airmailairplanes

From the National Postal Museum: " Eddie Gardner, who began flying the mail in 1918, had been nicknamed "Turkey Bird" by fellow pilots who thought his wobbly takeoffs resembled a turkey trying to fly. Somewhat insulted, Gardner insisted on shortening the name to "Turk Bird," which he considered more acceptable. He had already logged over 1,400 hours of flight time and was working as a senior flight instructor for the Army when Gardner was asked to join the newly-formed Air Mail Service. "Before taking to the air, Eddie Gardner spent several years working as a chauffeur and mechanic in Chicago, Illinois. He had a love of auto racing, and in 1910 he purchased a sporty National Motor Vehicle Company racing car from Benjamin Lipsner (who, as the first superintendent of the Air Mail Service, was the person who hired Gardner as an airmail pilot). "Having survived his years in the airmail service, Eddie Gardner died on May 6, 1921 while stunt flying at a Kansas county fair." (more) Robert Shank (far left) -- "Appointed August 22, 1918, Robert Shank was the last of the original four airmail pilots to join the Air Mail Service. On November 19, 1918, Shrank and pilot Eddie Gardner were fired when the pair refused to carry mail in a low visibility fog that had already claimed the life of one pilot that morning."(more)

Nice photo :)

Eddie Gardner is an icon in his hometown of Plainfield, Illinois. The Plainfield Historical Society has a nice Eddie Gardner collection

From Edith Dodd Culver's THE DAY THE AIRMAIL BEGAN: "To quote from Reuben Fleet's 1966 speech before the Air Mail Pioneers: "I left Lieutenant Webb in charge at Belmont Park and the Curtiss plant, with Lieutenant Miller and Bonsal helping, and in reserve, and instructed Webb to get the other four aerial mail airplanes ready, and fly one from Belmont Park with the aerial mail at eleven the next morning to Bustleton Field, which the Philadelphia Postmaster had selected for Philadelphia. Edgerton at Bustleton Field would relieve Lieutenant Webb there and fly on to Washington, while Lieutenant Culver would relay the aerial mail at Busttleton Park in New York."

Jean Dieuzaide – Concorde Essai de Freinge - 1968

Hi,
I'am the admin of the new group Art'flighing Machines dedicated to an artistic approach of flighing things

It would be an honour to have your picture into this group

Aviation was not very safe in 1918. I can't imagine some pilot risking his or her life to deliver a small package of mail from the NYC area to the Philly area, flying in an open cockpit with a small fuel tank. It made more sense to put it on a train in Manhattan and deliver it to Philadelphia city center in about 3 hours with a fraction of the cost and a fraction of the chance of disaster. Pilots often got lost in bad weather and ran out of fuel.