Robertson Aircraft Corporation: Difference between revisions
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'''Robertson Aircraft Coroporation''' was a American aviation service company based at [[Lambert Field]] in St. Louis, MO, that flew Air Mail and passengers, gave flying lessons, performed exhibition flights, and remanufactured/modified and resold surplus military aircraft (Standards, Curtiss Jennys/Canucks, DeHavilland DH-4's, Orioles, Spads, and others) and engines (OX-5s) beginning in the early 1920's. In addition to St. Louis<ref>{{cite journal|magazine=Aerial Age|date= |
'''Robertson Aircraft Coroporation''' was a American aviation service company based at [[Lambert Field]] in St. Louis, MO, that flew Air Mail and passengers, gave flying lessons, performed exhibition flights, and remanufactured/modified and resold surplus military aircraft (Standards, Curtiss Jennys/Canucks, DeHavilland DH-4's, Orioles, Spads, and others) and engines (OX-5s) beginning in the early 1920's. In addition to St. Louis<ref>{{cite journal|magazine=Aerial Age|date=Septemeber 12, 1921}}</ref>, RAC operated facilities in Kansas City, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, and Fort Wayne. The company was owned and operated by brothers Frank (1898-1938) and Bill (1893-1943) Robertson who were both former US Army pilots. |
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[[image:DH-4 airmail.jpg|right|thumb|A Robertson DH-4 used on the CAM-2 route]] |
[[image:DH-4 airmail.jpg|right|thumb|A Robertson DH-4 used on the CAM-2 route]] |
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[[File:Lindbergh check.jpg|thumb|left|Lindbergh's last RAC paycheck as an Air Mail pilot.]] |
[[File:Lindbergh check.jpg|thumb|left|Lindbergh's last RAC paycheck as an Air Mail pilot.]] |
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Revision as of 21:42, 3 October 2011
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| Founded | 1918; Incorporated in Feb. 1921 |
|---|---|
| Headquarters | St.Louis |
Key people | Maj. William B. Robertson, Frank Robertson and H. H. Perkins |
| Parent | American Airlines |
Robertson Aircraft Coroporation was a American aviation service company based at Lambert Field in St. Louis, MO, that flew Air Mail and passengers, gave flying lessons, performed exhibition flights, and remanufactured/modified and resold surplus military aircraft (Standards, Curtiss Jennys/Canucks, DeHavilland DH-4's, Orioles, Spads, and others) and engines (OX-5s) beginning in the early 1920's. In addition to St. Louis[1], RAC operated facilities in Kansas City, San Antonio, Houston, New Orleans, and Fort Wayne. The company was owned and operated by brothers Frank (1898-1938) and Bill (1893-1943) Robertson who were both former US Army pilots.
On April 15, 1926, Robertson Aircraft started contract airmail service route CAM-2 from Lambert field to Chicago with Charles Lindbergh as chief pilot for the service.[2] RAC started service with four DH-4 aircraft (#s 109-112)[3] acquired from the U.S. Postal Service's Air Mail fleet. RAC added service over CAM-29 between St.Louis and Omaha in May 1929.[4]
On August 1, 1943, a WACO CG-4A military troop and cargo transport glider built under license by RAC crashed at Lambert Field in St. Louis during a demonstration flight when its right wing separated shortly after it had been released at 3,000 feet by its Army C-47 killing all ten on board including St. Louis Mayor William D. Becker, Maj. William B. Robertson, and Harold Krueger, both of Robertson Aircraft. Maj. Robertson's then 17-year old son, James, was a passenger in a successful flight of the glider made immediately before the fatal flight.[5][6][7]
Aircraft
| Model name | First flight | Number built | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| Waco CG-4 (license built) | Template:Avyear | 170 | Combat Glider |
References
- ^ Aerial Age. Septemeber 12, 1921.
{{cite journal}}: Check date values in:|date=(help); Missing or empty|title=(help) - ^ Thomas Streissguth. The roaring twenties.
- ^ Richard Bak. The Big Jump: Lindbergh and the Great Atlantic Air Race.
- ^ John Motum. The Putnam Aeronautical Review.
- ^ "Mayor of St. Louis, Other Officials Die in Glider's Plunge" The New York Times, August 2, 1943, p. 1
- ^ "St. Louis Mayor William Becker and nine others were killed on Aug. 1, 1943, when a World War II glider they were riding in plunged and slammed nose first into the ground near the Lambert Airport runway." Eleven images from St. Louis Post-Dispatch, stltoday.com
- ^ J. Norman Grim. To Fly the Gentle Giants: The Training of U.S. WW II Glider Pilots.