Josie Wings #3

5. Describe the role of the U.S. Postal Service in the development of aviation as a business.

The US Postal service gave aviation to take a step beyond record setting and the military, and into the lives of the average American. Flight made the delivery of mail faster and much more efficient, mostly due to the Air Mail Act. As aviation began to leak into the business sector, it began to attract entrepreneurial business men who saw the opportunity to build an empire. Some attempted to provide public transportation, but the technology was not yet there for it to be the option that it has become today. The success of these companies led to the battle of the businesses which competed for monopolies. As these companies beat one another out, only 5 remained 6 years after the industry began. The issue began to get presidential attention from Roosavelt as it came to light that pilots lost their lives flying in unfit weather conditions. This lead to inclement weather regulations were set in place, as well as other prohibitions and regulations that kept the monopolies at bay. This did assist the conditions for pilots and smaller businesses, but took a toll on the US postal service. It was because of this that the existing airlines began to struggle.

6. What influence did Charles Lindbergh have on aviation during his career?

Charles Lindbergh’s great influence on aviation happened May 21, 1927, when he flew his tiny monoplane from Roosevelt Field, New York, to Le Bourget Air Field in Paris, France. He became an instant celebrity, which was not common for someone who was not in the entertaining business. He became an icon that represented qualities that many Americans hoped to display. He began flying on his own before joining the army to fly the military grade air crafts. He was a professional in 35 different aircrafts, and was the first American to parachute successfully four times. After becoming bored, he yearned for a greater challenge, pushing him to take the challenge to fly from New York to Paris. He realized that the small single engine plane that he chose was more fitting for the job than the large trimotor plane that other had selected. The plane developed for him had a greatly improved compass and wing shape, as well as a 400 gallon fuel tank. Charles used the celebrity attention and focused it on aviation as field. He had a vision for local airports and commercial aviation, for which he helped a couple companies. He used his extensive knowledge to train pilots and increase flying efficiency.

9. What opportunities existed for women and African Americans in aviation during this period?

One of the most well known women in aviation is Amelia Earhart. It didn’t take much for her fame to equal that of Lindbergh. She was very well educated, and took flying lessons from pilot Neta Snook. She later was selected to fly alongside Louis Gordon and Wilmer Stultz across the atlantic ocean. Although she could hardly be considered more than a passenger during that flight, it was clear that she had started something that caught the public’s eye. This led to the creation of the Women’s Air Derby, in which nineteen contestants would race across most of the country. Despite the fact that other women occasionally achieved greater than Amelia, she remained the apple of the public’s eye. She went on to accomplish great feats, and in that ambition, she ended up disappearing in the pacific at age forty. The success Amelia, as well as other women, experienced was proof that the stigma held that white men were the only people suited for flying was absurd. Although it was clear women had something to prove, African Americans faced an entirely different battle. It was thought that if they flew, and proved themselves capable, they could slowly change public opinion. Despite attempts to get the media’s attention, this facet of aviation for the most part went unnoticed.