco on Thursday and delivered the mailbag to the Postmaster for delivery. All of you who have sent mail via the transcon flight will be getting your mail soon. Each letter was stamped at every stop across the nation. We stopped in at the museum at San Francisco International Airport -- here is a shot from the C3B taken over the airport. George Perks
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Sept. 18. We did a harbor tour by air. Here the Boeing 40C flies by the Bay Bridge. George Perks
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Sept. 18. The Golden Gate Bridge below the Boeing 40C. This scene was probably repeated many times 80 years ago. George Perks
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Sept. 18. Larry Tobin with San Francisco International behind. Larry's last trip as a 767 captain for TWA just prior to his retirement was a flight from New York to San Francisco. On this trip he flew his Stearman between the same two cities. George Perks
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Sept. 18. With Ben and Addison passing by the Golden Gate, we completed the adventure of a lifetime, flying three old biplanes from New York to San Francisco. The trip took over 28 hours of flying time and eight days, including a four-day wait on the ground in Rochelle, Illinois. George Perks
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Sept. 18. On Thursday night Bud Field hosted us and invited nearly 100 guests to a dinner and program to celebrate completion of the New York to San Francisco airmail re-enactment. George Perks
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Addison Pemberton's Boeing 40C (background) and Larry Tobin's 1927 Stearman C3B biplane are two of the three airplanes that will retrace the 1920s cross-country airmail route in September 2008. George Perks
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The planned route for the 2008 transcontinental mail flight:
Sept. 10 – Depart New York Republic field (FRG) 9:30AM. Arrive Belafonte, PA. (N96) late morning. Depart and arrive Cleveland (BKL) late afternoon, early evening. Overnight stop.
Sept. 11 – Depart Cleveland (BKL) 9:30AM. Arrive late morning Bryan, Ohio (OG6). Depart and arrive Chicago Lansing Airport (IGQ) late afternoon. Arrive early evening Iowa City (IOW) Overnight stop.
Sept. 12 – Depart Iowa City 9:30AM. Arrive Omaha, NB (OMA) late morning. Depart and arrive North Platt NB(LBF) late afternoon. Overnight stop.
Sept.13 – Depart North Platt, NB 9:30AM. Arrive late morning Cheyenne, WY (CYS) Depart and arrive mid afternoon Rawlins, WY (RWL). Depart and arrive Rock Springs, WY (RKS) early evening. Overnight stop.
Sept.14 – Arrive late morning Salt Lake # 2 (U42). Depart and arrive Elko, NV (EKO) late afternoon. Depart and arrive Reno, NV (RNO) early evening. Overnight stop.
Sept. 15 – Depart Reno, NV 9:30AM. Depart and arrive Hayward, CA (HWD) late morning. Depart Hayward, CA mid day for SFO or Chrissy Field to be determined and return to Hayward, CA. R. Davies
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Working on the Boeing 40C in Pemberton's shop in Spokane, Washington. Ryan Pemberton
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Ben Scott's 1930 Stearman 4E Speedmail. George Perks
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The Boeing 40C as it looked during construction in April 2007. Ryan Pemberton
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Left: Pilot Grant Donaldson shakes Bill Boeing's hand while standing on the wheel of his Boeing 40C in 1928. Right: Same airplane, 80 years later, with pilot Addison Pemberton shaking Bill Boeing, Jr.'s hand. George Perks
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Pemberton takes the Boeing 40C on a test flight in February 20008. George Perks
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The planned route for the 2008 transcontinental mail flight:
Sept. 10 – Depart New York Republic field (FRG) 9:30AM. Arrive Belafonte, PA. (N96) late morning. Depart and arrive Cleveland (BKL) late afternoon, early evening. Overnight stop.
Sept. 11 – Depart Cleveland (BKL) 9:30AM. Arrive late morning Bryan, Ohio (OG6). Depart and arrive Chicago Lansing Airport (IGQ) late afternoon. Arrive early evening Iowa City (IOW) Overnight stop.
Sept. 12 – Depart Iowa City 9:30AM. Arrive Omaha, NB (OMA) late morning. Depart and arrive North Platt NB(LBF) late afternoon. Overnight stop.
Sept.13 – Depart North Platt, NB 9:30AM. Arrive late morning Cheyenne, WY (CYS) Depart and arrive mid afternoon Rawlins, WY (RWL). Depart and arrive Rock Springs, WY (RKS) early evening. Overnight stop.
Sept.14 – Arrive late morning Salt Lake # 2 (U42). Depart and arrive Elko, NV (EKO) late afternoon. Depart and arrive Reno, NV (RNO) early evening. Overnight stop.
Sept. 15 – Depart Reno, NV 9:30AM. Depart and arrive Hayward, CA (HWD) late morning. Depart Hayward, CA mid day for SFO or Chrissy Field to be determined and return to Hayward, CA. R. Davies