VA Vol 27 No 4 April 1999 - Members Only

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Cromwell Dixon, aviator, at the Montana State Fair, September 30, 1911 . know. I've wondered if, like me, Cromwell Dixon came to appreciate the rugged, often unforgiving beauties of the Dakotas and Montana, where he made his historic flight. It is hard to imagine on an early morning still air arrival from the west crossing Mullan Pass with a 737, flaps 30 and the gear down and on bug speed, that we were three minutes from the end of the runway at Helena, and Dixon's trip took 40 more minutes. Coming only eight years after the Wright brothers' feat, Dixon's achievement was as great in its way as was theirs. Dixon flew his bamboo and fabric Curtiss 10 APRIL 1999 D-III biplane to an altitude of7,000 feet, higher than man had flown previously. Dixon's airplane appears to be a D-III version of the Curtiss D model, the primary difference being that the ailerons pivoted from the rear interplane strut. The other significant difference was the fabric covering on both top and bottom surfaces of the wing. The engine on the D-III was a V-8 of 60 to 70 horsepower, and the wingspan was 26 feet 3 inches. Taking off from Helena's fairgrounds on September 30, 1911 in the early afternoon, Dixon headed for Blossberg, Montana, a 17 mile flight through Mullan Pass where at 5,092 feet above sea level, headwinds and turbulence were the order of the day. Kind folks in Blossberg set a large bonfire ablaze to signal to Dixon his point of arrival which he reached at 2:34 p.m. He left the deep valley location of Blossberg at 3: 16 p.m. and after struggling for altitude, reached 7,000 feet and landed at Helena at 3:59 p.m., claiming the $10,000 prize offered for the first successful flight across the Continental Divide. Cromwell had hoped that this money would help him to support his mother and sister who had given him so much moral support in his search for aviation fame. An account ofDixon's feat was recorded in the Montana Daily Record. "It was one of the most dangerous feats ever attempted by man . Death was pitted against daring and daring won. Treacherous winds above, jagged peaks and declivitous slopes below. It was a gamble. Had for one instant fear crept into the heart of the bird-boy- -the wind and rocks would have claimed another victim." It was not to be so. Two days later, Cromwell Dixon's life came to an end as his airplane crashed in Spokane during an exhibition flight. He was just 19 years old and lived scarcely long enough to enjoy the fame and fortune he so richly deserved for his achievements. The State of Montana has chosen to honor Cromwell Dixon through granite memorials and murals at the Helena airport terminal, plus a historic marker high above MacDonald Pass where highway 12 crosses the Divide near Blossberg. One day, several years ago, I drove to Helena from my home in Big Fork to attend a dinner meeting of the Cromwell Dixon Society, a group founded here in Montana whose members gather each September 30 to commemorate Cromwell Dixon's deeds and keep alive the memory of the young many who billed himself as the "world's youngest aviator." I was early and decided to try to find the area where Dixon might have landed on his historic flight. Blossberg as a town no longer exists, and the railroad which Dixon landed near has been relocated to accommodate today's powerful locomotives. As I looked at the scene, three small aircraft flew over, Society members paying homage to the young birdboy we were joining together to celebrate that evening. ......
FROM THE ARCHIVES by H.G. Frautschy The next few editions of"From the Archives" will focus on the Flaglor collection, a donation of negatives ofGolden Age aircraft donated by Ken Flaglor ofKansasville, WI. Last month we took a look at the Curtiss P-6E, a favorite of many a boy in the 1930s. Here's another longtime favorite, based at the same field and with the same Squadron - the 17th Pursuit Squadron at Selfridge Field near Detroit, MI. This is the Boeing P 26C, built in a group of 23 produced in February and early March of 1936. Flaps were later added to all the P-26 models in service. Powered by a Pratt & Whitney SR-1340-27 or -33, it could reach a maximum speed of 235 mph and climb as high as 28,000 ft. The Lockheed 10 Electra was one ofthe fastest transports in existence when it was constructed, and many feeder airlines used it to haul passengers and mail. In production from 1934 until 1941, its launch customer was Northwest, who flew their fast Lockheeds allover the Midwest. Popular w ith Pan American Airlines, a number of Central American operators who were Pan Am affiliates also bought Electras. This Mexican registered example was operated by Aerovias ReformaslCMA. SIN 1007 Lockheed 10C, it was delivered on November 30, 1934. It crashed 30 miles southeast of Playa Vicente, Veracruz, Mexico on November 1, 1937. VINTAGE AIRPLANE 11
Page 3: April is here, and almost everyone
Page 6: A Classic Trip in Classic Airplanes
Page 9 and 10: settling. Marc had had an hour to p
Page 11: ject of curiosity to some small boy
Page 16 and 17: 74 Echo Charlie was built in Hatfie
Page 18 and 19: At Kessler Field, Walt's private ai
Page 20 and 21: The original steerable, non-swivel
Page 22 and 23: All of the side glass is thin Plexi
Page 24: tle Monoped had a top speed of 130
Page 27 and 28: -Continued from page 16 is short
Page 29: Fly-In Calendar The following list
Page 34 and 35: Gr G. Leslie Sweetnam Woodstock, CT

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