AIRPLANES - AIR MAIL - AIR CAPITAL

The early settler's in the Wichita area in 1868 had one major advantage over many other settlements west of the Mississippi and that was mail service. Wichita became the crossroads of America from the Santa Fe Trail north of the settlement southwestward; the cattle drives along the Old Chisholm Trail northward; to the railroad from coast to coast. When Orville & Wilbur Wright performed their famous first powered flight from Kill Devil Hills, North Carolina in 1903 it didn't take long for Wichita and the surrounding area to become fascinated with flight. The early days of Aviation were exciting times! Individuals such as Clyde Cessna, an automobile dealer, who in 1911 mastered the art of flying and flew in several aerial exhibitions. His first airplane was built on a farm near Rago, Kansas and by 1916, he came to Wichita at the request of a friend where he built his next airplane in a section of his friends plant, the Jones Motor Car Company.

An oil man by the name of Jacob "Old Jake" Moellendick, of El Dorado, Kansas was the major financial backer in the aircraft industry and recruited Emil Mathew "Matty" Laird, from Chicago, IL to build an airplane in Wichita, Kansas; it would hold two passengers. The "Swallow" built by the E. M. Laird Airplane Company in 1920 was promoted as the "First Commercial Airplane". Lloyd Stearman, was hired as a draftsman by the Laird Airplane Company, receiving his training in the Navy as an aviation rigger as well as a pilot. An ex-barnstormer named Walter Beech was another early employee of the Laird Airplane Company. By 1923 Laird had left the Company, leaving "Old Jake". Following some disagreement with "Old Jake", Stearman and Beech left the company in 1924 and contacted Clyde Cessna and businessman, Walter Innes, Jr. By 1925 they had formed Travel Air. Clyde Cessna became Vice President of the Travel Air Corporation in Wichita. Stearman left the company in 1926 for Hollywood but was lured back to Wichita where he built his Model C-3 and others such as the Model 6 Cloudboy and the Kaydet trainers. In 1929, the United Aircraft and Transport conglomerate bought Stearman Aircraft and made it a division of Boeing and by 1941 was known as Boeing-Wichita. Stearman left the company in 1932 and became involved in Lockheed Aircraft. Walter Beech and Olive Ann (Mellor) Beech who also worked at Travel Air in 1925, would eventually separate from the company and establish their own company, Beech Aircraft, with the Model 17 making its first flight on November 1, 1932. As an end result, these entrepreneurs brought Wichita to the forefront as The Air Capital.

In 1929 construction began on the Wichita Municipal Airport, Administration Building, but was halted when the stock market crashed in October with only the exterior of the building completed. The Hanger served as the Wichita Municipal Hanger and Terminal until a WPA grant and city bonds resulted in the interior of the Administration Building being finished and was officially dedicated March 31, 1935. Figure 1 is a picture post card depicting an aerial view of the Wichita Municipal Airport showing the hanger and Administration Building, and Figure 2 is a picture post card depicting a close up view of the two structures.

Figure 1-Air View of Municipal Airport, Wichita, Kansas

Figure 2-Wichita Municipal Airport-Administration Building and Hanger

The Administration Building at the Municipal Airport housed the offices of the airlines, government weather bureau, pilot's quarters, and coffee shop. It was the headquarters of these activities at this nationally famous airport. The Administration Building was six miles from the city and was reached by a four-lane diagonal highway. The airport was listed as 3800 South Oliver.

The advent of the airplane brought about the first Air Mail flight on September 23, 1911 from Garden City, New York to Jamaica, New York (see Newsletter 71(5), pg 3, May 2003). Wichita's geographical location was an ideal cross-country stop over for many airlines and one of the first air mail flights from coast to coast transpired in 1930. Figure 3 depicts a Commercial Air Mail (C.A.M.34) Cover commemorating the First Flight-New York-Los Angeles Route and the stop over in Wichita, Kansas on October 25, 1930. The back circular date stamp is Los Angeles, Calif. Oct. 27, 1930, Gen. Del. No. 27. The Cover has a hand stamped signature of Wichita Postmaster Bruce Griffith (3/18/1930 to 3/31/1934) and is franked with a pair of 2¢ Scott #688 Braddock's Field Issue of July 9, 1930 and a 1¢ Franklin, Scott #552.

Figure 3-First Flight-New York-Los Angeles Route Air Mail Cover October 25, 1930

Even though the Administration Building had not been completed the Airport itself was in operation by 1929 through the use of the Airport Hanger. Depicted below in Figure 4 is a Wichita, Kansas, United States Air Mail truck delivering bags of air mail to be loaded into an airplane at the Wichita Municipal Hanger & Terminal. [Photo courtesy of Wichita Public Library.]

Figure 4-Air Mail bags being loaded into Airplane, ca. 1930's

The aircraft industry in Wichita continued to progress over the years as more and more improvements were made in design and construction of the airplane. The U. S. Post Office Department and the public enjoyed faster and faster delivery of the mail, both domestic and overseas. By 1938 U. S. Air Mail was able to celebrate "National Air Mail Week" from coast to coast. One of the Event Covers produced by the American Air Mail Society during their Convention is depicted in Figure 5. The Cover is actually a First Day of Issue for the 6¢ Air Mail Stamp issued on May 14, 1938 (Scott #C23) in St. Petersburg, FL, with other FDC's issued in Dayton, OH & Washington DC on May 14th.

Figure 5-May 14, 1938 National Air Mail Week-St. Petersburg, FL to Derby, KS

The First Flight cover depicted in Figure 3, was not the only Air Mail First Flight, to either pass through Wichita, Kansas or originate in Wichita. Depicted in Figure 6 is an Air Mail First Flight AM 43, June 23, 1939 to Pueblo, Colorado.

Figure 6-June 23, 1939 Air Mail First Flight AM 43 Wichita, Kansas - Pueblo, Colorado

The Municipal Airport was taken over by McConnell Air Force Base in 1951 and the airport was relocated on the west side of town as Wichita Mid-Continent Airport. The Municipal Airport was last used by the Kansas Air National Guard in 1984. Today the Hanger section area is part of McConnell Air Force Base and the Administration Building is now the Kansas Aviation Museum, and listed as 3350 George Washington Blvd. The U. S. Postal Service has a very large facility located near the Mid-Continent Airport where large volumes of mail are processed, both domestic and overseas.

References:
Danielson, NE, "First Flight to Air Capital", Wichita Stamp Club Newsletter, Vol. 71, No. 5, May 2003.
Insert from Wichita Stamp Club, Century of Powered Airplane Flight
Event Cover ocurtesy of Dennis McBurney

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Posted September 19, 2004 RR