And what country can preserve its liberties if their rulers are not warned from time to time that their people preserve the spirit of resistance? Let them take arms. The remedy is to set them right as to facts, pardon and pacify them. What signify a few lives lost in a century or two? The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.
Katherine Stinson was quite the aviatrix. Fourth licensed female pilot in the US, first female pilot in Canada. Learned to fly in a Wright Flyer B in 1912 from a pilot trained by the Wright Brothers’ company. She went on to set several early flight records.
The plane in the photograph is a Curtiss Special, a one-of-a-kind built for her; some sources say it was based on the JN-4 but unlike the Jenny has only one seat. She flew it in shows and demonstrations prior to WWI.
She and her brothers and sisters moved to San Antonio and established Stinson Field in 1915 IIRC, which was both an airport and a pilot training school. It is now Stinson Municipal Airport and the second oldest general aviation airport in the US. One of her brothers also established an aircraft manufacturing company in 1920.
During WWI our benevolent government forbade all civilian flying (including shutting down her school), and would not take her as a military pilot, so she raised money for the Red Cross with flying demonstrations, and contracted to fly air mail, which was a very new idea. In early June 1918 she flew mail from Chicago to Binghamton NY, 783 miles and a long distance record,, but had a rough landing and the prop was damaged. She had to wait a week for a new propeller to be delivered, then she finished the route by flying the rest of the way to NYC. So she is cuddling that propeller in the picture for a good reason - it is brand new and no doubt expensive!
In July 1918 she flew the first airmail route in Canada from Calgary to Edmonton in that same airplane. There is a replica of the plane in the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton.
She really wanted to do more for the war effort, so later in 1918 she went to France to serve as a Red Cross ambulance driver (she had previously learned to drive the family car when she was 14).. Unfortunately while in Europe she contracted influenza and tuberculosis, and returned in 1919 in poor health. Although she managed to hold TB at bay and became an award-winning architect, married, raised four adopted children, and lived to age 86, she never flew again.
When I was a kid I had a plastic model kit that I built of a Stinson Station Wagon. Had high wings and it was a tail dragger and that's about all I remember 'bout it.
Founded Stinson Aviation in 1913. According to her Wikipedia. The Stinson Aviation Wikipedia says her brother founded it.
ReplyDeleteWikipedia says they built about 10,000 planes until they went defunct in 1948
I wonder what the three bladed propeller on the wing drives.
ReplyDeleteAl_in_Ottawa
The little prop may be an air speed sensor or generator for the air speed indicator
ReplyDeleteA lot of history standing there in that photo.
ReplyDeleteKatherine Stinson was quite the aviatrix. Fourth licensed female pilot in the US, first female pilot in Canada. Learned to fly in a Wright Flyer B in 1912 from a pilot trained by the Wright Brothers’ company. She went on to set several early flight records.
The plane in the photograph is a Curtiss Special, a one-of-a-kind built for her; some sources say it was based on the JN-4 but unlike the Jenny has only one seat. She flew it in shows and demonstrations prior to WWI.
She and her brothers and sisters moved to San Antonio and established Stinson Field in 1915 IIRC, which was both an airport and a pilot training school. It is now Stinson Municipal Airport and the second oldest general aviation airport in the US. One of her brothers also established an aircraft manufacturing company in 1920.
During WWI our benevolent government forbade all civilian flying (including shutting down her school), and would not take her as a military pilot, so she raised money for the Red Cross with flying demonstrations, and contracted to fly air mail, which was a very new idea. In early June 1918 she flew mail from Chicago to Binghamton NY, 783 miles and a long distance record,, but had a rough landing and the prop was damaged. She had to wait a week for a new propeller to be delivered, then she finished the route by flying the rest of the way to NYC. So she is cuddling that propeller in the picture for a good reason - it is brand new and no doubt expensive!
In July 1918 she flew the first airmail route in Canada from Calgary to Edmonton in that same airplane. There is a replica of the plane in the Alberta Aviation Museum in Edmonton.
She really wanted to do more for the war effort, so later in 1918 she went to France to serve as a Red Cross ambulance driver (she had previously learned to drive the family car when she was 14).. Unfortunately while in Europe she contracted influenza and tuberculosis, and returned in 1919 in poor health. Although she managed to hold TB at bay and became an award-winning architect, married, raised four adopted children, and lived to age 86, she never flew again.
Correction: I left out that her mother was also part of the Stinson Flying School and airfield operation.
Deletep.p.s. And she put on flying tours/shows in Canada, England, Japan, and China. Damn.
DeleteThank you for that biography of a fascinating character. And the Stinson Aircraft Company would be another good subject.
DeleteComments like this one are the reason I ALWAYS scroll down a bit. Thanks!
DeleteWhen I was a kid I had a plastic model kit that I built of a Stinson Station Wagon. Had high wings and it was a tail dragger and that's about all I remember 'bout it.
ReplyDelete