(1927) or Amelia Earhart’s solo across the Atlantic (1928), remarkable polar explorations and..oh, so much more!
TRANSITIONERS As I comb through the publications printed between 1920 and 1929, I am pleased to recognize older pioneer pilots and mechanics who remained working and contributing to aviation. Among them are Major Rudolph William Schroeder (1886-1952) who was a pioneer aircraft mechanic specializing in rotary engines for several famous aviators, and later became a test pilot with a long list of record-breaking fl ights and a proponent of the use of Floyd Smith’s parachutes. Ernest “Tiny” Harmon (1893-1933) was a Lieutenant in the Air Service during 1919 when he was ordered to be part of the famous “Around the Rim Flight” from Bolling Field, under the command of Col. Wm. “Billy” Mitchell. Flying a Martin bomber, the crew fl ew as close to the perimeter of the U.S. as possible, encouraging the construction of municipal airports. Harmon’s long distinguished career included experience as a test pilot and air racing competitor. William Bushnell Stout (1880-1956) was an early engineer who eventually contributed
to both automotive and aeronautical designs for decades. He is best known for his original All-Metal Airplane Company, eventually purchased by the Ford Company in Detroit, leading to the design of the famous Ford Tri-Motor. Among Stout’s employees at the time was J. Parker Van Zandt (1894-1990), a “natural mechanic” who served in France during WWI, and went on to join the Air Service patrolling forest fi res. His long career contributing to the advancement of aviation in the U.S. became high profi le in 1926 when he was appointed as the Civilian Aviation Advisor in D.C. assigned to set up the new government process of licensing aviators and mechanics. (He gave himself License #17). In association with Ford/Stout, Van Zandt eventually branched out to begin the fi rst scenic air tours over the Grand Canyon. The tourism business dissolved during the Great Depression of 1929, but Van Zandt went on to a diverse and productive career.
I began 2020 with a move to New England from my previous long-term home on the west coast. I will connect with some of the aviation-related museums and aeronautical companies in search of fresh and unique stories. I am now in the “back-yard” of
Pratt&Whitney, Sikorsky, and the New England Air Museum near Bradley International Airport in Hartford., CT. I last visited the NEAM twenty years ago where I gave a public program on Harriet Quimby, America’s fi rst licensed female pilot in 1911. The museum gift shop now has a large used book selection (some of mine included!) and there are surprise exhibits at every turn. I’ll go back and hope to learn more about the aircraft engines I did not know existed and the men and women who produced them. In honor of Harriet Quimby, and a nod to Major Schroeder, I’ll again press the button which starts the club propeller spinning with the pioneer era Gnome engine enclosed in a glass case.
Giacinta Bradley Koontz
is an aviation historian, magazine columnist and author who has received the
DAR History Medal and honorable mention from the New York Book Festival. She has appeared on the History Channel and in PBS documentaries. For more information, visit
www.GiaBKoontz.com.
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