VA Vol 27 No 4 April 1999 - Members Only

tle Monoped had a top speed of 130
mph. Wingspan was 32 feet; length
25 feet.
Hall lost his life in the Monoped on
21 August 1936, when th e airplane
struck a tree in heavy fog at Hopwell,
New Jersey. At the time ofthe crash
th e plane had logged more than 530
hours. The Monoped was his next to
last design and probably his favorite of
the 31 aircraft ofseven different types
he created in his lifetime.
Hal/ 's concepts did not die with
him, however, and his pioneering use
ofaluminum was adopted by many
other firms. He was an engineering
genius whose advanced ideas on metal
working eased the transition from
wood andfabric to all metal aircraft
for the u.s. Navy.
Starting his career as a building
contractor, Hall 's radical search for
improved methods got him into so
much trouble with the building trade
unions that he was forced to seek anotherfield.
He had his first airplane
ride with the famous Ruth Law in 1909
and in 1916 learned to fly Curtiss MF
flying boats at the Rodman Wanamaker
school in Washington, Long
Island, New York. By 1922 he had
built his first aircraft, a tiny 25 foot
wingspan biplane flying boat, constructed
entirely ofaluminum except
22 APRIL 1999
for a wood spar upper wing.
The experience gave him sufficient
confidence in his skills to set up his
own engineering firm, and begin bidding
on Navy contracts. It was a move
that would keep him prosperous during
the Great Depression ofthe 1930s.
With good judgment and efficient
management Hall kept his firm small
and prosperous during this p eriod
when one major company after another
went bankrupt.
Charles Ward Hall's greatest legacy
was th e pursuit ofweight control, an
idea more important now than when he
was blazing new trails in structure.
Unfortunately no example ofHall's
• Hany Luecke_
handiwork survives today.
Ref: Airpower, Sept. 72 , Now
There's a rare Bird-Walt Boyne
Wings, June, 75, Th e Flying Hallmarks-Walt
Boyne
Keep 'Em Flying and Keep Us
Guessing, H.G,!
Cheers,
Larry Knechtel
EAA 391208, VAA 17648)
Seattle, WA
Correct answers were also received
from: Doug Rounds, Zebulon, GA ;
Harry O. Barker, Jr., West Milford, NJ;
Pete Bowers, Seattle, W A and Joseph J.
Tarafas, Bethlehem, P A. ......