![]() |
Cromwell Dixon at the controls of his plane, the Hummingbird, after crossing the Continental Divide. Montana Historical Society Photograph Archives, 941-849 |
Wednesday, August 7, 2013
Early Aviation in Montana
Eugene Ely and Cromwell Dixon celebrated aviation firsts in Montana in 1911, and ironically, both young pilots met tragic ends soon after. Twenty-five-year-old Ely was already famous as the first pilot to take off and land on a naval ship. The well-known aviator was also the first to fly an airplane in Missoula. On June 28, 1911, he took off and landed at the baseball field at Fort Missoula. He made three successful flights, the third with his mechanic as a passenger. It was the first dual flight in Montana. His Curtiss Pusher airplane arrived at the Missoula depot by train after similar flights in Butte, Great Falls, Kalispell, and Lewistown. To transport excited spectators to the fort for the event, both the railroad from the Bitterroot Valley and the Missoula streetcar line added extra cars. Over three thousand people witnessed the flight. On October 18, 1911, at the Georgia State Fair in Macon, Georgia, Ely died after jumping from his plane as it crashed. In Helena, Cromwell Dixon made headlines that same year. On September 30, spectators watched him take off from the fairgrounds and land on the west side of Mullan Pass, becoming the first aviator to cross the Continental Divide.
Days later on October 2, Dixon died when his plane crashed at the state fair at Spokane, Washington. Both pilots died within two weeks of each other, having made aviation history in Montana.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Very useful information, Keep posting more blog like this, Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAviation Academy in Chennai
Aviation Courses in Chennai
fly air aviation academy chennai
aviation training in chennai
Big data is a term that describes the large volume of data – both structured and unstructured – that inundates a business on a day-to-day basis. big data projects for students But it’s not the amount of data that’s important.Project Center in Chennai
DeleteSpring Framework has already made serious inroads as an integrated technology stack for building user-facing applications. Corporate TRaining Spring Framework the authors explore the idea of using Java in Big Data platforms.
Spring Training in Chennai
The new Angular TRaining will lay the foundation you need to specialise in Single Page Application developer. Angular Training
I have gone through your blog, it was very much useful for me and because of your blog, and also I gained many unknown information, the way you have clearly explained is really fantastic. Kindly post more like this, Thank You.
ReplyDeleteairport ground staff training courses in chennai
airport ground staff training in chennai
ground staff training in chennai
Such an excellent and interesting blog, do post like this more with more information, this was very useful, Thank you.
ReplyDeleteAir hostess training in Chennai
Air Hostess Training Institute in chennai
air hostess institute in chennai
best air hostess training institute in chennai