Aviation history of Kingman is about to make a great change.
Transcontinental Air Transport-Maddux Air will be combined with Western Air
Express to form the first big airline service in the country. Postmaster
General Folger Brown was the person who combined the two air services together.
The two become Transcontinental and Western Airlines. So TWA is about to change
so greatly, with introduction of the Douglas Aircraft DC-1 and DC-2 and finally
the DC-3 into the air carrier service would eliminate the need for the train
service at night. Transcontinental flight will become the normal for air
travel. With that improvement in air service, Port Kingman will become a minor
stop on the way to Los Angeles or Phoenix. The Berry
Field will no longer be used and will disappear.
August 29,
1930—Air Mail Contracts Contested, a front page article on the Mohave
County Miner. “Washington – A bid from
a newly formed aviation company, the United Avigation Company of Pittsburgh, today lay in
the post office department, a silent challenge to at least two policies on
administration of the Waters Air Mail Act, and to the Western Air Express and
TAT.
The United
Avigation Company offer of 64 per cent of the $1.25 per mile maximum was low
bid for the new air mail route from New York
City to Los Angeles via Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis and Kansas City and Kingman.
It was in competition with a 97 ½ per cent joint bid of Western Air Express and Transcontinental Air
Transport.
In
committee hearings on the Waters bill, Postmaster General Brown
was frank in
urging its provisions as a financial aid to the firms al-
ready in the
air mail field, many of which offered testimony they had
suffered
losses under the old law. The legislation was referred to as
being, in
effect, a subsidy for encouragement of air passenger service,
so
this country would forge to the front among nations in commercial
aviation.
The bid of
United Avigation, charted August 18, a combination of three passenger-carrying
companies now operating along the proposed route, put the theory of the
precedence of the pioneer concern squarely up the postmaster general for
decision.” (mcm)
October 3, 1930—Kingman May get Air Mail; Should get Service Soon,
Western Air and T. A. T. May Join Becoming Nation’s Great East – West Line,
Fields to be consolidated, according to reports, using TAT, eliminating present
Western Air Express field., a front page article on the Mohave County Miner. “New York --- Award has
been made of the new transcontinental air mail contract. It was seen as presaging
the probable merger of the three aviation companies into what might become the
largest passenger, mail and express air line in the country.” The contract is
given to both Transcontinental Air Transport-Maddux Air Lines and Western Air
Express. The officials at the Pittsburgh Aviation announced that they are
affiliated to T. A. T. and would run the eastern leg of the air mail line.
TAT-Maddux would go from west coast to Columbus, OH. and Western
Air would go from the west coast to Kansas City, MO. So neither
line comes all the way to the east. But Western Air Express was looking into
the possibility have such an extension to the east. Negotiations have been
under way for sometime between TAT and Western Air. Now include the
announcement of the Pittsburgh Aviation Company becoming an affiliated you may
have the largest air carrier in the country. The TAT officials are keeping
silent about this triple merger. “In a special telegram from the news bureau of
the Western Air Express to the Miner, it was stated that, “There was no
official word as to Kingman getting air mail, however, it seems highly probable
as it is a regular point on our schedule.” Kingman and Mohave County will have a
stop if there is sufficient volume of air mail. Also TAT-Maddux and Western Air
will start using Port Kingman as the main air terminal. Berry Field will be a
secondary field. (mcm)
Airline
Announces Excursion Rates, a page 6 article in the Miner. Eddie Wallace
announced that excursion fare from Kingman to Los Angeles will take
effect on October 4. The ship will leave at 2:30 PM for LA. This rate is for 90 days. So you can fly
to LA and come back in the time limit. (mcm)
October 10,
1930—Flyers Land Here Seeking Rain Shelter, front page article on the
Mohave County Miner. Robert Buck a 16 year old junior transcontinental champion
flyer stopped at Port Kingman on his way to the east. He left LA at 7:11 AM; he was making good time even with the severe
storms in the area. He landed at 9:47 AM at the air
terminal. He stayed the night because of the storms. Another flyer has to stop
at Port Kingman, Miss Laura Ingalls. She was trying to shatter the transcontinental
west to east air journey for women. Her time was over 2 ½ hours from LA
this morning, also being good time with the nasty weather. She has to spend the
night here and leave the next day. Along with these two planes, there are five
other planes at Port Kingman. Every plane is tied down to weather the storm.
Air travel is temporary suspended. (mcm)
October 17,
1930—Combine Air Lines, Move Local Field, Air Mail Starting about Oct.
1st Reported, front page article on the Mohave County Miner. “New York---Harris M.
Hanshue, president of recently combined Transcontinental and Western Air
Express, announced during the week the company’s transcontinental air mail
service, scheduled to be inaugurated on Oct. 15, had been postponed for about
two weeks, to permit completion of the ground work between New York and Columbus.” With the
two weeks postponement will help the communication line to be completed. The
new service will cover the entire line from New York to Los Angeles. Now that the
Pittsburgh Aviation Company is an affiliate this ensures air mail line to the
optimal service. Equipment from the Berry Field is moved to Port Kingman, and
the same for Holbrook, which is moved to Winslow. (mcm)
October 24,
1930—N. Y. – Los Angeles Air Mail via T. A. T. Opening, front page
article of the Mohave County Miner. “Los Angeles --- Another
chapter in western aviation is to be written Saturday when, at 5 AM, the first air mail and passenger plane of the
Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., will take off from the Alhambra terminal for
the east via Kingman.” A group of postal and civic officials are attending this
event. It is headed by Postmaster P. P. O’Brien and other representatives from Los Angeles, Pasadena, Alhambra and Glendale will be there
to watch the flight take-off. This plane will carry a load of letters from
school children that are written for children in the eastern cities. At 8 PM, another event will take place for an eastbound
plane doing the same thing. (mcm)
October 31,
1930—Flying Class of Five Here, front page article of the Mohave County
Miner. From Needles, CA; William Randall of Needles’ Air Service will conducted
the classes here in Kingman. He is expanding his instruction by two classes,
one in Kingman and the other in Las Vegas. He uses the Needles Municipal Airport to teach some
of his classes. On Mondays, he will teach five trainees from Kingman at Port
Kingman. His other class with be on Thursday in Las Vegas. (mcm)
November 14,
1930—“Air Mail” Service East Available to City and County, front page
article of the Mohave County Miner. Postmaster O. D. M. Gaddis has said that
there will be faster service even with no air mail service. Kingman will have
no direct air mail connection on both east and west. Western Air and TAT still
use Port Kingman for refueling. “Air Mail dropped in the local post office by 5:30 PM will be dispatched as follows: East via trains 2
and 24, 24 arriving at Winslow making connection with the air mail plane
leaving there as 5:50 AM. No western
service is, of course, available.” (mcm)
December 19,
1930—Air Service for Kingman is Suspended, front page article of the
Mohave County Miner. As of December 11, air passenger service from Port Kingman
is suspended. The order has removed two of the four planes from service to Port
Kingman. The Maddux lines had two planes landing at 12:30 and 1:30 PM using Ford
Tri-motors. They have been transferred to the Pacific Coast until further
notice. The other two planes from Western Air Express are air mail planes. So
there is no passenger service from Kingman to the west. You have to go to
Winslow to fly into Los Angeles. Port Kingman
still has one of the best 24 hour radio services on the line, with four
personnel working the facility. The suspension looks to be temporary. (mcm)
Girl Flyer
Rides to Record over Lindbergh, page 5 article of the Miner. Ruth Nichols has a
new transcontinental record. She set a new Pacific to Atlantic record time to
surpass Col. Lindbergh. She made a visit to Kingman, recently. She is one of
many famous or near famous people to visit Kingman, in past two years. With
Port Kingman not buzzing with aviation activity, it is still useful for the
tri-motor pilots to fly down low to see the field from the air to get their
bearings. The town’s people are working on getting more work and use out of the
air terminal. (mcm)
January 9,
1931—Two Planes Land Here During Storm, page 5 article in the Mohave
County Miner. With stormy weather in and around Kingman, Transcontinental and
Western Airline planes land at Port Kingman to ride out the terrific weather
conditions. Port Kingman is an emergency airfield for TWA as they fly in this
area of Arizona. There has
been three days of bad weather. The two planes stayed at the airfield for the
day and headed out today, because the weather is now clear. Along with the TWA
planes were private planes using the airfield as refuge from the weather. (mcm)
January 23,
1931—Air Express Spans Nation in 36 Hours, front page article on the
Mohave County Miner. “Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc., has announced an
immediate 36 hour coast to coast air express to be developed into world-wide
proportions.” The need for speed has increase a need for faster air service for
shippers and traffic men. There have been some experiments of California gardenias
being flown to New York City daily. The
flowers are such good condition, that the florists needing more flowers from California. Also there
will be connections with steamship lines and foreign to domestic airlines. (mcm)
February 27,
1931—Radio Range Airway Unit to be Built, on the front page of the
Mohave County Miner. The U. S. Department of Commerce, the Airways Division has
authorized a new radio station for Kingman. Ora Gruninger has won the contract
for the construction. This new station location is at the Berry station near
Route 66. The property is leased from Frank Kapp. The cost of the radio range
will close to few thousand dollars, but no price tag has been published. The
radio range is like the lighted beacon at night. The radio range will stay in
constant contact with the planes crews and direct them on the proper flight
path. There will be one built in Winslow and two more between Kingman and Los Angeles. (mcm)
March 6, 1931—Air Service
is Resumed for Kingman Field, a front page article of the Mohave County Miner.
Mr. Baker the manager for Port Kingman stated the regular daily service from
TWA is back in service, passenger service to all points along the TWA line from
Kingman. Flights three and four (with the Fokker planes) will be in place. The
eastbound flight is 7 AM and the
westbound is 7 PM. Kingman had no air service for the past couple of weeks.
Flights one and two (with the Ford planes) are still suspended. The town’s
residents are happy the air service is functioning again. Also an auxiliary
power unit was installed at the field. It is there in case of main power
failure. (mcm)
March 13,
1931—Kite Contest Holds Stage Here Sunday, front page article of the
Mohave County Miner. Kingman’s Second Annual Kite Flying Contest will be held
at the old airstrip, Wallapia Field. The Boys’ Work Committee of the Rotary
Club is sponsoring the event on Sunday at 2 PM. Fred MacAlpine is the chairman
of the event and he made the announcement. All boys and girls of grammar school
age of Kingman are invited to complete. So far more than 90 children have
signed up. There will be three age groups and two prizes for each group. Hoping
for good winds for the day, that one day needed for the event. The grammar
school pupils have been coached by Joe Smith the athletic instructor. For every
evening dozens of boys and girls are busily practicing for the event in the
strong March breezes. Transportation will be available at the drug store corner
at 1 PM. (mcm)
Air Fighters
May Base Here En Route East, another
front page article of the Miner. The War Department has sent word that Kingman
will be one of two scores of cities to be visited by the Army Air Corps units.
The Air Corps is holding exercises at Dayton, OH. So all the
units in the country are flying to Ohio, the
exercises are being held from May 20 to 30. More that 670 planes will be
involved. The exact time and date is not known and how many will stay in
Kingman for the night. Some 335 observation planes, 205 pursuit, 51 attack, 36
bombardment and 56 heavy duty transport will attend the exercise and 740
officers and 631 enlisted men will be involved. This includes Air Corps and
nation guard units. (mcm)
Aeronautics
Bureau Bulletines Show Kingman Landing, page 5 article in the Miner. “Washington,
D. C. --- The Aeronautical Branch of the Department of Commerce has just issued
an Airway Bulletin describing the Kingman Field at Kingman, Arizona.” The Airways
Bulletins are sent on request to pilots, aircraft operators, and other
concerned with air navigation facilities. It is published in a loose leaf form,
punched for binding and are issued to all airports. The front page of the
Bulletin is divided into upper and lower halves. The upper has a general map of
the city and vicinity showing the location of the airport with reference to the
city, also including landmarks like highways, rivers, lakes, and principle
railroad. The lower has a close-up sketch of the airport showing the dimensions
of the usable landing area and positions of hangers and other buildings, the
locations and character of the night lighting installation, the location and
nature of obstructions, airport markings, and any useful data about the
airport. (mcm)
April 3, 1931—Inaugurate
Nigth Mail by April 10, page 5 article in the Mohave County Miner. Night air
mail will come thru Kingman on April 10. Transcontinental Western Air Company
is using a new type of all metal, single engine, low wing Northup plane for
this night time air mail route. Emmett Baker the manager of Port Kingman, made
the announcement of the air mail service. L. C. Elliott and Hugh S. Souther, of
the US Department of Commerce, Airways Extension superintendents, and Charles
R. Burnett, airplane mechanician, were traveling over the route for the past
week. They were making a survey and location sites for new beacons. They fly
over the site, pick the site they want and then drive out to the site for
finalization. The new Northup airplane has great speed, by cutting time between
Winslow to Los Angeles. (mcm)
April 17, 1931—Test Flight
Plane Here, front page article of the Mohave County Miner. A veteran pilot of
Transcontinental Western Air, Bill Coyle flew the Northup airplane to Kingman
for a stop on the route on Wednesday night. This is the first flight of air
mail at night from Los Angeles to New York. The new air
mail service will start on Monday the 20th. Port Kingman will be an
occasional refueling stop. The Northup plane has a 600 hp Wasp engine, can
cruise at 145 miles an hour, and top speed is 175 miles an hour. TWA has
purchased 6 of these planes. With the Northup airplane, TWA can fly the mail in
less than 24 hours coast to coast. (mcm)
May 8, 1931—Next
Wednesday Kingman Host to Army Air Fleet, Community will be honored by fleet’s
stopping and refueling. Caravan of cars to transport aviators to town for
dinner. Interesting development of army air service told, front page of Mohave
County Miner. On May 13, U. S. Army Air Corps will stop off in Kingman at Port
Kingman for a short stay. The Air Corps is on its way to exercises in Dayton, OH. The stop is
in Kingman is for the nice weather conditions and a great position on the
national airways line. Every plane will be serviced at the airfield. It is the
Army’s First Air Division flying thorough and being headed by Brigadier General
and Assistant Chief of Air Corps Benjamin D. Foulois. Under his command are 672
planes. (mcm)
Fokker Planes
of Two Types are Grounded, another front page article of the Miner. The U. S.
Department of Commerce issued an order to ground all Fokker tri-motor
airplanes. The two types are F-10 and F-10-A, built in the year of 1929. These
are the types of airplanes used by Transcontinental and Western Airlines. The
Fokkers will be placed into hangers at the main terminals. The Fokkers have
been coming to Port Kingman the last two years. The Ford transports are still
flight ready. The order was placed by the Navy. Saying the plane was unstable.
Because of last month’s Fokker accident, it killed Knute Rockne and seven
others, when the wing fell off the tri-motor. Other air services use the
tri-motor for freight and mail. (mcm)
May 15, 1931—Ten Airships
Visit Monday, Army maneuvers land here two days ahead of original schedule,
front page article of the Mohave County Miner. “Hundreds of pieces of fighting
aircraft of the army, navy and marine corps of the United States, groomed for
the greatest of air maneuvers ever sponsored by the government, are today
winging their way over various portions of the country in search of an “unseen
enemy”.” Kingman played host for ten airplanes from Air Corps. The planes were
ahead of schedule. They flew in
formation over Kingman and landed at Port Kingman. There was a change in the
schedule, first learned Friday night when three observation planes stayed the
night in Kingman. All planes were serviced at Port Kingman. (mcm)
May 29, 1931—Air Bombing
Group to be City’s Guests, Fleet of Thirty Army Plans to Stop off Here Friday,
front page article on the Mohave County Miner. A week from today will be the 7th
Bombardment Group of the U. S. Air Corps arrival. Major Joseph T. McNarney
commands the group and sent out announcement to Mohave County Chamber of
Commerce. The 7th BG consists of the 9th and the 31st
Squadrons of March Field, Riverside, CA, the 11th
from Rockwell Field, San Diego, CA, the 208th
from Kelly Field, San Antonio, TX. The 208th
are returning on a different route. Some 30 aircraft, 40 officers and 38
enlisted men will make a stay here for as long as the servicing will take. The
group is returning from exercises back east. (mcm)
June 5, 1931—Army Air
Fleet Visiting Kingman Saturday Noon, Contingent of over thirty ships to arrive
here at 11 o’clock tomorrow
morning. Delayed at Wichita one day.
Enroute to Pacific home port, front page of the Mohave County Miner. The group
was schedule to be here at 11 AM on Friday,
due to bad weather, they have been delayed for a day. The public have been
officially invited to be out at Port Kingman. LeRoy Root the secretary of the
Mohave County Miner will head the group from town. The Standard Oil will supply
the oil and fuel for the bombardment group. (mcm)
June 12, 1931—Big Fleet of
Planes Visit Local Port, Nine bombers and eighteen observation planes drop in
sky harbor here for fuel and food, front page of the Mohave County Miner. “A
hearty welcome was extended by Kingman’s citizens on the last Saturday morning
at 10:15 o’clock when the
planes and personnel of the Seventh Bombardment Group, U. S. Air Corps, zoomed
over the local airport in formation and landed here for a two-hour stay and
lunch.” There was a huge crowd looking over the aircraft. The aviators were
served a hot lunch at the TWA terminal. The 11th Bombardment
Squadron won the distinction of the U. S. Air Corps’ demonstration squadron for
the year while participating in aerial war games. (mcm)
Richfield Oil
Quits Kingman, another front page article on the Miner. Richfield Oil will
withdraw from its local plant here in Kingman. Standard Oil has won the
contract from TWA. Ed Hilty the manager of the Richfield Oil Kingman plant made
the announcement. Richfield has had the
contact with TAT from the start. Standard Oil has purchased the TAT-Maddux fuel
truck for their new operations. (mcm)
June 26, 1931—Paul Miller
and Buck Kelley Avoid Crash in Airplane, page 8 article in the Mohave County
Miner. Paul F. Miller, the editor of the Needles Nugget, and Russell “Buck”
Kelley, both of California, took off
from Searchlight, NV. While in flight, Mr. Kelley got a feeling about something
wrong with airplane. Mr. Kelley is at the controls of the plane. Mr. Miller,
the passenger, crawled out on the wing and founded that they has lost the wheel
of the landing gear. Instead of bailing out, they decided to fly on to Needles.
Ambulances and fire fighting equipment from Kingman went to the Needles
airfield. Mr. Kelley landed the plane without causing any major damages except
for the lost landing gear. The plane also had the same problem, which lead to a
crash just a few weeks ago near Tucson. Mr. Miller
and Dr. D. E. Buckley were on board. (mcm)
Air Mail, 2nd
section, Chamber of Commerce of the Mohave County Miner. “The chamber directors
have been active in the endeavor to procure air mail service for Kingman at an
early date. Likewise the chamber was instrumental in cooperation with the Board
of Supervisors in obtaining the local landing field.” The chamber acted as host
for the latest of flights of the Army Air Corps at Port Kingman. The chamber
has received many commendations from the officers in charge and War Department.
(mcm)
July 3, 1931—Famed Flyer’s
Wife Visitor Here Tuesday, a front page article of the Mohave County Miner.
Mrs. Harold Gatty, the wife of well known aviator, landed at Port Kingman on
Tuesday morning, heading to New York to meet up
with her husband. Mr. Gatty is flying round the world. They are meeting in New York
City, he will finish his trip there and she left Los Angeles and will arrive
Wednesday morning. They have kept in touch by United Press and Associated Press
dispatches and by cables from her husband. The last time they had contact while
he was in Siberia, he used the radio broadcast to talk to her. She
was interviewed by a Miner reporter for United Press. She also talked about her
flight, so far pleasant and wonderful people on board. (mcm)
July 17, 1931—Will Rogers
Meets World Aviators at Home Reception, page 5 article in the Mohave County
Miner. Last Monday, Will Rogers flew thorough here on an eastbound
Transcontinental and Western Air plane. He was heading home to Claremore, OK. from Beverly
Hills, CA. He will be attending a reception
for Wiley Post and Harold Gatty. The reception is on Tuesday. (mcm)
July 24, 1931—Many Fokkers
Again Flying, page 5 in the Mohave County Miner. The U. S. Department of
Commerce, Airways Division ordered all Fokkers to be grounded and under go a
rigid inspection, that had been several months now. Transcontinental and
Western Air, Inc. has several of these aircraft and was affected by the
grounding. The grounding was showing no leniency, until a week ago. So far,
most of the Fokkers are passing the inspections and tests. They will be
cruising back to Port Kingman in no time. The announcement was made by the Port
Kingman Manager at noon today. (mcm)
North Arizona
Airfields are Being Graded, another page 5 article of the Miner. “Flagstaff, Ariz., July 24 ---
Construction of the three government airplane landing field in Northern
Arizona is well under way and is expected to be completed in about 60
days, Frank C. Summers, government engineer, said here today.” After the construction
of the airfields, beacon lights will be erected along the route of Albuquerque to Los Angeles. The cost of
the three airfields is about $18,000. The locations of the fields are at Garland, 26 miles
southeast of Flagstaff, at Holbrook
and eight miles west of Winona, between
Winslow and here. (mcm)
August 7,
1931—Radio Station gets Praised, front page article of the Mohave
County Miner. Lt. Charles H. Howard, commander of the 11th
Bombardment Squadron of Rockwell Field at Coronado, CA., sent at letter to
Harry Finklestein the manager of the government radio station here, this week.
His letter was giving high praise for the radio system. “As the outstanding
contact of the 11th Bombardment Squadron during the return from the
1931 Air Corps Maneuvers, I want to pay your station a great compliment, both
for your unusual clarity of transmission of valuable information to us.” (mcm)
October, 30,
1931—Kingman Named Key Town Stop Air-Bus Lines, page 8 of the Mohave
County Miner. Transcontinental & Western Air, Inc. and Greyhound Bus Lines
have inaugurated a new service on October 29. Kingman was selected for a
division point for the transfer of passengers. H. W. Beck, the traffic manager
of TWA, stated, “This new service should develop a big increase in air traffic
out of this city for the reason that Greyhound buses operating here on frequent
schedules will act as feeders to our air line and in turn radiating out of here
in many directions will add to the flexibility of the service by making it
possible to reach scores of cities and towns in the territory around Kingman.”
Mr. Beck added, “Kingman is one of the most important terminal points of both
the T&WA system and Greyhound Lines.” He added more, “T&WA operates two
flights daily out of here westbound to Los Angeles and San
Francisco and two flights daily eastward to Kansas City and New York. All of these
flights will be coordinated with one or more Greyhound bus arrivals or
departures at Kingman.” A. N. Brion, the traffic manager for Pickwick Greyhound
Lines, made his statement, “that his company is coordinating its schedules with
those of T&WA so as to facilitate transfers to and from the planes and
avoid all unnecessary delays. He added, “All Greyhound bus depots and ticket
agents will automatically become representatives of the T&WA and the
popularity of travel by plane should be greatly increased thru this widespread
broadcasting of information on the advantages, comfort and low cost of air
travel.” (mcm)
January 1,
1932—New Air Mail Cross Nation Thru Kingman, front page of the Mohave
County Miner. Richard W. Robbins, president of Transcontinental and Western
Air, announced that starting January 1st, transcontinental mail from
New York to Los Angeles will be
handled in one day. This is faster by one day than in the past. The new route
will consisted of Philadelphia, Harrisburg, Pittsburgh, Columbus, Indianapolis, St. Louis, Kansas City, Wichita, Amarillo, Albuquerque, Winslow and
Kingman. There is also a route from Chicago to Salt Lake
City. Mr. Robbins stated, “The change is in line with
the post office department’s program to improve service and still reduce
expenses. The mail will be flown at a net savings of 10 per cent to the post
office department.” He also added, by flying the new route from Los Angeles, the mail
will be in New York in less than
twenty-four hours and vice versa. (mcm)
January 8,
1932—Capt. Frank Hawks to Visit Airport, on page 10
of the Mohave County Miner. Captain Frank M. Hawks and J. D. “Duke” Jernigin
will landed at Port Kingman sometime next week. Both men are making a
lubrication survey of Transcontinental and Western Air, Inc. The manager of
Port Kingman, Mr. Baker made the statement yesterday of the men, who are
officials and work for a Texas Company. The survey has begun yesterday at Newark, NJ. They will
stop at twenty prominent airports which include Philadelphia, Chicago, Kansas City,
Winslow, Kingman, Los Angeles and San
Francisco. (mcm)
January 22,
1932—Hawks’ Dash to L. A. in 70 Min., front page of the Mohave County Miner.
On Wednesday afternoon, Capt. Frank Hawks left Port Kingman and made it into Los Angeles in hour and
ten minutes sharp. His previous time was hour and 5 minutes, but that was
sometime ago. Capt. Hawks and his group are visiting airports of Transcontinental
and Western Air, checking out the lubrication department at each. His group
consisted of three planes, so he sent the other two ahead of him by one hour.
He caught them and stayed with them in record time. They landed the same time
in Los Angeles. Capt. Hawks is a well known
aviator and a frequent guest of Kingman. (mcm)
January 29,
1932—Army Bombers Fly over Indian Camps Isolated from Civilization by
Recent Heavy Snowfalls near Winslow, Arizona, page 2
article of the Mohave County Miner. In the winter of 32, the Navajo Nation was
isolated by a terrific snow storm. There was no way into the reservation except
by air. Army Air Corps bombers were use to supply the Navajos. The bombers came
from March Field, Ca. They were stationed at Winslow for a short time. The
bombers dropped beans, flour and other food. (mcm)
February 12,
1932—Air, Wire and Bus Systems Rush Service, page 6 article of the
Mohave County Miner. Starting of Monday, February 8, the Transcontinental and
Western Air, Inc. and Greyhound Bus System are covering an area approximately
400 miles in width and extending from coast to coast. There are about 200 key
cities included in the arrangement, in each of which the Postal Telegraph
Company provides additional pickup and delivery facilities. The triple
combination will offer the fastest and most extensive house to house express
service in the world, and Kingman is served by this line. H. W. Beck the
traffic manager of the airline made this statement, “for several months, T. W.
A. has been flying express from coast to coast on a through twenty-four hour
schedule. Unfortunately this service operated only in and out of our regular
airport stops.” He added more to the statement, “The new arrangements offer
equal facilities in every important city within 200 miles of any of our
airports. There are no additional charges for shipments to or from any bus line
station in any of these non-airport key cities.” Mr. Beck added more,
“Practically every Postal Telegraph office within 200 miles of any T. W. A.
airport is a pickup or delivery feeder agency for the nearest Greyhound Bus
Line Station. The buses in turn, are direct feeders for the air
transports---bus and air transport schedules coordinating in all directions.”
(mcm)
February 19,
1932—New Airway to Serve Kingman and Las Vegas, front page
of the Mohave County Miner. Verde Valley Air Lines, Ltd. announced in this week
of the Mohave County Miner thru a legal notice of the application for
certificate of convenience and necessity authorizing the operation of aircraft
vehicles. The proposed airline will operate between Douglas, AZ and Las Vegas, NV, cutting a
route which will serve Arizona diagonally
from southeast to northwest. Kingman will be served by this new airline. It is
the first of its kind to traverse the state, only transcontinental lines run
thru Kingman and Arizona. The
inauguration of Verde Valley Air Line, Ltd. will provide people of Kingman, Mohave County and Arizona with an air
service to Las Vegas over the
great Hoover Dam. With this service it will place Kingman on another rung of
the ladder of aviation success. (mcm)
February 26, 1932—Kite Contest to be Staged Sunday Noon, Over 140
Kiddies to Compete Then, a front page article of the Mohave County Miner. The
Third Annual Kite Flying Contest is scheduled for the first Sunday in March; it
has been moved up a week. The location is Wallapia Field at noon. Fred C. MacAlpine of the Boys’ Work Committee
of the Kingman Rotary Club, made the statement of the annual contest. Mr.
MacAlpine said yesterday, that there are 124 entrants in the flying meet and
makes it the largest. Transportation will be supplied by Rotarians, leaving
Kingman Drug at noon. The judges
are Dr. Walter Brazie, Dr. Harry B. Moir and Supt. John Girdler. Points in the
judging are (1) flying ability—50%, (2) construction—25% and (3) originality of
design—25%. There are three classifications for the boys, a girls group and a
kindergarten group. Joe Smith is still supervising the construction of the
kites. (mcm)
March 4, 1932—Kite Contest
Last Sunday Huge Success, front page article of the Mohave County Miner. The
Rotary Club’s Third Annual Kite Flying Contest was a huge success. Only 75
kites of nearly 140 children were flying. There was between 100 to 150 cars
lined up and down Wallapia Field. The grand prize went to Gordon “Skinny”
Leonard. The winner from the kindergarten group was Donnie Nielson. The first
group of boys is Kirk Neilson. The second group of boys is Billy Casson. The
third group of boys is Jack Sullivan. The girl’s group winner is Miss Wilma
Locke. Honorable Mention: Bill Fauth, Donnie Fauth, James Ray, Frank Esquibel,
Ramon Zozaya, Young Danvenport, Roy Carson, Lawrence Martin, Kenneth May, John Cunningham,
Jr., Ira Hart, Jr., Billy Day, and Jack Lund. Girls’ honorable mention: Mary
Lou Peggs, the Leonard Sisters, Kathleen Blodgett, and little Margy Jones.
(mcm)
Plan to Build
19 Beacons on Kingman Route, another
article on the front page of the Miner. William C. Schmidt of Portland, Oregon was over the
route few days ago. He has the contract for 19 beacons on the Transcontinental
and Western Air route between Winslow and Kingman. He also expects to start
construction in the next ten or fifteen days. His company replaces the
McCormick Construction Company, they had problems and reverted back to the
government. These are newer type of beacon being installed at the original site
or built in a new site. The 19 beacons are between Kingman and Albuquerque.
(mcm)
April 1, 1932—Autogiro Here
Yesterday; Was Town Thriller, front page article of the Mohave County Miner.
Yesterday afternoon sometime around 3 PM, an autogiro
made an unannounced landing at the TWA field. The aircraft was piloted by
Claude A. Owens. He preformed aeronautical antics of this world’s most famous
autogiro. He was flying in from Clemenceau Airport. He did some
stunts over town, which led to about hundred town’s folk to go out to the Port
Kingman and watch him land the aircraft. He flew the aircraft out the next day
to unknown airport to show off the skills. This is the same autogiro that
landed on the front lawn of the White House on April 14 of last year. It was
received by President Hoover and members of Congress and honored by a
Presidential Award, the Collier’s Trophy to H. C. Pitcairn, manufacture and
builder. The autogiro has been in development for the past nine year. The
trophy represents the greatest single advancement in aviation, including
safety. Amelia Earhart used the aircraft to set a new world’s altitude record.
This aircraft was used by Governor Rolph of California to officially
open the state fair in Sacramento on September 5, 1931. C. E. Haines of Coeur
d’Alene, Id. is the owner of the aircraft. The
take-off speed is 15 to 25 mph, climbing at 45 degrees to 1000 feet in the first
minute. (mcm)
June 17, 1932—Air Squadron
is Due Here Today, page 5 article of the Mohave County Miner. Emmett Baker, the
field manager of Port Kingman, received word that 20 planes from the Navy would
land at the field sometime today. The planes are leaving the San Diego, Ca. naval
base and heading to Phoenix then turn
north to the Grand Canyon for a fly over and turn west towards
Kingman. In the squadron will be eighteen single seat planes, one two-seater
and a Ford tri-motor. He said they should arrive sometime in the afternoon.
(mcm)
July 1, 1932—Bombing Squadron Visited Airport, page 5
article of the Mohave County Miner. Nine Army Air Corps bombers made a surprise
visit on early Wednesday morning. They refueled at Port Kingman, because they
were running low on fuel. There was not enough fuel to handle all the bombers,
so they used some regular gas to make up the difference and then headed out
towards to the Grand Canyon. They are testing the air currents
of the huge natural masterpiece. Capt. Harold D. Smith, the operations officer
in charge of the squadron, is stationed at El Tovar Hotel at the Canyon. On
Thursday morning about 11:15, eight more
Air Corps bombers landed for fuel and then headed for the Canyon. They will
land at the Winslow airport and refuel and head back to March Field, Riverside, CA. (mcm)
Kingman
Seeks Mail Route to Boulder City, another page
5 article of the Miner. Two members of the Mohave County Chamber of Commerce
met with Boulder City Merchants Association, last week. The discussion was
about a propose mail route between Kingman and Boulder City. Boulder City would get
their mail via by air mail from Kingman. But more investigation was needed to
make any decision. (mcm)
August 12, 1932—Interline Air Express to Serve Kingman and County;
Commences New Era in U. S., Uniform Bills of Lading Will Permit Free Exchange
Between Lines; Offers 23 hour Coast to Coast Express Service!, page 8 article
of the Mohave County Miner. General George S. Gibbs, the president of Postal
Telegraph Cable Company, made an announcement after a conference with seven
representatives from the leading airlines. His announcement was that
arrangements were completed by July 19, for the inauguration of service on
August 1st of a nation wide interlines air express system. The new
service would be connecting Canada, Mexico and South America to the system.
The name of the new express network will be known as General Air Express. The
interline system includes: American Airways, Transcontinental and Western Air,
Inc., Eastern Air Transport, Inc., Transamerican Airlines Corp., United States
Airways, Inc., Pennsylvania Airline, Inc., and Ludington Airlines. Two more
will join the group shortly; they are Northwest Airways, Inc. and Pan-American
Airways. This new venture is new to some of the airlines and for others it will
expand some of their services. Postal Telegraph will do the special door to
door pickup and delivery service. It is also the first time to have a uniform
bill of lading for shipping. General Gibbs statement, “The chief revenue of the
transportation industry has always been derived from the hauling of
commodities. This new air shipping movement therefore, offers to the air lines
the largest potential source of revenue.” He added, “It is my opinion that this
is potentially the most important step forward by the air transport industry in
many years, the air lines which have made this aggressive move are to be highly
commended for their initiative, for I see anew impetus to aviation in this
country as well as a new service to the public. The speed and facility of
shipping and distributing commodities by air should be a new stimulus to
business in the opening of new merchandise markets heretofore not available.”
(mcm)
August 19,
1932—Miner Tells of Airplane Fall He Saw, But Earnest Search Finds
Nothing, front page of the Mohave County Miner. Tom Deane, a watchman for the
Century Mine in the Wallapai Mountains came into
town to the Miner office to talk about a plane crash. This was last Saturday he
witnessed the crash on August 10th. Mr. Deane saw the plane flying
near the Century camp. He noticed that it was in some kind of distress. He
followed the plane over the mountains and saw the plane in the valley towards
Antarres and Hackberry. He saw a buck in the plane, then noticed a parachute
opening and fall the ground easily. The plane went down immediately, causing a large
puff of black smoke in the sky. He was not able to make into town that day, he
had visitors. When he got to town, he found out no one knew about the plane
crash. He was taken to Port Kingman and talked to Emmett Baker, the manager of
the airport. Mr. Baker listened to Mr. Deane account. Mr. Baker started a
search and found nothing. Then Sunday morning, another search was begun, this
time around the Wallapai Mountains. Still
nothing was found. Maybe Mr. Deane saw something else. (mcm)
October 7,
1932—Airway Beacon System, Fields Now Completed, front page article of
the Mohave County Miner. W. C. Schmitt, of the Schmitt Construction Co. of Portland, OR, made a
statement that the 19 beacons are official operating, today. These 19 beacons
are from Winslow to Kingman. There are also four emergency landing fields with
full night landing facilities. The fields are located at Seligman, Ash Fork, Maine (near
Williams), and Winona (near Flagstaff). Every ten
miles is a beacon across the country. Every 50 miles is an emergency field with
lighting and with a watchman/caretaker. Mr. Schmitt is leaving Kingman once the
construction is accepted by the government agent of the Airways Division. Mr.
Schmitt got the contract; due to the former contractor had his work delayed.
(mcm)
December 2,
1932—Kingman Will Have New Air Express Line, page 8 article of the
Mohave County Miner. New facilities are being constructed in Albuquerque, NM. They started
building on Wednesday; the company building is the Air Express Corporation.
Which route is from New York to Los Angeles and will come
thru Kingman. Fourteen planes will be used for the route. (mcm)
December 14,
1932—Kingman Beacon Being Improved, page 3 article of the Mohave County
Miner. Some forty-five radio range beacons are to be equipped with transmission
line antennae of the Federal Airways System. Kingman is one of 27 stations to
have the installation work which has started. The transmission line antennae
have been developed jointly by the research division and the airways division. This
is to eliminate night variations which occurred at some radio beacons operating
in mountainous terrain. They are also arranging the location of each station so
that one of four courses of the beacons will cross the airport near the beacon
is located. This will add assistance to the pilot during poor flying
conditions. Winslow is the airport that will have this done. (mcm)
February 10,
1933—Rotarians are Told Proposed Legislation Means Loss of TWA, front
page article of the Mohave County Miner. The Rotary Club had their usual
Wednesday lunch meeting. The main concern of the meeting was about a House Bill
No. 79. Ben Golding addressed the house bill, which would impose a 5 cent tax
on gasoline used in airplanes. “He stressed the T. W. A. investment in Northern
Arizona which brings about $32,000 annually in taxes, payroll and
supplies, as against the proposed tax which would amount to at least $12,000
per year. The probable result would be that T. W. A. would not refuel in Arizona but would
establish a field at Needles or some other point in California and then fly
over Arizona without
stopping.” He was urging everyone at the meeting that the propose tax by
defeated. (mcm)
March 3, 1933—Permission
for Taxi to Airport, a small front page article of the Mohave County Miner. On
Tuesday, there was an announcement that a permit was issued to Emmett Baker at
Port Kingman. The Arizona Corporation Commission granted that a bus line would
operate from Kingman to Transcontinental and Western Air airport. The service
in not a regular schedule but an on call service, it is for the benefit of the
air passenger desiring transportation to or from the field. (mcm)
April 28,
1933—Lindberghs are Grounded Here, front page bulletin on the Mohave
County Miner. Colonel and Mrs. Charles Lindbergh made a stop over. Because of
the adverse conditions of the weather to west is stretching to the coast. They
arrived at 6:40 PM at Port
Kingman. They spent the night at Beale Hotel and checked out at 9:01 AM next morning. Port Kingman reports that the two
left at 10:30 AM for the west
coast. It is their first trip since their great trouble. (mcm)
April 28--Giragi, Irish Found; Crash Near Winslow, Find Charred
Bodies in Wrecked Plane, another front page article of the Miner. “Winslow,
Apr. 23 --- The charred bodies of Carmel Giragi, Winslow Mail publisher and
Jack Irish, the pilot were found at 9:30 o’clock this morning,
18 miles southwest of here, in the burned wreckage of the plane in which they
started for Phoenix early last
Monday morning.” The plane crashed at level ground near the foot of Sunset Mountain on the north
side of Sunset Pass. The search
went on for about six days, from the air, Richard Riodan of Flagstaff was flying
over the crash site when Winslow Police Chief R. L. Neill and Charles Osborn of
the Highway Patrol found the site by land search and they were on the old Fuller Road. The watch of
Mr. Giragi stopped at 8:04. Both men
left Winslow at 7:30 AM on Monday
morning. (mcm)
May 5, 1933—Rotarians
Visit Airway Station, page 5 article of the Mohave County Miner. The Rotary
Club made a visit to Port Kingman after finishing their lunch and business on
their Wednesday meeting. Ben Golding led the visitors on the tour. They were
met by Harry Finkelstein, he is the operator for the government. He explained
the operation of the equipment and the services rendered and visitors were able
to see the station in operation. This included a weather map being received and
the flights being inform of the weather conditions. (mcm)
June 30, 1933—Kingman
Placed on Overnight Flight to Coast, front page of the Mohave County Miner.
Starting July 1st, Kingman will be placed within an overnight or day
flight to Los Angeles and San
Francisco. This is the inauguration of a night
air passenger and express schedule by the Transcontinental and Western Air, in
the western region which is from Kansas City to the Pacific Coast. The westbound
route from Kansas City leaves at 9:45 PM and will arrive in Kingman at 8 AM. The eastbound route from Los Angeles leaves at 7:30 PM and arrives at Kingman at 9PM. Also after July 1st, there will be
six arrivals and departures scheduled for Port Kingman. TWA planes will be
carrying mail, passengers and express. With this expansion, it brings more
mileage flown higher for a month and adds to the total to lead to highest in
the company’s history. With this new schedule, Kingman business people can spend
a day in Los Angeles. (mcm)
February 2,
1934—Kingman-Boulder City Air Service is Being Planned, an article in
the Mohave County Miner. Two men from Boulder City, Nv. were flying
in a bright red plane. Their names are R. K. Russell and Marden M. Munn. They
flew down on Tuesday. They announced for plans for starting an air service the
two cities. They and their associates plan to run the call (charter) service.
The trips are depending on the demand. (mcm)
February 16,
1934—Luxurious Air Liner Visits Kingman Port, 12 Passenger
Sky Palace Has All Conveniences, Post is Passenger, T. W. A. Has Order in for
Forty More Crafts, front page article of the Mohave County Miner. Last Saturday
morning, a new 12 place, 3800 pound capacity load Douglas airliner
landed at Port Kingman. The plane is constructed in Los Angeles for
Transcontinental and Western Air. It is making its initial run from LA to New York. The plane
has 1420 horsepower and trave
