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Blogroll
Category Archives: Air travel
July 4 balloon ascension, 1858
Two balloonists were the talk of Independence Day 1858 in Springfield. The balloons were a traveling show, piloted by the “celebrated aeronauts … Messrs. White and Brooks,” the Illinois State Journal reported on July 6, 1858. “An immense crowd congregated … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Amusements, Celebrations, Lincoln, Abraham, Spectacles
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Louie Mitchell, pioneer aviator
Louis “Louie” Mitchell not only was one of America’s first air pilots; at 210 pounds, he also was the heaviest. Mitchell had no connection to Sangamon County in life, but his final resting place is in Oak Ridge Cemetery’s Abbey … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Transportation
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Southwest Airport
Craig Isbell, who once told Charles Lindbergh he’d never make it across the Atlantic, helped bring Springfield into the age of air. Isbell and a partner, Gelder Lockwood, founded the Springfield Aviation Co., which operated Southwest Airport, on Chatham Road … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Airport, Business, Prominent figures, Transportation
6 Comments
Earle Baker Perce, Antarctic explorer
Perce Point, a headland on an island on the west edge of Antarctica, commemorates a Williamsville man’s role in exploring some of the last unknown places on earth. Earle Baker Perce (1910-68) was a U.S. Navy radioman and pilot when … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Military, Prominent figures, Science
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John E. Hickey (pioneer aviator)
John E. Hickey (1890-1970), a founder of aviation’s Silver Wings Fraternity, had been a pilot for longer than anyone else in Illinois when he died in 1970. Hickey’s first flight took place in a hot-air balloon in 1908. He told … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Airport, Prominent figures
6 Comments
Victory Loan Flying Circus, 1919
The Victory Loan Flying Circus, a barnstorming group of World War I pilots using WWI combat aircraft, put on a show for thousands of central Illinoisans in front of the Illinois State Fairgrounds Grandstand on April 15, 1919. An unbilled … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Journalism, Media, Military, Prominent figures, Spectacles, Women
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Adelaide O’Brien Rentschler (aviator)
Adelaide O’Brien (1915-99) of Springfield was the first licensed woman pilot in downstate Illinois. During World War II, O’Brien was a local ground instructor for U.S. Army Air Corps flight cadets. O’Brien also was widely known in central Illinois for … Continue reading
Posted in Air travel, Airport, Arts and letters, Military, Women
Tagged Southwest Airport, Springfield Theater Guild
4 Comments
Opening of Commercial Airport, 1928 (photo)
Posted in Air travel, Airport, Business, Uncategorized
Tagged Buraldine Crumly Daykin, Craig Isbell
1 Comment
Endurance flying record, 1939
Brothers Hunter and Humphrey Moody beat the world record for endurance flying in a light aircraft — nearly 344 hours — in July and August 1939. The brothers, who lived in Dalton City, set the record flying out of Springfield … Continue reading
Lyman Hubbard Sr.
Lyman Hubbard Sr. (1927-2012) was a career U.S. Air Force pilot and the only Springfieldian to be a member of the Tuskegee Airmen, the famed all-black World War II air squadron. Hubbard, who flew B-25 bombers during World War II, … Continue reading
Posted in African Americans, Air travel, Ethnic groups, Military, Prominent figures
Tagged Feitshans High School
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