FAA HISTORICAL CHRONOLOGY, 1926-1996
`
`You may use this chronology in three ways:
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`
`*l926
`
`May 20, 1926: President Calvin Coolidge signed the Air Commerce Act of 1926 into law. The act
`instructed the Secretary of Commerce to foster air commerce; designate and establish airways; estabiish,
`operate, and maintain aids to air navigation (but not airpons); arrange for research and development to
`improve such aids; license pilots; issue airworthiness certificates for aircraft and major aircraft components;
`and investigate accidents.
`(See Introduction.)
`
`May 23, 1926: Western Air Express (WAE) became one of the first U.S. airlines to offer regular
`passenger service, flying from Los Angeles to Salt Lake City via Las Vegas. WAE had begiui flying on
`Apr 17 as the fourth carrier to begin operations under a new air mail contract system that became the
`major source of income for the era's small but growing airline industry (see Jun 3, 1926).
`Over twelve years earlier, the St. Petersburg—Tainpa Airboat Line had offered the world's first
`regularly scheduled airline service using heavier-than~air craft. This enterprise lasted for only the first
`three months of 1914. On Mar 1, 1925, T. Claude Ryan's Los Angeles-San Diego Air Line had begun the
`first scheduled passenger service operated wholly over the U.S. mainland and throughout the year.
`
`Jun 3, 1926: Amended legislation introduced a more workable method of paying airlines for carrying
`mail. The Air Mail Act of Feb 2, 1925, cornmoniy known as the Kelly Act, had provided for transportation
`of mail on the basis of contracts between the Post Office Department and individriai air carriers, a system
`that was to prove a great boon to America's fledgling airlines. Under the original Kelly Act, however, the
`carrier's compensation was computed as a percentage of the actual postage affixed to the mail carried.
`Since this computation proved cirrnbersoine, the 1926 amendment substituted a procedrrre under which the
`airlines were paid by the pound for mail carried. (See May 17, 1928.)
`
`Jun 11, 1926: The Ford Trirnotor made its first flight. The famous "Tin Goose" was a high-wing
`rnonoplane with all-metal construction and a corrugated skin. The original 4-AT model seated eight
`passengers,
`later increased to twelve, and the improved 5-AT seated up to thirteen passengers. The
`Trirnotor became a workhorse for U.S. airiines and remained in production until 1933.
`
`Jul 2. 1926: A drop of tree seeds over a burned area in Hawaii on this date was the first recorded instance
`of reforesting by airplane.
`
`Jul 3, 1926: A congressional joint resolution authorized the President to detail officers of the Army
`Air Corps to the Commerce Department to help in promoting civil aviation, provided the details did not
`exceed one year.
`
`Jui E6, 1926: The Philadelphia Rapid Transit Company inaugurated the first daily passenger air service
`between Phiiarlelphia and Washington, D.C., in connection with the celebration of the 150th aniiiversary
`of Declaration of Independence. Both passengers and mail were carried on a schedule of three trips in each
`direction daily, using thi-ee—engine Fokker inonoplanes seating 10 passengers. The flying time was
`approximately 1 hour 30 minutes each way, and the passenger fare was $15 one way and $25 roundtrip.
`The service lasted for five months.
`
`Aug 11, 1926: William P. Maccracken, Jr., took office as the first Assistant Secretary of Commerce
`for Aeronautics {see Oct 1, 1929). He thus became the first head of the Aeronautics Branch, created in the
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`Department of Commerce by Secretary Herbert Hoover to carry out the Secretary's responsibilities under
`the Air Commerce Act of 1926. MacCracken, who had assisted in drafting that act, brought to the position
`experience as a World War I Army pilot, as chairman of the American Bar Association's committee on
`aviation law, and as general counsel of National Air Transport, a contract mail carrier he helped organize in
`192i
`
`With the appoinunent of MacCraclcen as its chief, the organization of the Aeronautics Branch
`proceeded rapidly. Secretary Hoover believed that the duties imposed by the Air Commerce Act should be
`carried out by existing Department of Commerce components. Although five principal units made up the
`Aeronautics Branch, which ranked as a bureau, only two were structurally part of the new Branch——the Air
`Regulations Division and the Air Information Division. The other three units followed directions from the
`Branch concerning work to be undertaken, but received detailed guidance and administrative support from
`other bureau—leve1 components of the Department. Thus. the Airways Division was organized within the
`Bureau of Lighthouses, the Aeronautical Research Division within the Bureau of Standards, and the Air
`Mapping Section within the Coast and Geodetic Survey.
`
`Oct 1, 1926: Northwest Airways began service as a contract mail carrier. The company began passenger
`service the following year, and expanded its routes in the late twenties and early thirties, changing its name
`to Northwest Airlines on Apr 16, 1934. Further expansion included routes to Asia, beginning in the
`I940s, and for a time the carrier used the name Northwest Orient Airlines.
`
`Nov 15, 1926: The Post Office invited bids from private operators to take over the transcontinental
`air mail route in two sections: San Francisco-Chicago and Ch.icago—New York. Aithough no satisfactory
`bids were received for the Chicago-New York route, the contract for the San Francisco-Chicago route went
`to the organizers of Boeing Air Transport on Jan 29, 1927. After new biding, the Post Office on Apr 3,
`1927, announced the award of the Chicago-New York route to the newly fonned National Air Transport.
`(See Aug 31, 1927 .)
`
`Nov 16, 1926: Dr. Louis Hopewell Bauer became the first Medical Director of the Aeronautics Branch.
`A major in the Medical Corps at the time of his appointment, Dr. Bauer had spent more than haif of his 13-
`year Army career in the Air Service.
`(See Feb 28, 1927.)
`
`Dec 7, 1926: The first airway light beacon erected by the Aeronautics Branch began operation. The
`beacon was located 15 miles northeast of Molina, Ili., on the Chicago—Dailas air mail route. By Jun 30,
`1927, there were 4,121 miles of lighted airways, including 2,041 miles on the transcontinental airway that
`had been previously lighted by the Post Office Depaninent. (See Apr 1973.)
`
`Dec 7, E926: The Aeronautics Branch made its first official ainvorthiness inspection of an American
`aircraft when Inspector Ralph Lockwood tested a Stinson Detroiter before its delivery to Canadian Air
`Express.
`
`Dec 18, 1926: The first issue of Domestic Air News, the Aeronautics Branch official publication,
`appeared. (See Jul 1, 1929.)
`
`Dec 31, 1926: The first Air Commerce Regulations of the Aeronautics Branch, Department of
`Commerce, became effective. Prornulgated under provisions of the Air Commerce Act of 1926, these
`regulations resulted from many conferences between the Aeronautics Branch and pilots, operators,
`manufacturers, the Anny, the Navy, and the Post Office Department.
`The regulations required all aircraft engaged in interstate or foreign commerce to be licensed and
`marked with an assigned identification number. Pilots of licensed aircraft were required to hold private or
`commercial licenses. Corrunercial pitots were classed as either transport or industrial. Mechanics repairing
`aircraft engaged in air commerce were required to secure either engine or airplane mechanic licenses, or
`both. Owners, pilots, and mechanics afiected had until Mar 1 (later eznended to May 1), 1927, to place
`their applications on file. Pending action on these applications by the Aeronautics Branch, those applying
`by the specified date could continue operating as previously until Jul 1, 1927. Failure to apply as required
`was punishable by a $500 fine. The regulations also prescribed operational and air traffic safety rules.
`(See Mar22, 1927.)
`
`*I927
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`Feb 28, 1927: Domestic Air News published a list of 57 physicians qualified to give medical examinations
`for pilot licenses. Scattered over the United States, these physicians (soon to be known as aviation
`medical examiners) had been selected and qualified by Aeronautics Branch Medical Director Louis H.
`Bauer. By Oct 1, 1927. the number of qualified physicians had grown to 188, and additional appointees
`were added from time to time. Besides these civilian medical examiners, all Army and Navy flight
`surgeons were qualified ex oflicio to give airman medical examinations. (See Jun 1, 1945.)
`
`Mar 22, £927: The first general amendments to the Air Commerce Regulations took effect (see Dec
`31, 1926). Among the many mandated changes were the addition of a limited commercial pilot license
`classification to the existing categories of transport, industrial, and private. The new category permitted
`pilots to carry passengers within a ten mile radius of their base while building up flight time for a transport
`license.
`
`The amendments altered the original system under which the identification numbers for licensed
`aircraft would be preceded by the letter “C” (commercial), “S” (state), or “P” (private). Tire “P”
`designation was now dropped and ‘Z ’ (experimental) was added. The regulations also required the
`identification number of an aircraft engaged in foreign air commerce be preceded by the letter "N"
`(denoting U.S. registry in accordance with a £919 international convention). The “N” was optional at this
`time for other licensed aircraft. Later, the identification numbers of all U.S. licensed aircraft began with
`“N”, followed by numbers and/or letters under systems that varied as the registration process evolved.
`
`Mar 29, 1927: The Aeronautics Branch issued Aircraft Type Certificate No. 1 to the Bnhl Airster C—A3,
`a three-place open biplane. The plane had an empty weight of 1,686 pounds and its engine had a
`horsepower rating of 200. By the end of fiscal year 1927, the total of aircraft type certificates issued had
`reached nine. The rate of type certification then progressively ‘increased. By the end of fiscal year 1928,
`the total had reached 47; by the end of fiscal 1929, 170; by Jan 15, 1930, 287.
`
`Apr 6, 1927: William P. Maccraci-ten. irz, Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Aeronautics, received
`Pilot License No. 1, a private pilot license, from the Aeronautics Branch. Maccracken thus became the
`first person to obtain a piiot license from a civilian agency of the US. Goverrunent.
`(During World War I, the Joint Army and Navy Board on Aeronautic Cognizance had issued
`flying licenses to civilian individuals and companies. The Board acted under the authority of a Presidential
`proclamation,
`issued on Feb 28, 1918, which described the program as a wartime security measure;
`however,
`the proclamation remained in effect until Jul 31, 1919, more than eight months after the
`Armistice.)
`Before accepting License No. l, MacCracken had offered this honor to Orville Wright, promising
`to waive the fee and examination. Wright declined because he no longer flew and did not think he needed a
`Federal license to show that he had been the first man to fly. Like Secretary Hoover, Wright believed
`MacCracken should receive License No. 1. (See Aug 19, 1940.)
`
`Apr 30, 1927: The Aeronautics Branch announced that it had recently acquired three aircraft: two
`Buhl Airsters (open cockpit) and one Stinson—Detroiter (cabin plane). The Branch planned to add one
`Wright Travel Air (open cockpit) and one Fairchild FC~lA (cabin plane).
`
`May 20-21, 1927: Charles A. Lindbergh, a former air mail pilot, nrade the first nonstop solo flight across
`the Atlantic in an airplane, is Ryan monoplane dubbed the Spirit of St. Louis. He flew the 3,610 miles
`from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, N.Y., to Le Bourget Field, Paris, France, in 33 hours 29 minutes.
`Lindberglrs feat provided a strong stimulus to U.S. aviation, and made him a world hero whose
`fame overshadowed earlier Atlantic crossings by air. The first transatlantic flight had been rrrade in stages
`on May 16-27, 1919, from Newfoundland to Lisbon, via the Azores, by a U.S. Navy Curtiss NC-4
`seaplane, flown by a six‘-man crew commanded by Albert C. Read. That same year, on Jun 14-15, Royal
`Air Force pilots John Alcock and Arthur Whitten Brown crossed the Atiantic nonstop from Newfoundland
`to Ireland in a Vickers Vimy. The following month, another Royal Air Force crew, corrunanded by G. H.
`Scott, flew the airship R-34 from Scotiand to New York (Jul 2-6), then retumed to England (Jul 9-13).
`Between Jul 30 and Aug 31, 1924, two U.S. Army Douglas World Cruiser seaplanes (manned by Lowell H.
`Smith, Lcsiie P. Arnold, Erik l-I. Nelson, and John Harding), flew from England to Labrador during the
`course of history's first round-the-world flight. Three other aircraft with multiple crew members had also
`crossed the Atiantic before Lindbergh's "Lone Eagle" flight.
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`Jun 4-5, 1927: Charles A. Levine. a New York businessman became the first person to cross the
`Atlantic by airplane as a passenger when he flew nonstop between New York and Germany in a Bellanca
`rnonoplane piloted by Clarence Charnberiin, whom he had sponsored.
`
`Jun 25, 1927: Construction of tire Propeller Research Tunnel was completed at the Langley Memorial
`Aeronautical Laboratory of the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA). The largest
`research facility of its kind up to that time, the wind tunnel could accommodate the entire fuselage of a full-
`sized airplane, making it possible to conduct aerodynamic tests on full-scale frrselages, propellers, and other
`airplane parts. The facility, which was to malce great contributions to aeronautical development (see Nov
`1928), was part of a series of wind tunnels. NACA had begun operating its first wind tunnel on Jun 11,
`1920. Later developments included a refrigerated tunnel, which NACA placed in operation in 1928 for
`study of icing on wings and propellers. In the spring of 1931, NACA began operating a Full Scale Tunnel
`large enough to test the performance of actual aircraft
`
`J’. Maitland made the first nonstop flight
`Jun 28-29, 1927: Army lieutenants A. F. Hegenberger and L.
`between the U.S. mainland and Hawaii,
`taking off from Oakland, Calif, in a Fokker three-engine
`tnonoplane.
`
`Jun 30, 1927: The Aeronautics Branch announced that its first airways strip map was available for
`purclrase: Moline, III., to Kansas City, Mo.
`
`Jun 30, 1927 The Aeronautics Branch issued Transport License No. 199 to Phoebe Fairgrave Onilie,
`probably the first woman to obtain a pilot license from a civilian agency of the U.S. government.
`(Other American women had previously received pilot licenses from the Joint Army and Navy Board on
`Aeronautic Cognizance, which issued civilian flying licenses during 1918-19, as well as from organizations
`such as the Federation Aeronautique Internationale.) The Aeronautics Branch also issued one of the early
`aircraft and engine mechanic‘s licenses to Omlie.
`
`Jul 1, 1927: The transcontinental airway was transferred to the Department of Commerce from the
`Post Office Department. Extending from New York to San Francisco, the airway was 2,612 miles long,
`with 2,041 miles lighted (see Ian 29, 1929).
`Its facilities included 92 intermediate landing fields, £01
`electric beacons, and 417 acetylene beacons. Also included were 17 radio stations (see Mar 1, 1960).
`Personnel
`involved in the transfer included 45 radio operators, 14 maintenance mechanics, and 84-
`caretalters. At the same time, the Post Office relinquished air mail operations along the western
`section—Clrieago to San Francisco--of the transcontinental route to Boeing Air Transport.
`
`Jul 1, 1927: Frank Gates Gardner of Norfolk, Va, received the first Federal aircraft mechanic license.
`
`Jul 1, I927: The Secretary of Commerce appointed Clarence M. Young as Director of Aeronautics to
`administer
`the Aeronautics Branch under
`the general supervision of the Assistant Secretary for
`Aeronautics. A lawyer from Des Moines, Iowa, Young had served as a pilot on the Italian front in World
`War I and was later active in civil aeronautics. (See Oct 1, 1929.)
`
`Jul 4, 1927: The Lockheed Vega first flew. The single-engine, high-wing rnonoplane seating up to six
`passengers marked an important step toward the low—drag designs with which U.S. manufacturers were to
`revolutionize airliners in the 19305. The Vega went into passenger service on Sep 17, 1928, with
`International Airlines.
`
`Aug 31, 1927: The Post Office Department tumed over operation oi‘ its last air maii route, New York
`to Chicago, to National Air Transport (see Nov 15, 1926). Private operators under contract to the Post
`Office Department now conducted the entire service, a system that promoted the growth of the airline
`industry.
`
`Sep 1, 1927: American Railway Express and major airlines began air cargo express operations.
`Referring to the importance of this event, the Cleveland Plain Deaier wrote that though it was "much less
`spectacular than the long trarsoceanic flights, the beginning of real cornmercial aviation is, from the
`practical point of view, the most worthy development of all."
`
`Oct 19, 1927: Pan American Airways began its operations with an air mail flight between the United
`States and Cuba, accomplished with a rented piano to meet a contract deadline. The company began
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`regular air mail service between Key West and Havana on Oct 28, and scheduled passenger service on the
`route on Jan 16, 1928.
`
`Oct 1927: The International Radio Convention met in Washington, DC. Dining sessions that lasted into
`November, the conferees secured international agreements on the use of certain frequencies by aircraft and
`airway control stations. As a result, it was necessary to reassign frequencies to the Airways Division of the
`Aeronautics Branch and to other US. Goverrunent agencies. The Aeronautics Branch assisted the
`Interdepartmental Radio Advisory Committee in making these reassigrunents.
`
`*1928
`
`Jan 15, 1928: The Aeronautics Branch published a list of newly licensed pilots that included James
`Herman Banning as holder of a limited commercial
`license. Banning was the firs: l-trtown African
`American to receive a Federal pilot license. The first Federal transport pilot license issued to an African
`American is believed to have been received by C. Alfred “Chief” Anderson in 1932.
`Black aviators had been active in the United States as early as the years preceding World War I, an
`era when nearly all pilots were unlicensed. The first African American to receive a pilot certificate of any
`type was probably Eugene Bullarcl, who was iicensed by the French air corps in 1917 and served as a
`combat pilot.
`In 1921, Bessie Coiemari became the first African American to receive a pilot's certificate
`from the Federation Aeronaiitique intemationale, an international organization based in Paris.
`
`Jan 31, 1928: The Aeronautics Branch's Domestic Air News reported an eariy instance of airplane noise
`nuisance. The proprietor of the Cackle Corner Poultry Farm, Garrettsville, Ohio, complained to the
`Postmaster General that low-flying planes were disrupting egg production. The Postmaster General
`forwarded the letter to National Air Transport, Inc., the private company operating the New YorI<—Chicago
`air mail route, suggesting it make a special effort to maintain altitude over Garrettsville.
`
`Mar 8, 1923: The Foreign Air Mail Act expanded the 15.8. Post Office's role in international mail by
`giving it new authority to award contracts for periods of up to ten years for transport of mail to foreign
`countries and US. insular possessions.
`
`Mar 20, 1928: The Department of Commerce announced the award of contracts for equipment that
`included 12 new radio stations capable keeping pilots advised of changes in weather conditions while they
`were in flight. At that time, the Department was operating 17 radio stations that had been received when it
`assumed responsibility for the transcontinental airway (see Jul 1, £927). Known as Airway Radio Stations
`under Commerce, the facilities served as gathering points for data on weather and flights for use in pre-
`flight briefings for pilots. The stations transmitted this information along the airways by radioteiegraphy.
`(Soon, however, teletypewriter communications via ground lines began to be used for this purpose: see Jul
`1, E928) During Jan 1929, the Department reported that three stations were now broadcasting hourly voice
`weather reports to aircraft in flight. When necessary for safety, the stations also accepted messages from
`operating companies and transmitted them to pilots aioft. By Jun 30, 1929, 11 new standard stations had
`replaced older stations with obsolete are-type equipment, and new radio equipment was installed at nine
`other locations. All these stations transmitted scheduled voice broadcasts. By mid-1933, there were 68
`radio communication stations, and a growing number of pilots were able to send as weft as receive
`transmissions. At the end of the following year, radio-equipped aircraft flying the airways included 326
`with two—way radio and 449 with receiving sets only.
`
`Assistant Secretary of Commerce MacCracken called a special conference of
`Mar 28, 1928:
`representatives of the Army Air Corps, Navy Bureau of Aeronautics, Weather Bureau, Bureau of
`Standards, and the National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics to study the causes and prevention of
`ice fonnation on aircraft, and to discuss the possible development of an instrurnent to indicate when ice
`forms on an aircraft in flight.
`
`l-lermann Koch], a German, and James Fitzrnaurice, an Irishman, accompanied by one
`Apr 12-13, 1928:
`passenger, made the first nonstop east-to-west crossing of the Atiantic by airplane, flying from Ireland to
`a crash landing on Greenly Island, Labrador, in the Junkers W-33L Bremen.
`
`Apr 15-21, 1928: George Hubert Wilkins, an Australian explorer, and Carl Ben Eielson, an American
`pilot, made the first flight across the Arctic in a heavier—than-air craft, flying from Point Barrow,
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`Alaska, to Spitsbergen, Norway. in a Lockheed Vega. Later in the year, Wilkins and Eielson flew the same
`Vega along the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, earning the distinction of being the first to operate
`an airplane in Antarctica.
`May 1, 1928: Pitcairn Aviation began operations along the Atlantic seaboard as a contract mail-hauler.
`The airline inaugurated passenger operations between New York and Washington on Aug 18, 1930, under
`the name Eastern Air Transport. The growing carrier acquired New York Airways in 1931 and Luddington
`Air Lines in 1933, and later took the name Eastern Air Lines in 1934. Eastern subsequently absorbed
`Colonial Airlines in 1956 and Mackey Air Lines in 1967.
`
`May 16, 1928: Transcontinental Air Transport (TAT) came into being. Backed by powerful financial
`groups that allied manufacturers with operating airlines, TAT was unusual for its time in giving priority to
`passenger service rather than mail. The airline was popularly known as the "Lindbergh Line" because of its
`association with the famous aviator. (See 111} 7, 1929, and July 19, 1930.)
`
`May 17, 1928: Another amendment to the Air Mail Act of 1925 {see Jun 3, 1926) provided that air carriers
`that had operated satisfactorily on mail routes for two years could exchange their Contracts for "air mail
`route certificates" for a period not to exceed 10 years. The amendment protected the investment of the
`airlines in the equipment necessary for carrying out their original contracts since the life of that equipment
`was considerably longer than the life of those contracts. At this time, mail contracts provided virtually the
`only profitable form of airiine operation. (See Apr 29, 1930.)
`
`May 3 l~Jt1n 9, 1928: Australian pilots Charles E. Kingsford—Smith and Charles T. P. Uhn, accompanied by
`a navigator and a radioman, both Americans, made the first transpacific crossing by air. They flew from
`Oaldand, Catif., to Brisbane, Australia, with stopovers at Hawaii and the Fiji Islands, in a modified Fokker
`F.VII.
`
`Jun It, 1928: Friedrich Stamer made the first rocket-powered piloted night,
`Wasserkuppe, Germany.
`Takeoff was assisted by an elastic launching rope.
`approximately one mile.
`
`in a taitless glider, at
`The craft
`traveled
`
`Jun 17-18, 1928: Wilmer Stultz piloted a pontoon-equipped Fokker from Newfoundiand to Wales on the
`first nonstop transatlantic flight by a seaplane. He was accompanied by a mechanic and by Amelia
`Earhart, the first woman transatlantic air passenger.
`
`Jun 20, 1928: Braniff Air Lines began operations. Organized by brothers Thomas and Paul Braniff, the
`airline carried passengers between Tulsa and Oklahoma City. The brothers soon sold their airline, but later
`organized Braniff Airways, which began operations on Nov 13, 1930,
`in the same region After
`expanding and acquiring Latin American routes, the company changed its name to Braniff International
`Airways on Jun 4, 1948.
`
`Jun 30, 1928: During the quarter that ended on this date, the Commerce Department's Aeronautics Branch
`established a five-member Aircraft Accident Board to investigate and analyze civil aircraft accidents with
`a view to determining and eliminating their causes.
`
`Jun 30, 1928 During fiscal 1928, which ended on this date, the Commerce Department succeeded in
`developing a practical radio navigation beacon system. Two series of flight tests were conducted on the
`New York-Cleveland airway between Jul 192'? and Feb 1928. During fiscal 1929, the Aeronautics Branch
`standardized a type of four-course radio range system in which pilots listened to aural signals to determine
`if they were on course. By Jan 30, 1929, the Branch was able to report that seven of these standard radio
`beacons were in operation, providing it continuous radio-marked course from Omaha to New York and
`from Key West to Havana. The Branch stepped up installation of four-course radio ranges in the early
`1930s. This type of facility became the standard civil air navigation aid, and retained that status until after
`World War 11 (see Calendaryear 1952 and Sep 5, 1974).
`
`Jul 1, 1928: The Commerce Department began using teletype machines to transmit aviation weather
`information. Among the first airport stations to receive teletypes were those at Hadley Field, N.J.,
`Cleveland, Ohio, Chicago, 111., and Concord, Calif. Those units were alt connected with the central office
`at Washington, DC, from which data were exchanged for all locations. By Oct 1938, the teletype weather
`communications system had been extended to a total of 21,790 miles, covering all 48 states except Maine,
`New I-Iarnpshire, and South Dakota.
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`Aug 1, 1928: As a first step toward promoting uniform state aeronautical legislation consistent with
`Federal law, the Aeronautics Branch issued Aeronautics Bulletin No. 18 reviewing the characteristics of
`various state statutes and setting forth suggested drafts of required laws. At this time, 2.0 states had no
`aeronautical legislation (See Dec 16, 1930.)
`
`Sep 15, 1928: The Aeronautics Branch published civil aviation accident statistics for the first half of
`1928. There was a total of 390 accidents, of which 34 occurred in scheduled flying, 69 in student
`irrstruction, 17 in experimental operations, and 270 in miscellaneous flying. Assigned causes blamed pilot
`error for 43.29 percent of the accidents, engine failure for 16.59 percent, weather for 10.23 percent, and
`airport or terrain for 8.72 percent. There was a total of 153 fatalities and 276 injuries. Only six of the
`fatalities occurred in scheduled flying.
`
`Sep 18, 1928: The Graf Zeppeiin, the most successful rigid airship ever built, first flew. By the time it
`was retired in 1937, this craft had iiown more than a million miles, spent 16,000 hours in the air, and
`carried 13,100 passengers.
`
`Sep 19, 1928: The Packard Motor Car Company fiigltt tested the first diesel engine to power heavier-
`than—air craft. Diesel aircraft engines seemed promising but proved too heavy, and interest in their
`development waned during the 19305.
`
`Oct 31, 1928: Statistics published by the Aeronautics Branch indicated that of the 3,659 pilots holding
`active licenses, nine states and the District of Columbia accounted for 2,343: Caiifomia, 633', New Yorlg
`347; Illinois, 216; Miclrigan, 194; Ohio and Pennsylvania, 180 each; Texas, 176; District of Columbia, 161:.
`Missouri, I50; and Virginia, 105. Of the overall total, 2,426 (66.3 percent) were transport pilots, 385 (10.5
`percent) limited commercial, 63 (1.7 percent) industrial, and 785 (21.5 percent) private. One year
`previously, transport pilots had accounted for 85 percent of the total. The reduced percentage was due to
`the faster growth of private flying.
`
`Nov 1928: Fred E. Weick, an aerodynamicist at the Langley Memorial Aeronautical Laboratory, described
`in National Advisory Committee for Aeronautics (NACA) Teclutical Note No. 30E the testing of tong-
`chord cowling that significantly reduced drag, the retarding force acting on an airplane moving in air.
`Unlike conventional cowlings of that period, which covered the crankcase and the lower portion of the
`cylinders, the NACA cowl totally enclosed the engine.
`In actual flight tests, a Curtiss AT-SA trainer
`equipped with NACA's cowling increased its maximum speed from 118 to 137' mph--the equivalent of
`providing the aircraft with 33 additional horsepower without an added expenditure in fuel. The NACA
`cowl had a very positive effect on airline economics when its appeared on the modern transports of the
`early 19305.
`
`Dec 4, 1928: The Aeronautics Branch issued regulations covering the entry and clearance of aircraft
`carrying foreign cargo and passengers into the United States. The rules became effective Feb 1, 1929.
`
`Dec 12-14, 1928: The International Civil Aeronautics Conference held sessions in Washington, D.C.
`Tire President had suggested the conference, and Congress had authorized it by a joint resolution. The 441
`participants included 77 official and 39 unofficial delegates from foreign countries. The conference
`provided an opportunity to exchange views on problems pertaining to aircraft in international commerce,
`and the program inchtded presentations on a variety of aviation topics.
`Another purpose was to
`commemorate the 25th anniversary of the first flight of the Wright brothers. Orville Wright was guest of
`honor, and the membership of the conference attended ceremonies at Kitty Hawk, N.C., on the Dec 17
`anniversary.
`
`Dec 19, 1928: Harold F. Pitcairn made the first autogiro flight in the United States at Willow Grove, Pa.
`Designed by Spain's Juan de la Cierva, the rotary-wing aircraft obtained its support in flight from a rotor
`turned by the air forces resuiting from its motion. Propulsion came from a conventional engine and
`airscrew. On Feb 12, 1931, the Detroit News placed the first order for a commercial autogiro in the United
`States, the Pitcairn PC A-2. The Aeronautics Branch type—certifrcated the plane on Apr 2, 1931, and
`Pitcairrfs Autogiro Company of America built 51 autogiros in 1931.
`
`*1929
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`
`Jan 14, 1929: The Coniinerce Departments Aeronautics Branch received the Acre Club of America
`Trophy for 1928 for its outstanding development of airways and air navigation facilities. Robert J. Collier
`had established the award, first presented in 1912,
`to honor the previous year's most outstanding
`contribution to U.S. aeronautics or astronautics.
`In 1922, the Aero Club of America was incorporated as
`the National Aeronautic Association (NAA), which assruned ariininistration of the award and renamed it
`the Robert J. Collier Trophy in 1944-.
`
`Jan 29. 1929: The Airways Division of the Department of Commerce turned on Beacon #25 at Miriam,
`Nevada, on the San Francisco-Salt Lake City Airway, completing the lighting of the transcontinental
`airway by closing the final twenty mile uriliglited gap. (See lid 1, 1927.}
`
`Feb 4, 1929: The Aeronautics Branch estabiished a Field Service Section which assumed certain duties
`performed by the former Airport Section, including assistance to municipalities and other organizations
`desiring to establish or improve airports. Five airport specialists, inciuding the section chief, toured the
`U.S.
`to inspect sites, confer with officials, and address civic groups. The creation of the Field Service
`Section w