Embry-Riddle History

www.erau.edu/archives

Issue No. 1

Fall 2008

E

W

-R

On December 17, 1925, exactly 22 years a er the rst ight of the Wright brothers, T. Higbee Embry and John Paul Riddle signed a contract to form a company in their names. Embry was president and Riddle was general manager and chief pilot. In early 1926, they became a distributor of WACO aircra for the Advance Aircra Company and operated from the Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio. e Embry-Riddle Company was the rst commercial aviation concern to move into Lunken Field and Cincinnati’s second aviation company to date. e lifeblood of the Embry-Riddle Company was its airmail contract and

’

’ E

Y

:

–

passenger service. In November 1927, it secured a contract with the U.S. Post O ce Department with a bid of $1.47 per pound, becoming Cincinnati’s rst regular airmail carrier. Passenger ights began on December 17, 1927, with one daily roundtrip from Cincinnati to Chicago via Indianapolis (534 total ight miles). By July 1929, service increased to three daily ights. To boost passenger loads, the company reduced its airfare to $14.85 in January 1930, resulting in carrying a record 3,745 passengers over the next seven months. Historical facts continued on page nine.

Le to right: Embry-Riddle Company original employees in 1926: John Paul Riddle, Dick Blythe, T. Higbee Embry, Charles W. Meyers, John Wood, and Harry Sherwin.

P P
AM D

P F

,

Robert Rockett, Dean Heritage Project Director 386-226-6026 or 800-727-ERAU (3728) E-mail: [email protected] e most important thing I’ve learned during my 34 years of service to Embry-Riddle is that the richness of the university’s history comes from the people within it. e stories and life experiences of our alumni and those who have taught them for more than 80 years are what make our legacy come alive. In this inaugural issue of the 2 Wings of Legacy newsletter, we hope to share that vibrant heritage with you. By featuring special stories like our interview with alumnus and former Delta Captain Bill Pitts, and the colorful 1927 account from our archive collection of one budding pilot’s struggle with the dreaded stall and spin, we want to bring great moments in Embry-Riddle history to life. We also hope to reconnect with friends we’ve lost touch with over the years. Check out our “Legacy Links” on pages 14 and 15 to see what fellow classmates and instructors have been up to. If you like, you can even send us your information to include in future issues (see page 15 for details). We would love to hear from you. You are welcome anytime to contact any of the Heritage Project sta listed throughout the newsletter. We’ve included an envelope for your comments and suggestions, and we urge you to send us your photographs and treasured memories for possible publication or inclusion in the archives. Also, don’t forget to enter the “Mystery History” contest featured on page 12. Your active participation helps us preserve the Embry-Riddle legacy. Finally, as you enjoy Wings of Legacy, we encourage you to peruse the archives online and discover for yourself even more of our fascinating history at www.erau.edu/archives. We have provided some suggested topics for your online archive search on page three. We are very proud to call you an alumnus and friend of Embry-Riddle. Whether you were an instructor, received ight or maintenance training from us during the WWII era, or graduated from Daytona Beach, Prescott, or the Worldwide campus, you are our legacy. You are the reason we enjoy the reputation that makes Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University all that it is today. I hope you enjoy reading this publication as much as we have enjoyed putting it together for you.

S

E H

-R

P

’ F

“O M

A

”

ousands of Embry-Riddle photographs and other visual memorabilia are available for free public viewing online. Go to www.erau.edu/archives and type in keywords to search the archive database. You will nd thousands of photos of everything relating to Embry-Riddle from 1926 until today, including: t
Vintage aircra , including WACO, Curtiss Jenny, Velie Monocoupe, Flamingoes, seaplanes, Ford, Stearman, and Piper Cub t
Original Embry-Riddle Company headquarters at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio t
Airmail operations in the 1920s t
Seaplane operations in Miami, Fla. t
Flight training facilities from the 1940s in South Florida, including Dorr Field and Carlstrom Field, and Union City, Tenn. t
British Flying Training School No. 5 in Clewiston, Fla.

t
Maintenance, Engine Overhaul, and Repair and other facilities at the Coliseum in Coral Gables, Fla. t
Technical Aviation School in Sao Paulo, Brazil (Escola Tecnica de Aviacao) t
Residential campuses in Daytona Beach, Fla., and Prescott, Ariz. t
People in our history: John Paul Riddle, T. Higbee Embry, Len Povey, John and Isabel McKay, Jack Hunt, James Blakeley If you have any photos you would like to submit for inclusion in the University Archives, please send them to: Kevin Montgomery Director of the Archives 386-226-6296 E-mail: [email protected]

3

FLY PAPER FUNNIES
is cartoon was featured in the July 8, 1941, edition of Embry-Riddle’s newspaper, called the Fly Paper. e insert at the bottom reads:
OUR NEW PRIMARY TRAINER Dedicated to the new CPTP (Civilian Pilot Training Program) at Municipal Base and the British chappies at Carlstrom.

J A F His personal account of ight training in 1927
e following excerpts are taken from Mr. Field’s personal daily accounts of his ight training from August 15 to September 8, 1927. He most likely trained in a WACO No. 9 or 10 biplane, the most common trainer used by the original Embry-Riddle Flying School at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio. I circled the eld and started to bring the ship down. By more luck than brains, I cut the gun at just the right time within a few feet of the ground when Harris took the stick and set the ship down …

Wednesday, August 31, 1927

Tuesday, August 30, 1927

4

... Instructor Harris took me up again today. Practiced more turns and then banking with power o . Came down and started practicing takeo s. e second time I had trouble keeping the plane straight while I was taxiing. When we came down for the last time, Harris had me try to judge when to cut the gun for a landing. So

Practiced more landings this morning. Some were good, some rotten. I am inclined to forget about using stick and rudder together, that is coordinately. I feel a little discouraged. Don’t know whether I will ever learn to y or not … Made landings, but as usual did not do so very good. But I am beginning to get the idea. I think that I am trying to learn too fast. But I must keep on trying until I can land a plane. Went up this p.m. for some real work. Stalls and spins. Vine was instructing. He took o and then gave me the stick. Climbed to 3,000 feet. He cut the gun so that I could hear him talk, and he told me to follow thru on a spin. He spun it twice and then came out of it. Now right here is where I darn near lost my nerve. It made me so panicky, I was ready to throw up the sponge right then and there. I said to myself, “If I must be able to do this sort of stu in order to become a pilot, then I might just as well

ursday, September 1, 1927

Joseph Field, Class of 1927

quit now as I do not think I can ever do it.” Vine saw my le hand holding onto the side of the fuselage. He gured that I was scared, so he merely took my hand o the brace and put it on the throttle where it should be. As he did this, he smiled at me. Now here is where a strange thing happened. As he placed my hand on the throttle, I, for some reason unknown to myself, suddenly regained my con dence. I said to myself, “I will be damned if I quit cold like that. I am not yellow, and no one is going to say that I am if I can help it. I came out here to learn how to y and tail spins are a part of the game.” I cut the gun, pulled back on the stick, and as the nose came up, I shoved the stick over to the le and kicked the le rudder. Up came the nose, down went the le wing, and we started to spin, nose straight down. We went around once, and then quick

as a ash straight ahead on the stick and then right back on the stick. e plane came out of it immediately. I climbed to 3,000 feet again and 5 made three more spins. It did not bother me a bit. In fact, I began to like it. By this time all my con dence had returned, and I knew that I had conquered my worst fear. It certainly cheered me up to think that I did not develop a yellow streak. I would sure hate to be called a quitter.

Wednesday, September 7, 1927

Went up with Harris for more landings. Got along good. He said I could go solo in the morning. Believe me, I certainly felt good a er hearing that. Still doing landings. en Harris climbed out of the ship and told me to solo. Oh, boy. So up I went. Stayed up for 30 minutes and made 10 landings, most of them okay. Finished soloing at 12:00 p.m.

ursday, September 8, 1927

Known as the “father of the modern aviation university,” Jack R. Hunt is considered the visionary pioneer of aviation higher learning. As founding President of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Hunt transformed a small, for-pro t corporation into the only non-pro t, fully accredited university in the world exclusively dedicated to aviation and aerospace education. Under his leadership, the university grew from an institute with under 500 students in 1963 to one with two residential campuses, over 130 teaching centers, and nearly 35,000 students worldwide today. 6 Hunt established a unique legacy in the aviation and aerospace industry, as well as a time-honored place in Embry-Riddle’s history. Hunt was born on May 17, 1918, in Iowa and grew up in California. He joined the U.S. Navy in 1942 and received both lighter-than-air and heavier-than-air naval aviation training. During World War II, Hunt served as an airship ight instructor and a free balloon ight instructor at Mo ett Field in California, as well as commanding o cer of the airship maintenance squadron. From 1953 to 1956, he served as a development o cer for the ZX-11 Airship Anti-Submarine Warfare Squadron, dedicated to using airships to prevent a nuclear submarine attack on the Panama Canal. From 1956 to 1958, Hunt tested the weather tolerance

L F

P

E

-R

’

Jack R. Hunt, First President of airships in adverse weather conditions. On March 4, 1957, Hunt, commanding the ZPG-2 airship Snowbird, took o with a crew of 14 in a snowstorm and carried out a non-stop ight of over 9,400 statute miles. ey ew from Massachusetts to Europe, Portugal, and Africa, and from the Canary Islands to Puerto Rico, the Bahamas, and Cuba before reaching Key West in 264 hours and 14 minutes. e Snowbird set two world records for staying alo longer and ying farther without refueling than any other airship. ese records remain unsurpassed. For this accomplishment, Commander Hunt received the Distinguished Flying Cross and was presented with the Harmon International Trophy in 1958 by President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

In 1963, Hunt became president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute (ERAI) in Miami, Fla. In 1965, he relocated ERAI to Daytona Beach, Fla., where the school has ourished. A er receiving accreditation, it became Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University in 1970. In the 1970s and 1980s, Embry-Riddle established o -campus residence centers in the United States, Europe,

and the Middle East. In 1978, Hunt expanded ERAU further by establishing a residential campus at Prescott, Ariz. By the time of his death in 1984, he had transformed Embry-Riddle in just 20 years from what was perceived as a “shaky air freight line” into a world-renowned aviation and engineering university, thus enabling tens of thousands of students to share his vision that “the sky is home.” annually to honor individuals who have made signi cant contributions to aviation. In recognition of his lifetime of accomplishments in aviation and service to Embry-Riddle, Hunt’s story appears in the EAA’s 2008 Memorial Wall Registry Album, which may 7 be viewed upon request at the EAA AirVenture Museum.
Photo: Doug Dickey (’07)

J H EAA M O

H

W

A plaque honoring Jack Hunt, the rst president of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, was added to the EAA Memorial Wall at Oshkosh (Wis.) AirVenture 2008 during a ceremony on Sunday, August 3. e ceremony included a reading of the names of the 110 new wall inductees, an overhead missing man formation ight, and the playing of “Taps.” Members of the Hunt family were present at the ceremony, including Hunt’s daughter Joni and son Geo , and Joni’s husband Mitch. Representatives from the university in attendance included Chris Carta and Odartey Williams (’04), assistant directors of alumni relations, and Robert Rockett, dean of the Heritage Project. e centerpiece is a monument formed from thousands of stones brought to Oshkosh from EAA members’ home states and countries. Engraved bronze plaques are installed

Le to right: Chris Carta, Mitch Whitlock, Joni Hunt, Geo Hunt, Bob Rockett, and Odartey Williams.

Photo: Odartey Williams (’04)

Jack Hunt’s plaque on EAA Memorial Wall reads: Jack R. Hunt, First President — Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University

R E

-R

D

A P

P

F

H

Bill Pitts has been around airplanes all his life. His father ew in the Air Force, and his mother was one of the rst female pilots in the country. It was no surprise that a er high school Bill found his way to the Aviation Building at the EmbryRiddle Aeronautical Institute (ERAI) in Miami, Fla. “ e minute I walked into the Chicken Coop [a fond nickname], I knew I had found a home,” Pitts recalled. He received his Aircra and Engine license in 1960. Pitts recently discussed how he decided to support Embry-Riddle’s 8 future by establishing a testamentary gi to include the university in his will. Q: How did your experience at EmbryRiddle in uence your career path? Pitts: A great degree of my success is because of what I learned at EmbryRiddle. United Airlines hired me

before I even graduated, and I ew the DC-3 and DC-6. I had a 35-year career as a pilot with Delta, ying the B-727 for 23 years; then I retired in 2000 as a senior international captain ying the Lockheed L-1011 TriStar. Q: How did you decide to support Embry-Riddle philanthropically? Pitts: It was actually my wife’s idea. She knew I had a special fondness for Embry-Riddle, and she suggested I donate part of my estate to help students. I contacted the person who handles estate planning in the Development O ce. Since I live in Miami and could easily make a trip to Daytona Beach, we arranged for me to visit the campus. I was very impressed to see how far the university had come. I remember saying, “If I had had this campus when I went to Embry-Riddle, I could have gone to the moon.” Q: How did you include Embry-Riddle in your will? Pitts: e university helped me create the Bill Pitts Endowed Scholarship. ey have speci c guidelines that make it easy. A er I approved it, I gave it to my attorney who included it in my trust and in my will. Q: What are the terms of the scholarship that you stipulated? Pitts: e principal of the endowment will not be invaded, meaning the interest funds the scholarship. A

Delta Captain Bill Pitts in the L-1011.

committee will award $2,500 to a sophomore, junior, or senior—not a freshman. I want to see some level of dedication. Since ight training is near and dear to my heart, I also want the recipient to be a student in the Aeronautical Science program. Q: How does it make you feel that you will be supporting EmbryRiddle students a er you’re gone? Pitts: I was a C student in high school, but I got straight A’s all the way through Embry-Riddle, because I enjoyed every single day there. I want to support students who have that kind of commitment. It’s also important to me to help students who really need it. I know what it’s like—I worked 40 hours a week, I went to school 30 hours a week. Plus I was building ight time at Tursair Inc. because I couldn’t a ord Embry-Riddle. I would have been grateful to get a scholarship back then, and I recognize the need now. I am proud to be able to support Embry-Riddle students of tomorrow. Q: What would you say to someone who is considering an estate gi to Embry-Riddle? Pitts: I know most alumni have kids and grandkids, and of course you have to take care of your family rst. But, if they feel at all the same way I do about Embry-Riddle, I think it’s important to give back anything you can.

O F

H
continued from page one

Air Mail

In the picture below, a WACO JTO Taperwing of the Embry-Riddle Company is being loaded with airmail on a snow-covered eld. To sustain its airmail contract in the 1930s, 50 people were employed, including six pilots.

Air Pilots

During the winter of 1928, Embry-Riddle had a “ ying basketball team” called the Air Pilots. ey were described as “the rst all-pilot team in the country, and the rst team which will y to its out of town games,” within a 100-mile radius. In some cases, the team planned to y in formation to their game. Find more historical photos at
www.erau.edu/archives.

9

30
10

In 1978, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University expanded to the west with the acquisition of the former Prescott College in Arizona. O cially declared bankrupt on December 8, 1974, Prescott College o ered over 500 acres of land and facilities already in place that could serve well for the future growth of Embry-Riddle. e objective was to establish a second campus to complement the Daytona Beach campus in Florida, giving Embry-Riddle both geographical and academic diversity. At a bargain purchase price of $3.5 million,

this was an investment that would potentially become a future endowment for the university. It would also provide the necessary land to grow and develop Embry-Riddle over time, as student enrollments on the Daytona Beach campus steadily reached capacity. Transforming Prescott College to re ect the world-class aeronautical university Embry-Riddle had come to be known as, was, nevertheless, a monumental challenge and a time-sensitive one. With the formal transfer of Prescott College to Embry-Riddle in late April 1978, faculty, sta , and administration had only months to complete the minimum repairs, renovations, and reorganization required before the start of the fall semester. With only an Aeronautical Science degree o ered in the beginning, e orts to acquire su cient aircra for ight training purposes and to renovate facilities at Prescott’s Ernest A. Love Air eld were high on Embry-Riddle’s agenda. Despite the

A

P

C

C
in Prescott, Arizona. e students had such spirit and vitality that you wanted to do it for them and for their parents. It was a new endeavor, a new enterprise, and people wanted to be part of it,” said omas. e Prescott Campus has made consistent e orts to keep pace with industry advances and demands in order to meet the increasing expectations of its student population and to sustain its enrollment numbers. rough the generosity of private donors, federal funding, and tuition 11 dollars, Embry-Riddle’s “University of the West” has evolved into a dynamic, thriving institution, committed to delivering a rst-rate education be tting EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University’s national and international reputation.

inadequate facilities and nancial struggles, the Prescott Campus gradually evolved into a rst-rate aeronautical institution, in large part due to the steadfast commitment and cooperation of the administration, faculty, and sta . Library Director Sarah omas said that despite the challenges involved in developing the Prescott Campus, faculty and sta had a erce determination and an enthusiasm for success: “We loved it. We enjoyed it. We had so much pride and love in this little out-of-the-way place

Facing page: e Prescott Campus in 1978. Le : e Prescott Campus today, featuring the new welcome center built in 2006.

M

H

:T

Y

K

Are you an Embry-Riddle history bu ? See if you know these “history mysteries,” then test your knowledge with our Mystery History Contest question below. Find thousands of Embry-Riddle historical photos at www.erau.edu/archives.

Question: Why was this cadet being thrown in the pool at Embry-Riddle’s Carlstrom Field near Arcadia, Fla., in the 1940s?

Question: Where is John Paul Riddle standing with a Velie Monocoupe in 1928?

M

H

C

12

In the 1940s, Embry-Riddle established a technical school near Miami, Fla., to meet the demand for military technical training. At its peak, there were 385 instructors producing 200 army technical trainees each week. Question: What was the name of the facility and where was it located? TO WIN: Write your answer on the envelope ap inside this newsletter and mail it to us by December 1, or e-mail: [email protected] to enter a drawing for an Embry-Riddle pictorial history postcard book, a collectible keepsake valued at $20. Answer Top Le : It was tradition for a pilot to be thrown in the pool a er he soloed. Answer Top Right: e birthplace of the Embry-Riddle Company at Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio.

P

by Matthew Brasmer

Y

L
Sound complicated? It can seem so. All good gi planning begins with the straightforward question: “What would you like to accomplish with your assets that would be the most meaningful to you and will bene t your family and others?” I encourage you to think about the “pre ight” of your legacy at least once a year. It provides a healthy outlook on life while ensuring that the details of your own hopes are not forgotten. is Chinese proverb provides meaningful guidance: “If you are planning for a year, sow rice; if you are planning for a decade, plant trees; if you are planning for a lifetime, educate people.”

Every aviator knows that a successful ight begins with a thorough pre ight. A ight instructor once said, “Even though you cannot predict everything about the ight, good planning brings the future into the present, where you can do something about it now.” During the pre ight, options are examined and plans are made to address a variety of “what if ” scenarios. Everyday life—like ying— is unpredictable. I have the best job at EmbryRiddle Aeronautical University. As a gi planner, I am privileged to help people think about and act on their hopes for our students and the future of aviation and aerospace. A donor who recently created a gi for endowed scholarships said in his will, “By making this gi , I know that in a tangible way I will be helping to train the engineers and professionals who will be directly involved with manned ights to Mars, the moons of Jupiter, and beyond. at is a very exciting and meaningful investment for me.” Well-considered planned giving is not always about the far future. Gi plans can be cra ed to bene t donors, their spouse and family, and our students today. You can create a gi that will generate a guaranteed income stream for the duration of your lifetime. Such life-income gi s can be structured to t a variety of needs, including a xed income or a marketsensitive income.

13

Matthew Brasmer is the director of major and planned gi s for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. A former Navy commander and naval aviator, he has worked for several major Wall Street rms, as well as e University of Iowa Foundation. He can be reached at 386-226-7205 or
[email protected].

L

Bill Bottle

L

1944, Embry-Riddle Field, Union City, Tenn. Bill attended primary ight school in class 44-H at the Riddle-McKay Aero Institute of Tennessee (see picture below). He said he made good friends at Union City, and the classrooms and training were excellent. Bill served in the Army Air Corps, instructing cadets in the T-6 in South Carolina. He ew the B-24 in Tennessee and the B-29 in Alabama, then was assigned to the 325th Troop Carrier Squadron in Germany, ying the C-47. He ferried the L-4 Piper Cub from Germany to Denmark, then returned to the United States in 1947, ying the T-6, B-25, B-26, and C-45. In 1951, he was recalled to the Air Force as a scheduling o cer. As a civilian, he spent 50 years as a manufactur14 er representative in the automotive a er-market until he retired in 1997. At age 85, he still ies the Cessna 182 as a major in the Civil Air Patrol in South Florida. In 2005, Bill received the FAA Master Pilot Award for 50 years of violationfree ying. He and his wife Betty live in Boca Raton, and enjoy their four children, 12 grandchildren, and 19 great-grandchildren. Bill Bottle, class 44-H, Union City, Tenn., in front of a Stearman PT-17 in April 1944. At all Embry-Riddle elds where there was primary dual-instruction ight training for the USAAF in the 1940s, cadets typically ew the PT-13, PT-17, PT-19, or PT-23.

Marjorie Carpenter
1944, Riddle Aeronautical Institute, Chapman Field Coral Gables, Fla.

.............

Marjorie received her commercial and seaplane license at Embry-Riddle in 1944. She took ight lessons from Nancy Graham, who at the time was one of only ve female ight instructors at Chapman Field. Marjorie says, “Life was very good to me because I got to y.”

Bob Anderson

1951, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute Opalocka, Fla. Bob received his Aircra and Powerplant certi cate in 1951. A er doing aircra turnaround service and weight and balance at Miami Airport, he did airframe and engine overhaul for Red Aircra . For over 50 years, Bob has been owner and partner of Stor-All Systems, his family’s commercial construction company near Ft. Lauderdale, Fla.

*Call the Heritage Project at 800-727-ERAU(3728) to reconnect with these alumni. Submit your “Legacy Link” to the address at the right on page 15.

Harold Kosola
1963, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute Miami, Fla.

Harold received a B.S. in Aeronautical Engineering from ERAI in 1963. He served as president of the rst Alumni Association from 1968 to 1973. Currently, he is president of Kosola & Assoc., an aeronautical engineering rm in Albany, Ga. Harold is vice president of the British Flying Training School No. 5. He is also a member of Embry-Riddle’s Pi Chapter of the Sigma Phi Delta professional engineering fraternity. Pictured above from le to right Sigma Phi Delta brothers in 1962. Back row: William Preiling, president, John Campbell, Jim Williams, Arnold Schulze, Joe Houck, Joe Insley. Front row: John Musick, Harold Kosola, Jim Allen, Craig Hawie. Not pictured: Rodger Aderman.

e Wings of Legacy newsletter is published by the Heritage Project and Planned Giving O ce for alumni and friends who have an interest in preserving Embry-Riddle’s past and preparing our future. Legacy Links are printed based on space availability. You may submit a photo with details and a brief biography, including your name, phone number, class or course year, location attended, area of training, military rank, type of planes own, and any special memory or experience. Include an 15 e-mail address if possible. Send Legacy Links to: e Heritage Project Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Marci Stappung Editor Wings of Legacy
[email protected] or call 386-226-6026

Sandy McKay

1963, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute Miami, Fla. Sandy earned her private pilot license at ERAI in 1961, using the gi of ying lessons she received for high school graduation. e rst passenger Sandy ever took on a ight was her grandmother, Isabel McKay, ERAI president from 1951 to 1962. Sandy’s grandfather, John McKay, was president from 1944 to 1951. Sandy was the only female in the engineering program from 1962 to 1963 at the Chicken Coop. She said she liked that the school was “gender blind.” She fondly remembers aerodynamics and uid dynamics as her favorite classes. Today, Sandy lives in New Zealand where she works as a reverend of a shared ministry at St. James Anglican Church. She enjoys ying her Tecnam P-96 Golf microlight in Kerikeri in the Bay of Islands.

MAKE YOUR ANNUAL GIFT NOW: http://givingto.erau.edu

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Universit y Heritage Project and O ce of Planned Giving 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900

Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 313 Daytona Beach, FL

www.erau.edu/archives

Issue No. 2

Spring 2009

Celebrating Women in Embry-Riddle’s History
In this special edition of Wings of Legacy, we pay tribute to some of the women who influenced the development of Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. By 1928, a growing number of women wanted to learn to fly. Many were trained at the Embry-Riddle Flying School in Cincinnati, Ohio, then in its third year of operation. John Paul Riddle believed that women made better pilots than men. In the book, The Sky is Home, Riddle said, “Women have more nerve than men when it comes to flying ... maybe it’s because women are (more) naturally nearer to angels than men.” With more women entering aviation, one question often asked of EmbryRiddle during its Saturday night “aviation chats” on a local radio station was, “What place is there for women in aviation?” Women were expected to hold jobs in aviation, but mostly occupations that were “outside the actual operations and maintenance departments.” Nevertheless, one member of the Embry-Riddle Flying School praised women for their business acumen and believed that a woman in aviation would be “a more valuable and more efficient employee if she knew how to fly.”

President Isabel McKay

For more women in Embry-Riddle’s history, see pages 10 and 11.

In 1939, attorney and aviator John McKay partnered with John Paul Riddle to create a seaplane base in Miami, Fla., called the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation. Operations expanded into several satellite training facilities for military pilots and mechanics during WWII. McKay became president and owner of Embry-Riddle in 1944. After his death in 1951, McKay’s wife Isabel took over as the first and only female president and general manager. She served on the board from 1945 until her death in 1972. In 1959, she established the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute as a non-profit Florida corporation. Students on the Daytona Beach campus voted to name a dormitory “McKay Hall” in Isabel’s honor.

Bringing our rich history to life
A Message from the Dean
Robert Rockett, Dean Heritage Project Director 386-226-6026 or 800-727-ERAU (3728) E-mail: [email protected] One of our most enjoyable opportunities of the Heritage Project is bringing Embry-Riddle’s rich history to life. This issue of the Wings of Legacy highlights some of the unique ways we showcase our past. Memorabilia Collections: Pictured here are actual Embry-Riddle artifacts that have been donated to the University 2 Archives. They are often on display at special exhibits. Internet: You can find thousands of historic Embry-Riddle pictures like those throughout this newsletter in our free online archives at www.erau.edu/ archives. Exhibits: In this issue, you’ll read about an original Embry-Riddle 1929 Velie Monocoupe engine that was restored by our Daytona Beach faculty and students. The engine was displayed inside the College of Aviation. Aviation events: On page 14 is a replica from an electro-luminescent collage display that will be featured at air shows and aviation tradeshows this year including: Sun ’n Fun (April 21–26), Oshkosh (July 27–Aug. 2), and NBAA (Oct. 20–22). Be sure to visit the University’s exhibit at these events. Lecture series: We often present EmbryRiddle’s history in classrooms, during homecoming activities, and at special events around the world. Oral histories: In select cases, we record eye-witness accounts about past Embry-Riddle events. This unique strategy provides an added dimension to the University’s history by relating the personal experiences and opinions of our many friends and alumni. Publications: The Wings of Legacy newsletter has become our best outlet for sharing our history in print. Our “Legacy Links” section on pages 18 and 19 features stories about our alumni and friends who add color to our past. Professor Stephen Craft, an authority on our history, has also written extensively about Embry-Riddle’s heritage. (See page 3.)
We invite you to share your photographs and memorabilia with the University Archives.

New Book Highlights Embry-Riddle’s Role in WWII
Speci a Wing l Offer for s of L Read egacy ers! (se
e belo w)

Embry-Riddle at War
by Stephen G. Craft, Ph.D.
On December 17, 1925, the Embry3 Riddle Company was formed as an aircraft distributor at the Lunken Airport in Cincinnati, Ohio. Its early success was attributed to airmail contracts and passenger service in the late 1920s. When it reorganized as a seaplane base on Miami’s Biscayne Bay in October 1939, the facility consisted of only two planes, one flight instructor, and one maintenance man. From these humble beginnings, the fledgling operation set out to meet the challenges of war. Embry-Riddle at War tells the story of the company’s astounding contributions to aviation training in WWII. In this authoritative history, Dr. Stephen Craft, associate professor of social science at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, mines both archival sources and the personal accounts of the many men and women who famously “Kept ’Em Flying.”
344 pp. | 6 x 9 | Illus. ISBN 978-0-8130-3299-3 Hardcover $34.95 Through June 1, 2009, the University Press of Florida is offering a 20% discount (a savings of $6.99) on this notable new book to Wings of Legacy readers. To take advantage of this exclusive offer: 1.) Call 1-800-226-3822 to order and mention discount code: WINGS 2.) Order online at www.upf.com. Follow the link marked “Wings of Legacy readers click here” and use discount code WINGS when you order through the secure online shopping cart.

Happenings in History
by Kevin Montgomery Director, University Archives
Do you have photos or memorabilia from your experience at Embry-Riddle that you would like to include in the University Archives? Contact Kevin Montgomery at [email protected] or call 386-226-6296.

Original 1929 Embry-Riddle Monocoupe engine restored by repair station in Daytona Beach
The early Embry-Riddle Company was a distributor for the Velie Monocoupe in Cincinnati, Ohio, in the 1920s. As well as being for sale, the planes were used in a fleet of airmail aircraft. One such plane purchased by the company in 1929 has recently resurfaced and is currently undergoing restoration for the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome in New York. Under a cooperative partnership between Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University and the Aerodrome, the aircraft will be restored to its original Embry-Riddle Co. livery. In addition, the University’s Charles Taylor Department of Aviation Maintenance Science, under the leadership of Professor Fred Mirgle and Roger Sonnenfeld, has recently completed restoration of the vintage engine from this aircraft. The Velie Monocoupe was one of the first aircraft built for private pilots. Manufactured from 1927–1929 by W. L. Velie, an industrialist who had previously specialized in carriages and cars, the single-wing Monocoupes were built with a tubular steel frame and canvas-covered shell. The Monocoupe was also the first fully enclosed, mass produced plane. Only about 350 Monocoupes were built, and they were advertised as “The ultimate plane for the private flyer.” According to Mirgle, “We undertook the restoration because of the unique opportunity this presented. It’s not often that you get the chance to work on a rare vintage aviation engine, especially one that has so much significance to our own history.” The Velie engine exhibit was showcased at the Charles Taylor Commemerative Aviation Festival at the Daytona Beach campus in October 2008. Mirgle’s crew of faculty and students are in the process of restoring a second Velie engine, which had been preserved in much better condition. This engine will be installed in the completly restored 1929 Embry-Riddle Velie Monocoupe.

4

Mirgle said, “The project became much more involved than we originally imagined and took considerably longer than had been expected, but it was well worth the effort. Personally, I can’t wait to see the plane in the air.”

Fred Mirgle and fellow faculty member Roger Sonnenfeld with the restored Embry-Riddle Velie Monocoupe engine. It was on display at the Daytona Beach campus in the fall of 2008, and then was returned to the Old Rhinebeck Aerodrome for display in the museum in Rhinebeck, New York.

5

FLY PAPER FUNNIES
This cartoon was featured in the May 12, 1941, edition of EmbryRiddle’s newspaper, called the Fly Paper. The insert at the bottom reads: Where you check your coats at carlstrom field. Editors Note: Philip de la Rosa brought this one back from R.A.I. And we thought we were the only ones in captivity who couldn’t spell HANGAR!!



Peter Brannan ’45
spotlight
In support of the war effort, President Roosevelt signed the Lend Lease Act in March 1941, enabling Embry-Riddle to train British Royal Air Force pilots. From 1941–45, more than 1,800 British cadets were trained at the No. 5 British Flying Training School (No. 5 BFTS) at Riddle Field in Clewiston, Fla. Alumnus Peter Brannan shares his accounts of terrifying flight training and heartwarming hospitality. “I did my pilot training in the No. 5 BFTS at Riddle Field in Clewiston. I arrived in April of 1945 on Course 25. When I look back upon some of our training exercises, I marvel that we survived. Probably the most unnerving was night flying in the Stearman. Our field was in the middle of nowhere — the nearest town was 10 miles away. Even

Fun and flying during WWII
flying by day at any distance from the airfield could cause disorientation. So we approached night flying with some trepidation. We made three or four circuits with an instructor before going solo and were then advised to be bloody sure to keep the flarepath in sight. “Flarepath” was a bit of an exaggeration. There was a row of paraffin-burning smudgepots down each side of the grass strip, which disappeared from sight as soon as you were airborne. It was then I realized, given the absence of any moonlight, how dark it really was. The climb out was totally on instruments with dials that, to my anxious eyes, looked as if they had run out of illumination aeons before. The drill was to climb to 500 feet before making a rate one turn of 90 degrees to the left. Then

6

Peter Brannan taxiing out in a Stearman PT-17D for a solo flight at Riddle Field.

we continued climbing on instruments to 1,000 feet while peering anxiously off to the left to regain sight of the flarepath. (There it is, thank God!) I had to resist the temptation to turn in towards those faintly glimmering flares on the downwind leg and finally, with more than a little feeling of relief, turn crosswind for the descent. I then was off instruments for the final turn into the wind and descent for landing. There was very little drift, fortunately, and not hard to line up with the flarepath, except that during the final flare for landing. The rather large radial engine obscured the smudgepots and one was obliged to hang out over the side of the cockpit to keep them in sight, being especially careful not to tilt the aircraft also. The only way to tell when the reunion with terra firma was imminent was by watching for the row of smudgepots to line up, then pull back hard on the joystick and wait for the bang. I did three solo circuits that night and almost enjoyed the final one.”

American Generosity and Hospitality
“I remember the first time I hitchhiked with a large number of cadets into West Palm Beach in 1945. I was on a weekend pass. We were seeking out the home of Mr. and Mrs. NeSmith, our hospitality contact. The entire course of 50 cadets assembled in the NeSmith’s garden for a group photo. We then sampled the first bananas and ice cream we had seen in about five years! Mrs. NeSmith had a list of numerous families that expressed the wish to entertain us. We each made our way, usually in pairs, to our host’s home. Once there, we were royally received and asked about our wishes for the weekend. Some were taken to the cinema, others to church, and many of us were entertained to a picnic on the beach. On one occasion in West Palm Beach, I stayed at the winter home of the Countess Apponyi, Queen consort of King Zog I of Albania. She was away at her summer home, but her butler was there who waited upon us hand and foot. We were even told we could use the car, but it was a V-12 powered limousine, and we declined. We often met the daughters of our hosts and were taken to dances and other social events. Since both Britain and the United States were in their fourth of more years of war, there were very few young American lads about. In fact, I suspect there were some pretty strong romantic liaisons generated between some cadets and these very attractive young American girls. When the war ended and we shipped out, we traveled by train from Clewiston, north through South Florida, to Sebring. The railway track ran alongside the highway. A number of young ladies drove up alongside the train in their cars and at each station stop there were reunions and sad partings. Having a girlfriend at home, I was entirely faithful to my future wife, Anne. In fact, I bought her engagement ring in Miami during one of our weekend leaves. It cost $100 and I smuggled it home in the toe of one of my flying boots. She still has it 63 years later, and we now have two sons, five grandchildren and two great-granddaughters.”
Editor’s note: We thank Mr. Peter Brannan for sharing his story in the Wings of Legacy. Peter is a retired British newspaper journalist and former editor of Canadian Aviation magazine. He and his wife Anne can be seen driving their car with an Embry-Riddle license plate frame in their hometown of Toronto, Canada.

7

This issue of Wings of Legacy features an outline of the early history of the Embry-Riddle Worldwide campus (see pages 12 and 13). One thing that makes this campus so unique is the professional expertise and dedication of its faculty and staff. One such faculty member who possesses a love of aviation, teaching, and young people, is Dr. James T. Gallogly. For over 20 years, Jim has taught hundreds of Embry-Riddle graduate and undergraduate students as part of our talented and caring Worldwide campus faculty. Growing up in Pittsburgh, Penn., Jim developed a love of airplanes early on. A 24-year career in the United

8

Invest in Embry-Riddle’s future,
States Air Force further deepened his love for and knowledge of aviation, and the people who make it all work. A two-time graduate of Embry-Riddle, Jim was deeply moved by the opportunity to meet and talk with John Paul Riddle. He learned much about the history and impact of the people who have always made the University work and grow. Yet it was the opportunity Jim had to serve on a University scholarship selection committee that really changed his own actions. He says, “I love to see people get ahead, especially in aviation. It was the experience of seeing firsthand the impact of philanthropy and scholarships eventually used by the University in a manner that’s consistent with your wishes, as the donor. Immediate annuity rates are higher if you are older and lower if you are younger. A deferred gift annuity is often appealing to younger donors who can use it to improve future income, such as at retirement. While rates are lower than for commercial annuities, donors know that they can still “do well by doing good.” Jim and Suellen Gallogly have designated support of future student scholarships as the intended recipients of their philanthropy through a charitable gift annuity. Meanwhile, they now receive automatic quarterly deposits for

Doing well by

on real people that motivated my wife Suellen and I to want to give back to Embry-Riddle and invest in our very talented students.” Jim and Suellen took action by investigating the option of both giving and receiving through a deferred charitable gift annuity. A gift annuity is a simple, contractual agreement between a donor and Embry-Riddle in which you transfer assets in exchange for a promise to receive lifetime payments for one or two lives. Simply put, once you make a donation to Embry-Riddle in the form of a gift annuity, you are provided with a stable and guaranteed income for life. The annuity is a gift to be

doing good
and your own.
Please call or email. And then, like Jim and Suellen Gallogly, you too may know that you are enabling a positive future for aviation and aerospace and the people who will make it happen, well into this century and into the next.

both of their lives. Even with a recession and in a low interest rate environment, gift annuities compare favorably with cash equivalent investments, such as certificates of deposit (CDs) and 10-year Treasurys. With current gift annuity guaranteed rates of 5.3% to 9.5% for individuals 65 and older, many donors are happy to make a gift and to get something back in tangible ways. Since each situation is unique, we have available a gift annuity calculator on our web site at: www.erau.edu/ giftplanning. I am always available to create a personalized proposal unique to your circumstances and desires, or simply to answer your questions.

9

Matthew Brasmer is the director of major and planned gifts for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. A former naval aviator and commander, he has worked for several major Wall Street firms, as well as The University of Iowa Foundation. He can be reached at 386-226-7205, at [email protected] or via our website at

www.erau.edu/giftplanning.

Women in EmbrySusan Embry
Susan H. Embry became the first female vice president of the Embry-Riddle Company in the late 1920s when she purchased one of its Waco No. 9 biplanes. She was the mother of the Embry-Riddle Company’s co-founder, T. Higbee Embry. Susan flew as a passenger with John Paul Riddle in the 1926 Ford Air Tour. She was the only woman on the tour. Riddle came in fifth place flying one of the company’s Waco No. 9 biplanes and won $1,350.

Miami’s Technical School
Women played a key role in the Technical School and Carlstrom Field’s Overhaul Division. They received training in the use of precision instruments and in the fundamentals of engine operation. John Paul Riddle hired 300 women to refurbish aircraft wings in Miami. From April 1942 to February 1943, the women overhauled, recovered, and refinished over 200 aircraft, and recovered and repaired hundreds of wings, ailerons, stabilizers, elevators, and rudders.

10

Miami Seaplane Base
The original Embry-Riddle Company merged with the Aviation Corporation (AVCO) in 1929 and was later absorbed by American Airways in 1931. John Paul Riddle eventually relocated to South Florida and reestablished the Embry-Riddle Company as a seaplane base in Miami in October 1939. It was run almost entirely by women, also known as the “barnacle pilots.” In 1942–43, Ruth Norton served as general manager and flight instructor, along with two other female instructors, Marion Bertram and Pat Grant (one of the first female flight instructors in the country). The chief of the ground school was Pauline Powell. Cay Sillcocks, featured in the photo, was the office manager and registrar of the Miami Seaplane Base.

-Riddle’s History
Union City, Tenn.
At the Embry-Riddle Field in Union City, Tenn. in 1942, six women were employed as dispatchers. Pictured at right: Women being given their daily duties at Embry-Riddle Field in Union City.

Carlstrom Field
By 1943, women played a greater role in keeping Embry-Riddle in operation during WWII when fewer men were available on the home front. They performed duties such as chief dispatcher, radio, Link and drafting instructors, librarian, mimeographer, and postmistress. Female personnel are pictured in front of the administration building at Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Fla. From left to right: Jackie Livingston, Roberta Dudley, Loretta Weaver, Lydia Sammon, Wilda Smithson, Lorean Bond, Betty Vickers, Margaret Kent, Maude Dykes, Kay Bramlitt, Norma Tucker, and Edna Poston.

11

São Paulo, Brazil
In 1943, Embry-Riddle established the first aviation school in São Paulo, Brazil, the Escola Técnica de Aviação. Parachute rigging courses were taught by female instructors. On the far left in this photo is Ann Thilmony, who originally worked for Embry-Riddle at Chanute Air Field in Rahtoul, Ill., during WWII teaching parachute rigging. She accepted an offer from Embry-Riddle to relocate to the new school in Brazil to teach parachute rigging and English.

Embry-Riddle Worldwide
A look back at the early years
May 1970: Dr. Wilbur A. Middleton, a U.S. Army officer at Fort Rucker, Ala., was hired by Embry-Riddle to establish his concept for a program that awarded college credit to Army aviators for their military technical training. July 6, 1970: The first Residence Center was established at the U.S. Army Aviation Center in Fort Rucker, Ala., offering five aviation-oriented college courses. Other centers opened at Hunter Army Air Field, Ga., Fort Wolters, Tex., and Fort Eustis, Va. Fall 1970: Fort Rucker’s first-term enrollments exceeded all expectations, and Dr. Middleton was able to repay the University the entire $25,000 budget he was initially allocated within the center’s first 90 days. Summer 1971: A joint degree program was formed with Barry College in Miami, Fla., called the Miami Education Consortium (MEC). Students fulfilled general education requirements at a traditional school, then completed their college degree through Embry-Riddle. The MEC had over 1,200 annual enrollments by 1974.

12

1972 — 1974: Resident Centers opened in Fort Campbell, Ky., and Homestead Air Force Base, Fla.

1973: The program was renamed the College of Continuing Education (CCE). The Bachelor of Science degree in Professional Aeronautics (“Pro Aero”) was developed, which became the University’s largest undergraduate degree program. 1973: CCE gained approval for the Master of Aviation Management (MAM). Embry-Riddle’s Daytona Beach campus did not field a graduate program of its own until the Master of Science in Aeronautical Engineering began in 1987.

An early College of Continuing Education location at Fort Bragg, N.C.

John Paul Riddle with Air Force Cadet Derrick Titley, an AMT200 student at the RAF, Upper Heyford, England, on May 13, 1985.

October 29, 1973: The first European Residence Center opened at the U.S. Army installation in Mannheim, Germany, at Coleman Barracks. Additional Army sites opened in Germany at Banau, Schwabish Hall, Illesheim, Kitzingen, Budingen, and Finthen. August 1974: The United States Air Force European Center was established at Lindsey Air Station in Wiesbaden, Germany. Classes were offered at seven European Air Force installations in the United Kingdom, Germany, Greece, and Spain. 1975: Fifteen European Residence Centers opened. The Master of Aeronautical Science (MAS) was added, which became the University’s largest graduate degree program. 1977: The CCE Daytona Beach Center and the Office of Graduate Studies were established. 1975–1979: Twenty Residence Centers opened in the U.S. 1979: Both the MAS and the MAM were offered at one-third of the 40 CCE locations in the U.S. and European Residence Centers, and at the civilian Graduate Center in Miami. 1979: University President Jack Hunt created the “new single university, multiple campus concept.” The CCE, no longer part of the Daytona Beach campus, was a college within a new entity called the International Campus (IC).

13

Historical research for the timeline was conducted by Alan R. Bender, Ph.D., associate professoraeronautics, Embry-Riddle —Worldwide.

1981: The External Studies Program was established, which was the early name for the Independent Studies, or Distance Learning program. 1982: The IC served approximately 4,500 part-time students though 85 Resident Centers and distance learning. Over 20 Independent Studies courses were available. Today: Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University—Worldwide is a network of more than 135 campuses and teaching sites in the United States, Europe, Canada, and the Middle East, with a global virtual presence via online learning. Embry-Riddle —Worldwide has more than 49,000 alumni — more than either residential campus. For more information, call 800-522-6787 or visit www.erau.edu/worldwide

1

2

3 5 6

4

14

8

9

7

10 12 11

Embry-Riddle in South Florida in the 1940s and 1950s
1. Military cadets standing at attention in front of the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation in Miami, Fla., 1942. 2. British Royal Air Force (RAF) cadets of the No. 5 British Flying Training School (5BFTS) in front of a hangar at Riddle Field in Clewiston, Fla., 1941. 3. Inspection of flight instructors and cadets with a squadron of BT-13 Vultees, 1943. 4. Seaplanes at the Embry-Riddle Seaplane Base on the MacArthur Causeway in Miami, Fla., in the late 1940s. 5. The Aviation Building (the former Fritz Hotel) in Miami, home of the EmbryRiddle School of Aviation. 6. The No. 5 British Flying Training School (5BFTS) operated by the Riddle McKay Aero College at Riddle Field in Clewiston, Fla., 1944. 7. Piper J-3 Cubs of the Embry-Riddle fleet on the flightline in the 1950s. 8. Piper J-3 Cubs of the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation fleet at Opa Locka Airport in the 1950’s. 9. Two students in front of a Stearman PT-17 (also known as the Boeing model 75) in the 1950s. 10. Class of maintenance students in front of a Douglas B-18 Bolo (military bomber version of the DC-3) on December 4, 1950. 11. Part of the Embry-Riddle fleet at the Tamiami Airport in the late 1950s. 12. A Stearman PT-17, or Boeing model 75, with Embry-Riddle markings on November 4, 1955. The pilots are Richard Dupouht and Pat Foley.

The Wings of Legacy newsletter is published by the Heritage Project and Planned Giving Office for alumni and friends who have an interest in preserving Embry-Riddle’s past and preparing our future. Legacy Links are printed based on space availability. You may submit a photo with details and a brief biography, including your name, phone number, class or course year, location attended, area of training, military rank, type of planes flown, and any special memory or 15 experience. Include an e-mail address if possible. Send Legacy Links to: The Heritage Project Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114 Marci Stappung Editor Wings of Legacy
[email protected] or call 386-226-6026

SEARCH THE ONLINE ARCHIVES AT: www.erau.edu/archives

• Mystery History: Test Your Knowledge •
Are you an Embry-Riddle history buff? See if you can solve these “history mysteries,” then test your knowledge with our Mystery History Contest question below. Find thousands of Embry-Riddle historical photos at www.erau.edu/archives. 1. Pictured here is a famous actress with Emelio Salgado, son of the Brazilian Air Minister Dr. J. P. Salgado Filho. They were set up on a date by her friend John Paul Riddle in 1944, shortly after she made the movie “National Velvet” at age 14. Question: Who is the movie star? 2. The man in this picture, Len Povey, was a member of a flying circus, reorganized Cuba’s air force, was an acrobatic champion in Miami, and worked for the Civil Aviation Authority. He became vice president of flight training at Embry-Riddle in Miami in 1940. Question: What famous flight maneuver did Len Povey invent by accident? 3. This engine cut-away was on display at the Aviation Maintenance Technology Department at the Daytona Beach campus for over 20 years. It is currently under restoration by faculty and students. Question: What aircraft was this engine from?

16

Answers: 1. Elizabeth Taylor; 2. The Cuban 8, an aerobatic figure eight maneuver for fixed-wing aircraft; 3. The world’s first operational jet fighter, the Messerschmitt Me 262.

•

Mystery History

CONTEST

•

QUESTION: Can you identify this celebrity in Embry-Riddle regalia who gave a commencement address at the Daytona Beach graduation ceremony on April 26, 1986? If you would like to hear this comedian’s full-length speech, go to the Heritage Project website at: www.erau.edu/heritage to listen to the audio file.

TO WIN: Write your answer 17 on the envelope flap inside this newsletter and mail it to us by June 1, or e-mail: [email protected] to enter a drawing for an Embry-Riddle pictorial history postcard book, a collectible keepsake valued at $20.

Mystery History Contest Answer from October 2008:
Question: What is the name of this facility and where was it located? Answer: The Colliseum in Coral Gables, Fla. In the 1940s, Embry-Riddle established a Technical School near Miami to meet the demand for military technical training. At its peak, there were 385 instructors producing 200 army technical trainees each week.

Legacy Links .............
Irving Saunders
1944, Embry-Riddle Field, Union City, Tenn.
Irv entered the Army Air Corps in 1942 for pilot training and completed Embry-Riddle’s 60-hour flight course segments in the PT-17 Stearman. His most unusual experience at EmbryRiddle was during his first solo landing when he touched down on the field and immediately went into a 90-degree turn. His instructor said he did such a good job of correcting the problem, he wanted Irv to get up there and try another landing. Irv never repeated the mistake. His instructors were so thorough in teaching him the fundamen18 tals of emergency landings and wind and weather, it served him well in the military. Irv conducted 65 combat flights where his missions included bombing, strafing, intercepting enemy attacks and escorting bombers. He was shot down twice in China - he once landed a P-40 without gear after being hit, and he once had to bail out of a P-51A at 700 feet. The plane exploded just as he touched the ground, but luckily he found shelter in a farmhouse where a 62nd Army Chinese soldier rescued him. Irv lives in Vero Beach, Fla., and enjoys time with his two sons in Florida and Pennsylvania.

Samuel Poole

1954, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute, Miami, Fla.
In 1940, Sam started flight training at age 16 at the original Daytona Beach Airport site, flying the Stentson 10-A. After graduating high school and passing the cadet exam, he became the youngest B-17 aircraft commander in the 8th Air Force at age 19. He flew 35 missions and earned the Distinguished Flying Cross and four Air Medals. He’s proud to have “never lost a man.” Sam attended the Embry-Riddle Institute in Miami in 1954 and earned his Airframe and Powerplant Certificate, and a degree in Aviation Management. While he was a student, he taught flying at the Tamiami Airport. Sam says, “The quality of the training I got from Embry-Riddle got me far in the industry. Every major aviation facility in the world is touched by people who graduated from Embry-Riddle. They contribute greatly to the safety of air commerce.” At age 84, Sam operates Poole Industries, a certified FAA repair station for WWII engines. He has also been involved with fixed base operations in Florida since 1955. He has six children and six grandchildren, and lives in Avon Park, Fla.

Send your “Legacy Link” to the address listed on page 15.

Marion Shin

1958, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute, Miami, Fla.
Watching a WWII airplane dogfight above her homeland of China, Marion Shin knew at age 12 that she wanted to be involved with aviation. However, since Hong Kong didn’t offer aerospace engineering, she studied civil engineering. One day she read an American magazine article about Embry-Riddle and decided that’s where she wanted to be. She couldn’t get a student visa from the U.S. consulate in Hong Kong, so Marion’s mother sent her to England for a year, where she could take air service training and maintenance courses. She went through a lot of struggle, saying, “If you have a goal and the will, you can meet someone along the way who will help you. The consulate in England believed in me,” which is how she obtained the visa and came to Embry-Riddle in Miami. With the help of President Isabel McKay, Marion became the first

woman to finish the engineering program. “I consider Mrs. McKay to be my benefactor,” she said. “She gave me a scholarship to the AMT school because I was the only woman, and I was in the top 10 of my class.” She worked as an A & P mechanic at the Embry-Riddle flightline after school in 1956, making $1 per hour. In her professional career, she was the only woman to work as a senior structural engineer for Piper Aircraft, Inc. in Vero Beach, Fla., for 14 years. She has been a designated FAA engineering representative in aircraft structures since 1980, and since 1995, she has served as a project consultant DER with Israel Aircraft Industries for aircraft modification and repair.

19

William Martin

1972 & 1982, Embry-Riddle, Daytona Beach, Fla.
degree in Aeronautical Science, and eventually was promoted to dean, serving in that capacity until 1992. He was referred to as the “Stealth Dean” because he “liked to stay on the quiet side of things, and had really great department chairs who got the jobs done.” Bill is a tenured, full professor of Safety Sciences, teaching undergraduate and graduate courses. Now in his 39th year of working at the University, Bill says, “I can’t imagine working anywhere else. So many people I talk to aren’t happy in their jobs, but I’m still loving it.” Bill enjoys living in the Daytona Beach area with his wife, and they have two kids and three grandkids.

Bill began his professional flying career serving in the Army in Vietnam as a UH-1 Huey helicopter pilot from 1967-68. While in an Air Cavalry unit, he initially flew lift ships, then later flew medivac and search and rescue missions. Bill received an early release from the army to attend Embry-Riddle in 1970. After doing part-time flight instruction as a student, he became a full-time instructor after graduation. He then held positions as a flight supervisor, director of flight standards, chief flight instructor, then associate dean of the College of Aviation Technology. Meanwhile, Bill earned his master’s

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Heritage Project and Office of Planned Giving 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900 Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 313 Daytona Beach, FL

www.embryriddle.edu/archives

Issue No. 3

Fall 2009

Embry-Riddle had first aviation school in Brazil
Special feature: A pictorial history of Embry-Riddle’s groundbreaking presence in São Paulo in the 1940s. In 1941, Embry-Riddle contracted with the Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) and the U.S. State Department to create a new section in its Technical School in Miami called the Latin American Department. It would provide a dual education program for students from South America and U.S. citizens planning to seek jobs in South America. On December 31, 1941, the first class of 526 Latin American cadets arrived at Embry-Riddle to receive instructor-mechanic and service-mechanic training. Students were to complete 2,300 hours of training over 16 months. They came from Honduras, El Salvador, Paraguay, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Argentina, and Brazil. The most important Latin American connection for Embry-Riddle was Brazil. Brazil’s Air Minister, Joaquim Pedro Selgado Filho, toured Embry-Riddle in Miami and was impressed with the operations. He asked John Paul Riddle to establish a site in São Paulo, Brazil. In October 1943, plans were announced to establish Escola Técnica de Aviacão, an aviation technical school that would enable that country to emulate the standardization of airfields. After the approval of the Brazilian and U.S. governments, classes started in November 1943 with the expectation of training 500 students by Christmas. The school was to remain in operation in Brazil permanently. Pictured is part of Escola Técnica de Aviacão, EmbryRiddle’s aviation school in São Paulo, Brazil, dedicated to John Paul Riddle. See pages 10–11 for more of the pictorial history of the Escola Técnica de Aviacão.

Why preserve your legacy?
A Message from the Dean
Robert Rockett, Dean Heritage Project Director E-mail: [email protected]
Sometimes we are so busy creating history, we forget to record it. In previous issues of Wings of Legacy, we have talked about the importance of preserving Embry-Riddle’s past. I’d like to share with you why it’s so valuable for you and your loved ones that your own personal legacy live on for future generations. The most important reason to record 2 your personal stories is for your family. Nobody else will know the best details of your life like you do, unless you share them. Passing down from one generation to another your memories, accomplishments, and genealogy can be one of the most cherished gifts you can ever give. It’s my experience, both personally and through my work at Embry-Riddle, that a person gets to be in his or her 60s or 70s and looks back on life thinking, “I really do want this story to be told to my children and my grandchildren.” You don’t have to be an oral historian, nor do you need any complicated training to record your personal history. A simple, inexpensive way to have fun recording your memories is to set up a video camera with your family present. Sit down and just talk to each other. You can have each person say where they were born, where they grew up, and what they remember about their life. Let the conversation go naturally. Your memories

386-226-6026 or 800-727-ERAU (3728)

Your own oral history

can be captured on video as if you were having a conversation or telling a story to your loved ones. If you want to do something a little more structured, there are free resources available to guide you. Multiple websites are available that give prompted questions to conduct a more detailed family history interview. One resource I’ve used is at www.about.com. Search under “oral history questions,” and you’ll find “50 Questions for Family History Interviews.”

Personal memorabilia

Another part of passing on your legacy is through preserving your personal memorabilia. Photo albums, military uniforms, awards, and family heirlooms are tangible evidence of your life. We certainly understand if you have Embry-Riddle artifacts that you’d like to leave for your family first. But, we’d like you to consider leaving some kind of direction if you and your loved ones would rather have these items preserved by Embry-Riddle in a perpetual way. (An example is the Cadet’s Handbook, which was donated by an alumnus on the next page.) We offer permanent preservation and often public display of photographs and artifacts through the University Archives and the Archives Online Database. See pages 4–5 for some guidelines and examples of the type of memorabilia we can catalog and preserve for you forever.

Alumnus contribution to the archives
Thank you to Mr. Lloyd E. Wessel, Class 44-F, for his recent contribution to the University Archives. He donated his Cadet’s Handbook (copyright 1943 by the Embry-Riddle Co.) from his training at Riddle Aeronautical Institute (RAI) at Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Florida. The handbook was distributed to all cadets at the beginning of their 10-week training in the PT-17 Stearman biplane. In the forward, under “Reason for the RAI handbook,” it states, “We have endeavored to keep it from being a monotonous, dry presentation — inserting enough humor to keep it interesting — but the facts presented are true, and we advise you to heed the ideas presented as being accurate.” Below is an excerpt from pages 26–27 of the manual that we thought you would enjoy.

Lateral Control: Ailerons
The ailerons, which are the surfaces used for lateral control of the airplane (wing down or up), are situated on the outer, trailing edge of the wing and are used for rolling the airplane on its longitudinal axis. When pressure is applied moving the stick to the left, the right aileron is lowered and the left aileron is raised. When pressure is applied moving the stick to the right, the opposite action occurs. When the ailerons are displaced from a neutral position, the aileron that is lowered has the effect of increasing the lift on that side; the aileron that is raised has the effect of decreasing the lift on its side, thereby creating a differential in lift between the two wings and consequently a rolling movement.

3

Do you have a special archival collection?
Kevin Montgomery Director, University Archives 386-226-6296 Email: [email protected]

1928 airmail pilot’s legacy lives on
His memorabilia featured in the University archives
Do you have photographs or other memorabilia that you would like to donate to the archives? I’m often asked what kinds of things are collected for the archives. Simply put, the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical 4 University Archives collect original documents, photographs, and artifacts pertaining to the history of Embry-Riddle. This can include everything from a single photograph of a student taken while at Embry-Riddle, to the impressive collection featured in this article. All of these things serve to flesh out our history and add color and a human element to our rich heritage. Many people are understandably reluctant to donate their original memorabilia and, instead, would like to submit photocopies or scanned digital images. Digital images and documents are fine for the Internet, but are not what an archival repository is looking for. Think of us as a museum. We have the resources and expertise to ensure that irreplaceable historical material is preserved, protected, and accessible when appropriate. There really is no better permanent home for memorabilia from your time with Embry-Riddle than our professional archival repository. Take, for example, one of our most significant early collections from James Howell Douglas, featured here.

Memorabilia in the James Howell Douglas archival collection includes letters, certificates, and flight logs related to his lengthy aviation career. Pictured here are his original leather flying helmet, goggles, and scarf worn by Douglas while flying the early WACO biplanes.

James Howell Douglas Collection donated by family
The collection of James Howell Douglas was donated to the archives in 2003 by his daughter. Douglas was an airmail pilot and instructor for the Embry-Riddle Company in 1928. Somehow the family managed to keep and preserve nearly every letter, certificate, and flight log related to Douglas’ lengthy aviation career. The collection also includes the original leather flying helmet, goggles, and scarf worn by Douglas while flying the early WACO biplanes.

The University Archives online database is a free resource that enables anyone to search for and view photographs and memorabilia. Your contribution to the archival collection would be featured in the online database for all of your friends and loved ones to see — forever. The following is an excerpt of Douglas’ biography. “James Howell Douglas began his career in aviation as an airplane rigger for the Alexandria Aircraft Corporation in Virginia. After World War I, he enlisted in the Tennessee National Guard’s 105th Observation Squadron as an airplane and engine mechanic. By 1924, he had accepted an officer’s commission in the National Guard, qualifying as a military pilot through the U.S. Army Air Corp’s training programs at Brooks Field in Texas and Maxwell Field in Alabama. Rejoining his National Guard unit as a 1st Lieutenant, Douglas supervised the engineering, maintenance, and operations of the 105th Observation Squadron.

Biography featured in the online archives

In 1928, Douglas joined the Embry-Riddle Company in Cincinnati, as an airmail pilot and flight instructor. In 1930 he became Chief Pilot and Operations Manager for the Curtiss Wright Flying Service in Louisville, and, in 1931, he joined American Airlines as a Captain and check pilot in 5 their air mail operation. In July 1935, Douglas accepted an appointment as aeronautical inspector with the U.S. Department of Commerce’s newly formed Bureau of Air Commerce. From then until the middle of 1942, he held various positions within the Department of Commerce, including Air Carrier Inspector and Assistant Chief in the Civil Aeronautics Board’s Accident Investigation Division, moving from Wichita to Kansas City, and, eventually, to Washington.” The remainder of Douglas’ biography includes his service in WWII and his impressive aviation career with the Civil Aeronautics Administration. We invite you to visit the archives online database at www.embryriddle.edu/archives to read his entire story. (Search under keyword: James Douglas.)

Douglas wearing the helmet that is now in Embry-Riddle’s archive collection.

While Mr. Douglas’ archival collection is quite extensive, we welcome any and all original photographs and memorabilia that demonstrate something about Embry-Riddle’s heritage. Please contact me if you are interested in submitting materials.

Creating your collection



Matthew Berk ’58
spotlight
Many of our older alumni have harrowing stories about their experiences during WWII. We’d like to pay tribute to a gentleman who — despite surviving a death-defying crash, and enduring grueling physical recovery as a Prisoner of War — went on to receive aircraft maintenance training from Embry-Riddle, enjoy a career with the FAA, and earn his associate’s degree at age 85.

Ex-POW awarded degree at age 85
later, a Swiss doctor with the Red Cross came to the camp to help Allied prisoners who needed more medical attention than the Germans were able to provide. The doctor worked out a POW exchange, and Berk was allowed to be included. He was initially transported to Sweden, then to Liverpool, England, where they dropped off ex-POWs from England, Australia, Poland, and France. From there, about 300–400 Canadians and Americans traveled to New York, arriving in September of 1944. Berk ended up in a new Army hospital in West Virginia, where he continued his recovery for a year. Then he went to a hospital in Valley Forge, Pa., where he

Being Captured in Germany

6

Matthew Berk entered the U.S. Army Air Corps in 1942. He served as a gunner on the B-17 Flying Fortress in the Eighth Air Force in England and was shot down in October of 1943. He recalls how he came to be captured by the Germans. “We were shot down during a bombing raid over Germany. The airplane broke in two. My tail gunner said we floated down like a leaf inside the back half of the airplane wreckage for 22,000 feet until we crashed. I was already unconscious from multiple gunshot wounds to my arms, legs, jaw — all over. I was a mess. We hit the ground and the tail gunner walked away. German soldiers told the navigator about me, ‘He’s dead, leave him,’ but somehow I was taken to a German hospital where I woke up three days later.” Berk’s injuries were too severe for him to be moved initially. Eventually he was transferred to a hospital that was equipped to perform plastic surgery to repair his jaw. Three months later, in January 1944, he was moved to a POW camp near the Baltic Sea. Several months

Matthew Berk in 1946. This was the last time he was in his Army Air Corps uniform.

underwent physical therapy for another year. He was discharged in 1946. Berk comments about his military career, “I spent a total of four years and three months in the military — one year of that was as a POW, and over two more years were in hospitals.”

Receiving an associate’s degree at age 85

Attending Riddle
Prior to being in the military, Berk worked for the government as a private mechanic working on airplane engines. His injuries prevented him from returning to work right after the war, so after hearing about Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute (ERAI), in Miami, Fla., Berk decided to enroll. “I was already in my 30s by the time I got to Embry-Riddle. Most everyone else was a lot younger than me. I had more experience from the military, working on airplanes before the war, and I already had my pilot’s license so I think that made training a little easier. The facilities at the ‘Chicken Coop’ were quite old — nothing like what you have now, but we learned about airplanes that were still made out of fabric and wood.” After receiving his Airframe & Powerplant Certificate in 1958, Berk became an inspector for the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) at the General Aviation Office in Cincinnati, Ohio. In fact, his office was at the same location at Lunken Field where Embry-Riddle started back in 1925. For 14 years, he checked repair stations and was involved with accident investigations. He also ran maintenance operations for small airplanes at several airports.
From the left: Former President Dr. George Ebbs, Matthew Berk, Former Chancellor Dr. Irwin Price awarding Berk’s degree at Homecoming 2005.

In 2005, Berk contacted Embry-Riddle about requirements needed to complete an associate’s degree. He told his story to the Dean of the Heritage Project, Bob Rockett. Berk explained that at the time he attended ERAI, he felt he was too old to go back to 7 school to get an official degree, so he only pursued earning the A&P. Even though it was over 50 years later, he was curious about what it would take to get his degree. Berk took numerous courses and training for his work with the FAA, and had decades of practical experience in both his military and aviation careers. The University president at the time, Dr. George Ebbs, decided to award Matthew Berk an Associate’s Degree in Aviation Maintenance Technology during Homecoming Weekend on October 30, 2005. Berk was 85 years old. He is arguably the oldest recipient of an associate’s degree at Embry-Riddle. “It was a shock to me,” Berk said. “All my life I had to fight to get an education. I only had one year of high school when I tried to get into Embry-Riddle back in the late 1950s. They wouldn’t let me enroll at first, so I went to night school to earn my diploma, then they finally admitted me. For me to end up with an associate’s degree is a really big accomplishment.”

What’s in your lo
Few personal items are as precious to a pilot as his flight logbook. The week of September 11, 2001, our house burned down. I will never forget the “colorful sculpture” of the remains of my now melted Navy flight helmet and oxygen mask (which had been stored in a box in the basement), along with most of my other Navy memorabilia — gifts given from fellow aviators from the Royal Air Force and France’s Marine Nationale, my flight jacket, flight suits, paperwork, certificates, medals, and other items, now destroyed by fire and water. Miraculously, and most gratefully, my two-volume Navy flight logbook and single-volume civilian logbook were saved in the fire. My wife and best friend, Mary Claire, and I lost almost everything in the fire we had managed to accumulate in 25 years of marriage and worldwide Navy travel. For me, the “return” of my pilot logbooks provided some measure of comfort in the total loss of “the stuff of one’s life.” Ask a pilot to describe any month, any year from his logbook and, after some perusal of the entries, even after many years, memories will come flying back. “I don’t remember this flight, but this one — yes; I remember the most terrible weather imaginable while flying over the South China Sea. It was so rough that all of the flight instruments were seen only in a blur. So you just tried to set a reasonable attitude and power setting …” Or, “this guy was a great flight instructor when we flew …” Pages later in my logbook, there is an entry for an unscheduled stop in Manus in Northern Brazil. Flying across the length of Brazil from Argentina, the headwinds had been stronger than forecast and a few turns on my old E6B pilot’s calculator recommended a stop for fuel now or a later swim in the ocean due to possible fuel starvation. Several short entries in a logbook brought forth strong memories of an unforgettable flying adventure throughout South America. The “stuff of our lives” is like that. It can reveal the best of our memories, our lingering dreams, and hopes for the future, for ourselves and others. One additional item that survived our family’s fire was a shoulder board insignia from an Imperial Japanese naval officer, an item my father had been given as a Navy corpsman when, with a squad of Marines, even before the official surrender was signed, he medically treated downed U.S. airmen POWs held outside Tokyo. For him, the shoulder board was a symbol of victory in a long-and-tough fight.

8

ogbook of life?
When I speak with donors of Embry-Riddle, from the World War II era until our recent graduates, I frequently am told, “I may not have a lot, but I want to give back, I want to make a difference because the scholarship (or fellowship, or work experience, or memories) I received really made a difference for me. Embry-Riddle changed my life.” Such statements are like “a logbook of the heart.” For like an old pilot’s logbook, such statements reveal and recall lessons learned, unforgettable friends and colleagues, and memories of lift-off in the adventure of one’s life.

9

Invest in Embry-Riddle’s future, and your own.
Matthew Brasmer is the director of major and planned gifts for Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, serving the Daytona Beach, Fla., Prescott, Ariz., and Worldwide Campuses. A former naval aviator, he has owned his own businesses and worked on Wall Street. For almost 10 years he has been involved in educational fund-raising and gift planning. He can be reached at 386-226-7205, at [email protected], or via our website at
www.embryriddle.edu/giftplanning.

Embry-Riddle’s Escol in São Paul
1 2

4

10

1. In 1941, Cuban mechanics earned practical training at Embry-Riddle’s Latin American Division of the Technical School in Miami. Standing left to right: Sgt. Antonio Azcuy, Lt. Jose Cagigal, Adriano Ponso, Vice President of Flight Training Len Povey, Lt. Manuel Canamero, Joe R. Horton, Pvt. Manuel Alvarez, and Sgt. John P. Valdes. Kneeling left to right: Sgt. Delfin Buria, Sgt. Arturo Fajardo and Mr. Vasquez. 2. The president of Brazil and guests are inspecting a student-made engine at the Escola Técnica de Aviacão in São Paulo, Brazil. From left to right: Colonel João Mendes da Silva, Brazil President Getúlio Vargas, Interventor Costa, and Brazil Air Minister Joaquim Pedro Selgado Filho.

3. Students in formation in front of the Escola Técnica de Aviacão in São Paulo, Brazil, February 1944. Embry-Riddle understood that its new school made a significant contribution to the war effort. Brazil was an ally that played an important role in tracking German submarines and supplying raw materials to the U.S. war machine. Embry-Riddle personnel described their task in Brazil as two-fold: (1) to educate “the youth of Brazil in technical fields,” by teaching Brazilians what Americans had learned from their Industrial and “subsequent so-called Aviation Revolution;” and (2) to cement “more closely the bonds of friendship between the two countries.”

a Técnica de Aviacão lo, Brazil
3

5

11

4. Pictured are a student and instructor Mr. J. Bordas in a sheet metal class in February 1944. The blackboard shows projects made by the students described in both English and Portuguese. Brazil sought to build its own aircraft and engines in the future, and the training of cadets by Embry-Riddle contributed to that goal. By March 1944, the Escola Técnica de Aviacão had 23 departments including aircraft electricity, engine mechanics, instruments, maintenance, propellers, welding, woodworking, air traffic control, avionics, basics, flight engineering, hydraulics, Link trainer, meteorology, and parachute. Equipment was provided via the Lend-Lease program. The average length of training courses varied from 22 to 36 weeks.

Over 600 historical photos of the Escola Técnica de Aviacão are available for free review in the online archives at www.erau.edu/ archives. Research for the pictorial history was conducted by Stephen Craft, Ph.D.

5. Embry-Riddle personnel and instructors traveled to São Paulo, Brazil, beginning in November 1943 after receiving instruction in Portuguese and Brazilian history and customs. John Paul Riddle saw Brazil as a “great career of service” for Embry-Riddle because they would enable the country to “see tremendous strides forward in aviation in Brazil.” Pictured are flight instructors from the Riddle Aeronautical Institute departing Miami for São Paulo. John Paul Riddle is on the far right, atop the airstairs standing in the aircraft doorway.

80 years ago

Embry-Riddle History by

Embry-Riddle spends $150,000 to expand fleet
By April 1929, the Embry-Riddle Airline, operating from Lunken Field in Cincinnati, Ohio, had eight aircraft and was poised to increase the size of the fleet. In July 1929, the company obtained permission to establish a “fast passenger and mail service” using light aircraft. The company spent $150,000 for three new all-metal Flamingos (pictured), one Fairchild, and four new Whirlwind Wacos that were all equipped to fly at night. The Flamingos were manufactured by the All Metal Aircraft Corp. at Lunken Field. EmbryRiddle purchased three of the 21 ever made. Flight students often went on field trips to witness assembly. As a result of the fleet expansion, the company added its third passenger and air mail service route between Cincinnati and Chicago in July 1929.

12

70 years ago

Thousands of WWII pilots trained at Embry-Riddle
In 1939, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt signed into law an act that created the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). The Civil Aeronautics Administration proposed to train 20,000 college-educated civilian pilots each year. Initially, 13 universities in the United States were chosen to provide flight training, one of which was the University of Miami. John Paul Riddle and Dr. Bowman F. Ashe, the university president, were close friends. The two made an arrangement that enabled Embry-Riddle to provide flight training for the University of Miami. Under the CPTP, Embry-Riddle trained thousands of Americans to fly using federal scholarships. During World War II, Embry-Riddle experienced tremendous growth, becoming one of, if not the, largest aviation school in the world.
Pictured: Embry-Riddle School of Aviation’s advanced CPTP aerobatic class at the Miami Master Airport circa 1939. Sitting on the plane from left to right are the flight instructor C.W. Tinsley and Dudley Whitman. Pictured standing from left to right is Jack Ott, Warren Reid, Richard Allen, Max Husted, and an unknown flight instructor.

the Decades
60 years ago
Operations begin at Opa-locka Airport
Embry-Riddle moved much of its operations to the former naval airfield at Opa-locka outside Miami in 1949. The field afforded miles of concrete runways and a large Navy-built hangar as well as other facilities. The company also leased living quarters from the county port authority, allowing it to offer students low-cost housing. President John McKay described Embry-Riddle as the “largest civil aviation flight school in the country,” and the only school in the world to offer “low-priced housing facilities for GI students and their wives.”
Pictured: An Embry-Riddle Navion trainer at Opa-locka Airport, circa 1949.

13

50 years ago

Engineering Technology Accredited

In 1959, the Aeronautical Engineering Technology (AET) program was accredited by the Engineers Council for Professional Development (ECPD). Embry-Riddle was one of four technical institutes in the country that offered AET courses accredited by the ECPD. The Engineering School also offered an associate’s degree with majors in Aeronautical Engineering Design and Aeronautical Electronics Engineering Design. In 1959, the Engineering School became the Engineering Technology Division. EmbryRiddle claimed a 100% placement for its AET graduates who took jobs as design engineers, senior detailers, draftsman, and technical writers for such companies as Argonne National Laboratory, Cessna Aircraft, G.E. Missiles, Hamilton Standard Propellers, L.B. Smith, Martin, and Pratt & Whitney at salaries ranging from $465–$520 a month. Pictured: Students with a model aircraft, which was likely an engineering project at the Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute in Miami, circa 1959. From left to right: Tyler, Dawszewski, and Stevens.

Continued next page

Embry-Riddle History by the Decades (Continued)

40 years ago

Riddle participates in county disaster drill
In 1969, Volusia County asked Embry-Riddle to simulate a post-aircraft incident scene to determine its response to such an emergency. The Veterans Association coordinated the event, using a 50-foot grassy area for staging the scene, located where the Volusia Mall is today. The maintenance department provided a twin-engine tail dragger. Engine cowlings were “wrapped” around smoking smudgepot barrels. A local theater company applied bloody makeup for more than 30 accident victims who were taken to several area hospitals. Over 200 people from the university and county rescue personnel were involved with the drill including EMTs, firefighters, police of14 ficers, and emergency room staff. Pictured: Daytona Beach students participated in a 1969
aircraft accident simulation to assist the county with emergency response.

At the Prescott Campus, enrollment in 1979 was 547, which had more than doubled from the year before when the campus opened. Students were disappointed to have no student life. The campus lacked a bookstore and a mailroom, and the dorm windows and doors lacked screens, allowing bugs and insects to enter the rooms. The only academic major available was aeronautical science, and the flight training occurred at Ernest A. Love Airfield, which lacked a tower. What benefited the campus was the enthusiasm and élan of the faculty and staff who relished the challenge of building a new campus. People loved the community and the area. Students and faculty alike shared a common spirit to see ERAU-Prescott succeed. In 1979, the flight instructors went on strike, forcing President Jack Hunt to fly to Arizona to settle the situation. Hunt persuaded nearly all of the instructors to return to work. Pictured: Prescott resident halls circa 1979 with Granite Mountain in the background.
It’s known today as the Mingus Mountain Residential Complex.

30 years ago

Prescott flight instructors went on strike

20 years ago

Wright Flyer built
In 1989, Embry-Riddle in Daytona Beach experienced a great deal of construction. The University Center, Jack R. Hunt Library, and Tine Davis Swimming Center were all expanded. The previous year, two students, Shannon Murphy and Phil Delange, suggested building a replica of the Wright Flyer on campus “because of the association between the historic occasion and the university’s dedication to the aviation industry.” Contributions totaling $62,000 were raised to pay for the project during the next year. The 4,000-pound, 40-foot stainless steel replica, along with a statue of Orville Wright at the controls and Wilbur Wright behind the aircraft, was placed in front of the Hunt Library, and depicted the exact moment on Dec. 17, 1903, that the Wright Flyer lifted off the ground. President Ken Tallman expected it to become a tourist attraction and a “campus focal point and source of pride for the students and faculty.”

The Addy Awardwinning Wings of Legacy Newsletter is published by the Heritage Project for alumni and friends who have an interest in preserving Embry-Riddle’s past and preparing our future. Legacy Links are printed based on space availability. You may submit materials including: an original photo, name, phone number, e-mail address, class or course year, location attended, area of training, military rank, type of planes flown, and any special memory or experience. Send Legacy Links to: The Heritage Project Attn: Bob Rockett Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114

15

Marci Stappung
Pictured above: The Wright Flyer under construction, October 1989. Below, the Wright Flyer at the Daytona Beach campus today.

Editor Wings of Legacy
[email protected] or call 386-226-6026 Stephen Craft, Ph.D. Historical Research [email protected] Erin Ehman Douglas Graphic Designer [email protected]

• Mystery History: Test Your Knowledge •
Are you an Embry-Riddle history buff? See if you know these “history mysteries” (see answers below), then test your knowledge with our Mystery History Contest question on the next page. Find thousands of Embry-Riddle historical photos at the online archives at www.embryriddle.edu/archives.

1. Pictured is Embry-Riddle’s first tennis instructor at Riddle Field in South Florida, circa 1941. He was a World No. 1 player for five years, first as an amateur and then as a professional. He was the first man to win the four tournaments that compose the Grand Slam of tennis. At the time, he was considered to have the best backhand in the history of tennis. Question: Who is he?
2. This project was completed in March 1972 and was entirely designed and built by engineering students at the Daytona Beach Campus. Pictured in the suit is Dr. Donald Ritchie, chairman of the aeronautical engineering program.

16

Question: What was the name of this unique flying machine?

3. Mr. John Kalusa handcrafted the world’s largest to-scale miniature aircraft collection. It was inducted into the Guinness Book of World Records in 2003. Since 1986, he has donated over 5,800 models to the university. Question: Where is the John W. Kalusa Miniature Aircraft Collection located on permanent display?
Answers: 1. Donald Budge; 2. The Hovercraft; 3. The Christine and Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Library and Learning Center at the Prescott, Ariz., campus. View the entire collection at library.pr.erau.edu, and click on Kalusa Planes.

•

Mystery History

CONTEST

•

QUESTION: In 1950, which future Embry-Riddle president flew this blimp to advertise the famous and controversial Howard Hughes movie, “The Outlaw”?

Photo credit: UNLV Libraries, Special Collections

17

If you would like to see an interview with this president discussing his relationship with Howard Hughes, go to the Heritage Project website at www.erau.edu/heritage to view the video stream. TO WIN: Write your answer on the envelope flap inside this newsletter and mail it to us, or email [email protected] to enter a drawing for an Embry-Riddle pictorial history postcard book, a collectible keepsake valued at $20.
Through December 1, 2009, receive a 20% discount on EmbryRiddle at War: Aviation Training During World War II. Call 1-800-2263822 or order online at www.upf.com and use discount code LEGACY to save $6.99 off the retail price of $34.99.

Mystery History Contest answer from Spring 2009: Bob Hope Spring ’09 Contest WINNER: Russ Loomis, ’69 On April 26, 1986, comedian Bob Hope gave a commencement address at the Daytona Beach graduation ceremony.

Legacy Links .............
Nancy Graham
1942, Chapman Field, South Florida
Nancy Graham took flight training from the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation, which had a seaplane base, in 1942. She earned her Private Pilot Certificate with seaplane and land ratings, followed by her Commercial License and Certified Flight Instructor rating. She was employed as a flight instructor for Embry-Riddle from 1943–1945. During her time at Embry-Riddle, she came to know John Paul Riddle. She recalls his generous spirit and foresight about the aviation industry. “He gave instructors, including myself, a free instrument rating, according to their seniority. He said instrument flying was going to be an up and coming thing for the future of aviation and he wanted us all to be trained for it.” Graham said that when some people would say to Riddle that maybe women shouldn’t fly, he said, “That’s ridiculous! The airplane doesn’t know who’s flying it!” She had the pleasure of getting to work with some “marvelous” flight and ground school instructors back in the day, including Wilbur Sheffield and C.W. Tinsley. Other female instructors and students she has fond memories of include Mary Brooks, Martha Brosnan, Helen Cavis, Marguerite Dowd, Charlotte Kayser, and Helen Webster. Graham is pictured above, 3rd from right. Lineburg with the Charles Taylor Master Mechanic Award, honoring his 50 years in aviation maintenance. Mechanic Award, honoring the Wright brothers’ mechanic who is credited with designing and building the engine for their first successful aircraft. The award is presented to aircraft mechanics who have 50 years in aviation maintenance as an accredited mechanic or repairman, and have been an FAA-certified mechanic or repairman for a minimum of 30 years. His name appears with other master mechanics in the “Roll of Honor” book at the FAA Maintenance Division headquarters in Washington, D.C. He lives in Sun City, Ariz., and has seven children and 12 grandchildren.

18

Willard Lineburg

1959, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute, Miami, Fla.
Willard Lineburg enlisted in the Air Force after high school where he served from 1953– 57. After his military career, he tried to get a job with the airlines, but was told he must have an Airframe and Powerplant (A&P) certificate. He discovered Embry-Riddle and came to Miami. He fondly remembers his training from 1958–59. “I liked the way the program was structured. When you’re at school, you have to burn the midnight oil, so it was nice to have the beach nearby.” After leaving ERAI with his A&P, Lineburg worked for Braniff International Airlines for over 22 years, servicing the DC-7 and Boeing 707-227. After deregulation in 1978, he worked for the Dalfort Corp. Then in 1984, he began a 16-year career at UPS as an engine mechanic on the DC-8, Boeing-727, and 747-100. When Lineburg retired in 2004, he received the coveted Charles Taylor Master

Send us your “Legacy Links” to the address listed on page 15.

Jerry Berndt

1970, Embry-Riddle Aeronautical Institute, Daytona Beach, Fla.
Jerry Berndt decided to “pretend” to be a pilot at age 17. Dressed in a suit, he posed as a potential airplane buyer at a small airport in Detroit. He told the salesman he had six hours of flying time, and got to test drive a plane. Eventually, his interest in aviation led him to find EmbryRiddle where he enrolled on the G.I. Bill after serving in the U.S. Army. While a student in 1968, Berndt became treasurer of the Veterans Association (VA), of which he was also a founding member. He was elected as president of the Student

Government Association in 1969 which gave him valuable exposure to the university’s administration and Board of Trustees. “It was great to be able to rub shoulders with these successful businessmen,” he said. Berndt is also grateful for “the amazing camaraderie brought together by the student council.” He helped organize activities like VA picnics at DeLeon Springs, dances for the SGA held in big halls at the Desert Inn, and other social functions that attracted large attendance. He approached President Jack Hunt with the idea of creating a credit card system for charging flight students for fees and implemented the program, which streamlined the billing process. He received his bachelor’s degree in Aviation Management and was listed in “Who’s Who Among Students in American Universities and Colleges.” After a career in life insurance, he has owned and operated Discover Diving in Port Orange, Fla., since 1987. outstanding; I haven’t forgotten that.” The night courses provided a unique environment. Most of his classmates were his subordinates in the workplace, but he enjoyed interacting in the classroom and developed many friendships. Granberry is currently working on a partnership with the College of Engineering at the Daytona Beach Campus where he will serve as a volunteer alumni consultant for chemistry-related engineering projects. He is the principal consultant with Granberry & Associates LLC, specializing in chemical safety, process safety, environmental audits, chemical forensics, and explosive/mechanical demolition operations. He and his wife of over 20 years live in Winter Park, Fla. They have five children, four grandchildren, and one great-granddaughter.

Edwin Granberry Jr.

1985, Embry-Riddle Worldwide, West Palm Beach campus
Ed Granberry Jr. served in the U.S. Navy during WWII with the 7th Amphibious Fleet. He piloted landing craft in Borneo, the Philippines, and Okinawa. In 1950, he received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Rollins College and pursued a career in chemical research. In 1962, he became a launch safety officer with Pan American World Airways at Cape Canaveral, working with the seven original astronauts. From 1972–88, he worked for United Technologies Corp. in aircraft/rocket engine research and development at Pratt & Whitney Aircraft in West Palm Beach, Fla. While there, he applied for and received tuition benefits to attend Embry-Riddle’s Extended Campus program (now called ERAU Worldwide) at the West Palm Beach campus. He completed the four-year program and received a master’s degree in Aviation Business Administration in 1985. “All of my professors were experts in their field,” he recalls. “Their caliber was

19

Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University Heritage Project and Office of Planned Giving 600 S. Clyde Morris Blvd. Daytona Beach, FL 32114-3900 Non Profit Org. U.S. Postage PAID Permit No. 313 Daytona Beach, FL

This vintage Embry-Riddle marketing brochure is from the 1930s.

1 EMBRY-RIDDLE IN A WORLD AT WAR, 1939-1945 By Dr. Stephen G. Craft Professor of Social Sciences Embry-Riddle Reborn When American Airways absorbed Embry-Riddle in 1931, John Paul Riddle and T. Higbee Embry went their separate ways professionally. Embry moved to Los Angeles where he remained until his death in 1946. John Paul Riddle left American Airways in 1932. Suffering from a back injury and wanting to return to the aviation business, Riddle moved to Florida during the winter of 1933-1934. Riddle had long wanted to return to the state where he learned to fly. Florida’s close proximity to Central and South America, and the raw materials found there, ensured the rapid expansion of the state’s air routes. Over the next few years, Riddle formed a number of aviation corporations: the Miami Aero Corporation, the Palm Beach Aero Corporation and the Florida Air Corporation. He served as an aircraft distributor for Piper Cubs, WACOs and Stinsons. Riddle also leased hangar space from Eastern Air Transport and Pan American, and purchased from Pan American several Sikorsky S38s, twin-engined aircraft that could be used for both land and sea landings. Riddle then acquired one dock at the seaplane base located near Miami’s County (now MacArthur) Causeway, and soon ran a charter business using seaplanes to fly passengers to Nassau and other nearby destinations. Because of the Great Depression, Riddle faced hard times financially, but managed to stay in business through the investments of friends from Cincinnati.1

2 In 1939, John Paul Riddle went about rebuilding a flight school. When EmbryRiddle first merged with AVCO in 1929, Riddle agreed not to use the Embry-Riddle name for ten years. After contacting the company that bought out AVCO, John Paul Riddle received permission to use the Embry-Riddle name once more. Riddle then went about seeking a partner. He approached T. Higbee Embry, but Embry had no interest in moving to Florida. Instead, a local Miami attorney by the name of John G. McKay, and his wife, Isabel, were enthusiastic about becoming Riddle’s partners. During World War I, McKay had served as a lieutenant in the U.S. Army balloon corps. In 1923, John McKay left Indianapolis for Miami where he established a law practice and continued his interest in aviation. Sometime in the late 1930s, Riddle met the McKays and taught both husband and wife to fly at the seaplane base. In October 1939, the Embry-Riddle Company was reborn at a seaplane base with only two planes, one flight instructor, and one maintenance man.2

Civilian Pilot Training Program The reincarnation of Embry-Riddle occurred when the clouds of war hung over the world. In September 1939, Adolf Hitler’s armies invaded Poland leading Great Britain and France to declare war on Nazi Germany. In Asia, Japan’s armies continued to expand in China. Meanwhile, the United States, especially the aviation industry, remained locked in the Great Depression. The U.S. Army Air Corps could not produce the more than 3000 pilots it needed by 1941. And some strategy needed to be found to make Americans airminded and so preserve the U.S.’s lightplane industry and fixedbased operators like John Paul Riddle. To prepare both the nation for war and bring

3 about the economic recovery of the aviation industry, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt in 1939 signed into law an act that created the Civilian Pilot Training Program (CPTP). The Civil Aeronautics Administration (CAA) wanted to train 11,000 civilian pilots in 1939-1940, and initially, thirteen in the United States were chosen to provide flight training. (Later, that number increased to 300.) One of those schools was the University of Miami. John Paul Riddle and Dr. Bowman F. Ashe, the University president, were close friends, and the two made an arrangement that enabled EmbryRiddle to provide flight training for the University of Miami. Riddle leased a hangar at Municipal Airport, and soon began to train civilian pilots.3 Supported by government scholarships, students were to receive up to thirty-five hours of flight instruction as well as 240 hours of ground training. Those who completed the primary program were offered advanced training using larger aircraft with more horsepower. Students learned acrobatic maneuvers and took cross-country flight training, Link instrument courses, instrument courses, apprentice and secondary instructor courses. Upon completion of these courses and with 200 or more flying hours, a student obtained a commercial pilot license.4 Throughout 1940 and 1941, as more CPTP students arrived to undergo training, they were assured of Embry-Riddle’s “excellent record as a flight training organization.” They were warned, however, of the need to follow rules and regulations because flight training was now a “well organized, regulated big business.” They were to remember that they were students and that their flight instructor was their “complete and absolute boss.”5 Operating with twenty-six planes in 1941, the school placed a high premium on pilot safety. Each aircraft was supposed to undergo a rigid inspection each day by the

4 CAA. Planes could not leave the flight line without a release that ensured that the student was in the right plane and about to carry out the correct maneuvers with an instructor. Students and instructors were required to wear parachutes. The Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, the school’s newspaper, often printed humorous cartoons that tried to reinforce the safety ethic of the school. From time-to-time, the Fly Paper wrote articles about cadets who, after doing something foolish with an aircraft, were named “Jackass” of the week. One editorial made an example of an unnamed Embry-Riddle graduate who rented a plane for a flight from Miami to Jacksonville and realized after thirty minutes of flight that he was nearly out of gas. John Paul Riddle and others in the Embry-Riddle organization were described as idealists who “above everything else, even financial remuneration… want the finest aviation training organization in the world.” By May 1941, 250 students graduated from Embry-Riddle with private and commercial pilot licenses, with instrument ratings, and/or as primary and secondary flight instructors. A few women were trained as well including Dorothy Ashe, daughter of Dr. Bowman Ashe. The washouts were encouraged to “stick to it” and learn to fly with Embry-Riddle because the CPTP was “too strict for the ‘slow to learn’ student.”6 The school understood the need for mechanics, and the Technical Division of the Embry-Riddle School of Aviation experienced rapid growth. In November 1940, the technical school moved into the south wing of the former Fritz Hotel. Construction had begun in 1925 but was only three-fourths completed by 1927. Because of the Depression, the building remained unoccupied for ten years until 1937 when sections were rented out to small businesses. By 1941, Embry-Riddle used all the available space in the structure and renamed it the “Aviation Building.” Besides the executive offices,

5 classrooms, military barracks, workshops, a cafeteria, library and clinic took up the rest of the space. Students took courses seven days a week and five evenings, on aeronautical engineering and airplane maintenance, or they took specialized courses that lasted fifteen weeks on such subjects as welding, radio, electricity, and sheet metal. Following the example set by the U.S. Army at Montgomery, Alabama, the Technical School offered courses in Spanish and Portuguese. Men and women between the ages of 16 and 60 matriculated at the school coming from diverse backgrounds and professions. Some had a high school, and others a college education. They were former salesmen, hairdressers, bus drivers, ministers, housewives, models and bank clerks. One was a socialite’s daughter; another the son of a writer; and still another a prominent model.7 Embry-Riddle also appreciated the importance of the mechanic to the aviation industry and that aircraft safety depended on the mechanic just as much as the pilot. “In no other kind of work, except medicine, does so much responsibility depend upon the individual man.” Embry-Riddle expected its new students seeking to become mechanics to possess honesty, integrity and a sense of discipline.”8 Military Pilot Training Just as there was a need for civilian pilots, so too the U.S. Army Air Corps needed pilots. At the time, all military pilot training was done at Randolph Field in San Antonio, Texas, but Randolph possessed only enough space and instructors to produce 500 pilots a year. The solution adopted by General Henry “Hap” Arnold, head of the Air Corps, was to sign contracts with former military pilots who, now operating their own flying schools, were to produce combat pilots. In 1940, the U.S. government selected the Embry-Riddle

6 Company to participate in the U.S. Army Air Corps Training Program. John Paul Riddle met with Gen. Henry “Hap” Arnold and ultimately secured the contract on the strength of Embry-Riddle’s success in training civilian pilots. The Army Air Corps, however, did not like the various sites being used by Embry-Riddle because of their close proximity to air passenger routes. The military insisted that Riddle avoid using municipal airports and find bases that were not being used for either civilian or military pilot training. The contract with the military was contingent on Riddle finding sites that fit within parameters.9 John Paul Riddle immediately cast his eyes on old Carlstrom Field in Arcadia, Florida. During World War I, the U.S. Army chose Florida to provide military flight training because of its warm weather conditions. In 1918, Carlstrom Field was built and provided most of the army’s flight training. John Paul Riddle himself learned to fly there as a cadet in the early 1920s. But by 1940, little remained of a once huge airfield. For years, the people of Arcadia were led to believe that someone would take over the airfield only to be disappointed. This time, circumstances proved different. Riddle and McKay inspected the site. They were accompanied by Leonard J. Povey who had served in the U.S. Army Air Corps for three years beginning in 1922. After years of being a member of a flying circus, reorganizing Cuba’s air force, being an acrobatic champion in Miami and working for the CAA, Povey went to work for Riddle in 1940 as vice president in charge of flight training. Povey’s hiring was expected to place Embry-Riddle “on a par with the biggest flying schools in the United States.” The three men sized up the old field and construction commenced immediately. Air officers from Randolph Field inspected the area as well and undoubtedly were satisfied that Carlstrom Field met their needs. The

7 initial anticipated cost of construction exceeded $350,000. In January 1941, the U.S. War Department officially announced that the Riddle Aeronautical Institute (RAI) would provide primary flight instruction to army flying cadets as a part of the U.S. Army’s Southeastern Air Corps Training Center. John Paul Riddle declared that his institute would offer “primary instruction second to none in the entire nation” because he would pick the “best instructors” and would obtain the best equipment.10 On March 22, 1941, RAI opened the new Carlstrom Field, and training commenced with the first class of fifty United States Army Air Corps cadets. The 1300acre field, which initially contained a grass runway, six Williamsburg Colonial-style barracks, an administration building, a mess hall, ground school, and hangars, was built in a 1000-foot circle surrounded by a paved road in order to help cadets move quickly from one classroom to the next. For recreation, the cadets enjoyed a swimming pool, tennis courts and a baseball diamond. Further expansion of the field’s facilities to accommodate more students, including British pilots, ultimately brought the total cost of construction to $1 million, making Carlstrom Field “the largest-non-military operated flight training center in the United States.” The terrain around the field was flat and nearly treeless for miles, perfect for emergency landings. In an effort to provide excellent training, every instructor was a seasoned pilot with over 1000 flying hours each. RAI acquired over a dozen PT-17 Stearman biplanes to provide primary pilot training.11 Just a few miles from Carlstrom Field, RAI built new facilities on another WWI site called Dorr Field. The architectural design and layout of Dorr replicated Carlstrom except that the facilities were built into an egg-shape or oval, not a circle. The facilities were to provide for a capacity of 500 U.S. Army Air Corps cadets, and the estimated cost

8 to build the new field was $750,000. This field and the influx of instructors created a housing shortage in Arcadia. On December 20, 1941, cadets moved into the field despite work still not fully completed.12 Technical Training for the Army In 1941, the U.S. Army Air Corps sent hundreds of enlisted men to EmbryRiddle’s Technical Division to be trained as engine mechanics, welders, electricians and sheet metal workers. Although classrooms were expanded to meet the new demands, the space proved insufficient, and the school opened up classrooms in the former Coral Gables Coliseum, once renowned for its boxing arena and ice-skating rink. In 1943, Embry-Riddle was believed “to be the only school in the country to provide technically trained men” for the Air Service Command, the Technical Training Command, the Third Air Force and the Air Transport Command. The enlisted men learned about every type of aircraft maintenance required by the army. Once the United States entered World War II, most of the trainees served on the front lines or at a base behind the front lines.13 Between 1939-1941, Embry-Riddle grew far beyond the tiny seaplane base in Miami. The school now was composed of six divisions, provided training at several airfields, owned twenty-four aircraft, and operated 96 Stearman trainers on loan from the U.S. Army. Instead of one instructor, there were now eighty-seven as well as six ground school instructors. Nearly 400 people were employed by Embry-Riddle with an annual payroll of $500,000. And as the United States prepared the country for defense in an atmosphere of war, Embry-Riddle trained pilots who soon would fly various military aircraft, and, also graduated students who went to work in the aircraft industry.14

9

Preparing Civilians for War In December 1941, Japan’s attack on the United States at Pearl Harbor and Hitler’s declaration of war a few days later brought the United States officially into World War II. The U.S. War Department announced that the national slogan for the duration of the war was “KEEP ‘EM FLYING.” Besides that slogan, Embry-Riddle used other slogans, such as “Remember Pearl Harbor,” “K.O. for Tokyo,” “Pay your taxes—Beat the Axis,” “Mum’s the word! Don’t Talk,” and “We’ll rule the blue in ’42,” to remind cadets and students that a war was on and had to be won.15 John Paul Riddle believed that the present conflict was “particularly serious because it is an all out total war…. I’ve never been frightened and I’m not frightened now, but for God’s sake we must realize that this is a tragic war that must be fought to the end beginning NOW.” He believed that since air superiority was “the deciding factor of victory or defeat,” the United States needed to increase production of aircraft and the training of pilots to fly them. Riddle suggested training young men at the age of sixteen to be mechanics and pilots. In a talk with Technical School employees, Riddle declared, “We didn’t think Japan could do what they did but now our main objective must be to WIN the WAR. This is a mechanized war and men must be taught to run it.”16 Embry-Riddle did what it could to train civilians for war. The Civilian Pilot Training Program continued for another year before being replaced on December 7, 1942, by the War Training Service. Under an executive order from the president, the WTS was to produce military pilots or individuals that could perform related non-military aviation tasks.17 Embry-Riddle, in conjunction with the University of Miami, offered flight training to students including naval cadets through the WTS. Under WTS, the cadets

10 received fifty hours of flight training as well as ground school training. The flight training of naval cadets was given at Chapman Field, a land-plane base with grass field south of Miami near Biscayne Bay. From 1942 onward, Chapman Field was the home of WTS, the “home of commercial pilot trainees, male and glamour girl alike, home of future combat pilots, of budding flight instructors, of ferry pilots and airline captains.” A University of Miami official who coordinated the old CPTP program and the new WTS program insisted that the University and Embry-Riddle had a 96% completion rate.18 Besides the WTS, the Embry-Riddle School itself tried to attract civilians to learn how to perform war-related aviation tasks. Advertisements in the Embry-Riddle Fly Paper encouraged civilians to take flight lessons so that they could ferry aircraft to other countries or provide civilian observation work. In 1942, the school opened a permanent office in the Desota Hotel in Tampa “for the convenience of the many young men and women in that area interested in aviation.” Personnel from Embry-Riddle provided talks on aviation over the radio.19 The school also encouraged its graduates to join the newly created Civil Air Patrol (CAP). The Office of Civilian Defense and the United States Army oversaw this program that utilized the skills of civilian pilots for national security. “The carefree skies of yesterday are overcast by international storms, through which our security is being impaired,” wrote one Embry-Riddle official, “Control of the skies, rigid discipline among those who navigate them, and coordinated traffic in them has become essential to the common defense.” Embry-Riddle called on “citizen pilots” or individuals with any aviation-related experience or skill to join the CAP. John Paul Riddle was a CAP group commander for ten counties in Florida.20 Over the next couple of years, CAP pilots

11 carried out a number of tasks while on coastal patrol. They sighted German submarines, rescued downed pilots from the ocean, and alerted ships in danger of being torpedoed. Florida Wing 41 of the CAP, headquartered in West Palm Beach, provided tracking missions, courier service, coastal patrol and cadet training using pre-Pearl Harbor aircraft and equipment.21 Expansion of U.S. Army Cadet Training Weeks after Pearl Harbor, President Roosevelt called for the building of 60,000 aircraft in 1942, followed by another 100,000 in 1943. More planes meant that more pilots were needed. In January 1942, the renamed U.S. Army Air Forces had the goal of producing one million trained men within a year’s time that were capable of flying and servicing aircraft that would fly in the various theaters of war. Initially, cadets seeking to become pilots underwent nine weeks of primary training (twenty-eight hours dual instruction; thirty-one hours solo). In order to produce more pilots more quickly, the U.S. Army’s Southeastern Air Corps Training Center ordered all of its centers to increase training schedules to seven days a week. In 1942, limited night flight training was instituted at Carlstrom, but ultimately was cancelled. The size of each class of cadets continued to increase as did the number of Stearman PT-17s for flight training, but the official numbers were censored from the general public early in the war. When EmbryRiddle first established a contract with the U.S. Army, Embry-Riddle was paid $50 per flight hour, but by the end of the war, that amount was down to $10 per flight hour because of the hundreds of students involved in training.22 In 1942, the U.S. government asked John Paul Riddle to build a fourth airfield. After looking for sites in Mississippi and Tennessee, Riddle and John McKay selected an

12 870-acre site near Union City, and the Riddle-McKay Aeronautical Institute (later changed to Riddle-McKay Aero Institute of Tennessee) built Embry-Riddle Field there in order to provide primary instruction to U.S. Army Air Forces cadets. The new field was built along the lines similar to Carlstrom Field at a cost of $750,000. With an initial eighteen aircraft, army cadets underwent primary flight training.23 At all fields where there was primary dual-instruction flight training, the cadets flew the Stearman PT-17 (in 1945, pupils flew the Stearman PT-13). Advanced dualinstruction was done in a North American AT-6 Texan and the Vultee BT-13. Generally, those who soloed for the first time were treated to a dunk in the swimming pool. There was, of course, the fear of washing out. In fact, in September 1942, the U.S. War Department ordered that the term “wash-out” no longer be applied to cadets. Instead they were “eliminated.” One cadet tried to encourage his fellow Americans to understand that there was “no shame in being eliminated.” There was always a place in the U.S. Army Air Forces as navigators and bombardiers for men who loved flying or who wanted to help their country.24 Along with flight instruction, the Ground School taught cadets “the WHY” of the things he learned “HOW to do while actually flying.” In the “Theory of Flight” course, students learned why stalls occurred, how an aircraft was built, and what stresses were placed on what parts during certain maneuvers. Such training was designed to enable cadets to fly their aircraft more safely. The “Engines” course taught students about the various components of an engine and how each part operated. “The pilot is going to depend a lot on that powerplant,” wrote Sid Pfluger, the chief of RAI’s ground school, “and his education in its idiosyncrasies is just an insurance for his own safety.” Courses

13 in “Navigation” and “Meteorology” were provided as well. Pfluger highlighted EmbryRiddle’s teaching technique which eschewed the giving of “a humdrum lecture verbatim from the text.” Instead, instructors were given outlines supplied by the U.S. Army Air Forces and then enlarged that outline to suit the instructor’s personal taste. Instructors talked to the cadets rather than lectured them. And many of the ground school instructors were pilots with hundreds of flying hours. “We needed that kind of practical experience to properly instruct our students,” said Pfluger.25 Athletics was an intricate part of training at Embry-Riddle. Cadets were required to attend physical education classes every day. The first twenty minutes were devoted to calisthenics. Afterward, cadets chose from a variety of competitive games, including soccer, softball, horseshoes, volleyball, rugby, football, cricket, basketball, tennis and baseball. Bob Towsen, who was the Athletic Director in 1941, declared that the “field of sports makes a definite and beneficial contribution to the physical and moral welfare of a nation—and that contribution is even more important in time of war than it is in days of peace.”26 With those thoughts in mind, Embry-Riddle organized a number of sports. Besides various bowling teams, a basketball league was created with the Riddle Tech School winning the Miami League championship of 1942. Embry-Riddle went on to create a softball league, a bowling league, boxing exhibitions, and tennis tournaments. In 1942, Don Budge, a national tennis champion, also worked as Athletic Director for Embry-Riddle, and did what he could to teach tennis before he himself enlisted in the U.S. Army in 1943.27

Expansion of the Technical Division

14 While Embry-Riddle trained pilots, it also put individuals through its Technical School. By the end of 1942, Willard Burton, Chief Instructor of the Instructors’ School, could say that Embry-Riddle “got into our stride for this war,” and that the Technical Division had grown from “a handful of classes and machines into the giant that it is today.” At its peak, there were 385 instructors in the Technical Division producing 200 army technical trainees a week. The Technical School operated twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, with students being trained in three shifts. Beds often were given to three students to use. In 1942, the new director of the Technical School was James Bradley. Born in London, Bradley’s father was killed during a Zeppelin raid. His mother moved the family to New York City in 1916, and after receiving an education in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, Bradley moved to Los Angeles in 1934. In 1939, he received aircraft engine and mechanics ratings from the Curtiss-Wright Technical School and became an instructor for the U.S. Army.28 To attract more students to the Technical School, Embry-Riddle provided tuition loans nationwide via the Morris Plan Bank of Richmond, Virginia. The tuition loan plan was created “to help finance the training of men and women as skilled aviation craftsmen and speed the nation’s war program.” Besides the tuition loan, students from around the country won scholarships to attend Embry-Riddle after writing winning essays in a nationwide contest. John Paul Riddle observed that since thousands of planes were to be manufactured in this country, there would be a great need for expert craftsmen in “welding, riveting, sheet metal work, as well as skilled mechanics able to service aircraft, engines and instruments.” Riddle felt that the training would not be wasted once war

15 ended, and that Embry-Riddle graduates would find jobs in the aviation field that was expected to grow after the war.29 Besides the University of Miami, Embry-Riddle established a relationship with Georgia’s Vocational Educational Service. Georgians who could verify their “employability with a well-known airline” were sent to Embry-Riddle for three months of intensive training in “Aircraft, Engines, Instruments, etc. as required by the air line.” Upon graduation, the Georgians returned to their jobs. In 1942, Embry-Riddle expected to train 200 young Georgians. They were among the many young men described as coming to Embry-Riddle “with a seemingly irrepressible desire to master the intricacies of the big engines” and with “the same grim, steadfast purpose—to keep ‘em firing—to keep ‘em flying.”30

Overhaul Division In July 1942, Embry-Riddle added a new Overhaul Division to meet both its needs and the demands of the U.S. Army Southeastern Air Corps Training Center which needed all of its primary trainers to be overhauled. The Overhaul Division was located near the Technical School Building. The head of the Overhaul Division for much of the war was Joseph Horton, a former barnstormer from California who worked previously for Douglas Aircraft and the CAA in New York State. The motto of the new division was “Sudden Service.” Aircraft engines arrived at one end of the building and passed through a production line. After several hours, the engines reappeared at the other end of the building completely overhauled. Embry-Riddle overhauled its own aircraft as well as those of the U.S. Army. The Overhaul Division operated day and night in Miami

16 refurbishing aircraft, fabric or metal, engines, propellers, instruments, radios, parachutes, as well as testing engines. Many of the departments were located in large, modern welllit buildings complete with air conditioning and humidity control. At Carlstrom Field, an overhaul sub-depot was built using one hangar. In Coral Gables, an instrument overhaul facility refurbished aircraft instruments by the thousands in a constant temperature, air conditioned facility free of dust. Local inhabitants complained about the noise, but, according to John Paul Riddle, “when they realized it was this or Hitler, we heard no more objections.”31

Women and Embry-Riddle By 1943, women played a greater role in keeping Embry-Riddle in operation during a time when fewer men were available on the home front. Early in 1942, there were only fifty women flight instructors in the entire United States, and two of those taught at Embry-Riddle: Helen Cavis and Mary Brooks, who both taught at the Municipal Base. Tragically, Mary Brooks and a U.S. Army Air Forces cadet by the name of Albert Kasanof were killed in September 1942 when the wing tip of their plane fell off. Ordered by Brooks to bail out, Kasanof’s parachute became entangled. Brooks gave her life trying to untangle the cadet’s chute.32 Despite such tragedies, women were needed to provide training in all divisions of Embry-Riddle. The Seaplane Base in Miami was run almost entirely by women. The nickname for the fliers there was “barnacle pilots.” In 1942-43, the general manager was Ruth Norton, who was described as a “a woman of learning and of culture, a musician, an architect… a business woman and a flyer.” Born in North Dakota, she was raised in

17 Seattle and graduated from the University of Washington where she majored in music and minored in psychology. After two years teaching in Hawaii as an assistant professor of psychology, she worked another two years for the Bishop museum before leaving the islands because of an illness. Eventually she moved to Miami, and an interest in flying led her to the Seaplane Base. Soon she demonstrated her skills as a “brilliant pilot.” Norton observed that “The day of doubt about women in aviation has passed.” Besides Norton, there were two female flight instructors, Marion Bertram and Pat Grant (one of the first female flight instructors in the country), and the chief of the ground school was Pauline Powell. At Chapman Field, five women, Charlotte Keyser, Helen Webster, Nancy Graham, Helen Cavis, and Martha Brosnan, were flight instructors. By late 1943, several more women joined their number as flight instructors. One of these women was Katherine Kniesche who gave ground school training to naval cadets and was one of the few female instructors in the United States before 1941. Kniesche disliked the fact that she was no longer training people to fly for fun, but to be combat pilots. Nevertheless, she did her part because she wanted “to get this war over with, and I want us to win it, so people can get back to flying for fun again.” Other women performed such duties as chief dispatcher, radio, Link and drafting instructors, as well as librarian, mimeographer, and postmistress. At Embry-Riddle Field in Union City, Tennessee, six women were employed as dispatchers.33 Women, too, played a key role in the Technical School and the Overhaul Division after being trained in the use of precision instruments and in the fundamentals of engine operation. John Paul Riddle hired 300 women to refurbish aircraft wings in Miami. At

18 Carlstrom Field Overhaul Department, women played a crucial role in all areas. One woman there observed, “When Uncle Sam called our men, we replaced them as much as possible with women.” Women performed a wide range of tasks: woodworking, doping and taping, masking and stenciling, fuselage repair, sheet metal, and final assembly. “When we look out on the line and see those beautiful silver ships, we think we have done a splendid job.” From April 1942 to February 1943, the women there overhauled, recovered and refinished over 200 aircraft, and recovered and repaired “hundreds of wings, ailerons, stabilizers, elevators and rudders.”34 Some of the women undergoing training at Embry-Riddle were war widows like Madeline Sias who studied radio communications and believed that “women should take greater interest in ‘this serious business of War’ and fit themselves for more active participation in the nation’s effort toward defeating the Axis.” There was a mother and daughter team by the name of Gertrude Dressing and Mary Frances that became instructors for army enlisted men. Frances had attended Mars Hill Junior College, the University of North Carolina Women’s College and Ohio Northern University before coming to Embry-Riddle and working for Intercontinent Aircraft Corporation and Eastern Airlines. Mother and daughter were pleased to be instructors: “Women who cannot go out on the battlefield themselves can feel they are actually doing a job just as important by training men who can take part in combat.” Joining the mother-daughter team were two sisters who took courses at Embry-Riddle because they realized that “the future development of the world lies in the air.” Not all women, however, held such notions. Several Embry-Riddle women “looked forward to lives with husbands, homes and

19 children after the war” whereas older women at Embry-Riddle wanted to continue working in aviation if they did not cost some young man a job.35 Nevertheless, women came to Embry-Riddle looking to the future and their place in it. In 1944, a new Girls’ Dormitory was built in Coral Gables to accommodate the growing number of women arriving at Embry-Riddle from all over the United States. According to the Fly Paper, the new dormitory was Embry-Riddle’s way of making a new home for women who upon graduation would “take their places in the business of War, along with fathers, brothers and sweethearts.” Flight training enabled some women to join Women Airforce Service Pilots or WASP; other female graduates of EmbryRiddle became members of the U.S. Navy’s WAVES (Women Accepted for Volunteer Emergency Service). Still others went about the “study of radio, aircraft and engines, drafting, instruments and other technical subjects” that enabled “girls to relieve men for combat duty.”36 There were so many women becoming involved in some facet of Embry-Riddle that the school created the position of Aviation Advisor to Women. Karen Draper, a former model, filled the position. She originally came to Embry-Riddle as an Instrument Technician Student before working for both the Publicity and Sales Departments. Draper declared “Women are an untapped source of labor, and the field of aviation is unlimited for them…. Many young girls are trading college for Embry-Riddle, and we are proud to be able to give them a background and wealth of experience which will fit them for important and lucrative jobs in the coming world of aviation.” And find jobs they did. Besides doing plane ferrying work, some became radio operators for major airlines.37

20

The Latin American Department In 1941, Embry-Riddle contracted with the CAA and the U.S. State Department to create a new educational section in the Technical School called the Latin American Department. The new department provided a dual education program by training both students from South America and U.S. citizens planning to seek jobs in South America. The U.S. government provided scholarships to the Latin Americans seeking training. Embry-Riddle hoped that the new department would improve and expand Pan-American relations. A Cuban-born U.S. citizen by the name of Don Philip A. de la Rosa headed the Latin American Department. Rosa wrote a new dictionary that translated American aircraft terminology into Spanish and Portuguese to assist students. On December 31, 1941, the first class of Latin American cadets arrived to receive instructor-mechanic and service-mechanic instruction. The 526 cadets represented such countries as Honduras, El Salvador, Paraguay, Chile, Venezuela, Cuba, Uruguay, Bolivia, Ecuador, Nicaragua, Argentina and Brazil. The cadets learned about all aspects of the “ground phase of aviation, including power plants, welding, sheet metal, instruments and radio.” The students were expected to complete 2300 hours of training over a sixteen-month period.38 Once the cadets settled in, however, problems arose. The cadets wanted to take private flying lessons, but the CAA. insisted that the students were in the United States to undergo mechanic training. Some of the students were not proficient enough in English to receive training and asked to be transferred to a school, such as Casey Jones School of Aeronautics or Curtiss-Wright Technical Institute, where training was given in Spanish only. Although Embry-Riddle encouraged its employees to study Spanish, only a few

21 instructors were fluent in the language. Students complained of having no engines to reassemble and if they did, the engines were of an “ancient vintage;” of working for “360 hours on the construction of one wing panel of the now completely obsolete wood and fabric type;” and time spent in the instrument shop involved “the disassembling of a fiftynine cent alarm clock” instead of horizontal compasses. Although some of these complaints were legitimate, a few of the complainers had poor attendance records and were known to enjoy Miami’s nightlife. More importantly, the United States was confronted with a two-front war, and Embry-Riddle, like the rest of the country, faced the strains of gearing itself for a war and the fact that the U.S. Army had a monopoly on equipment. In fact, a number of students expressed the sentiment that they “understood all the difficulties under which the school is operating.” In response to CAA investigations, Embry-Riddle brought the Mechanic School more in line with CAA standards, hired more personnel who could speak Spanish and Portuguese, and worked with the U.S. Army to lift restrictions on equipment. Although some students continued to complain, the CAA found that most Latin American students were pleased with the changes and were quite satisfied with Embry-Riddle.39

Technical School of Aviation, Brazil The most important Latin American connection for Embry-Riddle was Brazil. Brazilian students also received U.S. government scholarships through the InterAmerican program. In October 1942, Brazilians who were delegates to a conference in Washington and touring training centers around the United States, visited the Technical School and were impressed. In April 1943, thirty-four Brazilian cadets spent a week at

22 Embry-Riddle learning technical aviation expressions. Brazilian journalists that visited the school were amazed at how the U.S. government could use “private industry and civilian contractors to train military and civilian personnel for the War effort” and hoped that Brazil could emulate the standardization of airfields.40 In October 1943, Embry-Riddle announced plans to establish a school in Brazil with the approval of the Brazilian and U.S. governments. Earlier in the year, Joaquim Salgado Filio, Brazil’s Air Minister who was described as the father of modern aviation in Brazil, toured various school in the United States including Embry-Riddle. Satisfied with what he saw, he asked John Paul Riddle to establish a technical school in Brazil. Classes started the next month with the expectation of training 500 students by Christmas. The school was to remain in operation in Brazil permanently. Embry-Riddle personnel and instructors traveled to São Paulo in separate groups beginning in November after receiving instruction in Portuguese and Brazilian history and customs. James Blakeley left Miami’s Technical Division to become head of the new Brazilian Division. Embry-Riddle personnel described their task as two-fold: educate “the youth of Brazil in technical fields,” that is teaching Brazilians what Americans had learned from their Industrial and “subsequent so-called Aviation Revolution;” two, cement “more closely the bonds of friendship between the two countries.”41 Embry-Riddle understood that its new school in Brazil made a contribution to the war effort. Brazil was an ally whose sons were expected to fight alongside American boys. Brazil played an important role in tracking German submarines and supplying raw materials to the U.S. war machine. Brazil sought to build its own aircraft and engines in the future, and the training of cadets by the Brazilian Division contributed to that goal.

23 John Paul Riddle saw Brazil as a “great career of service” for Embry-Riddle personnel because they would enable Brazil to “see tremendous strides forward in aviation in Brazil.” By March 1944, the Technical Aviation School (Escola Técnica de Aviacão) had basic, aircraft, engines and instruments departments. Equipment arrived via the LendLease program. Courses were to vary from twenty-two to thirty-six weeks.42

British Flying Training School No. 5 Embry-Riddle also played a significant role in the training of British pilots during much of WWII. In fact, Embry-Riddle trained British cadets months before the United States officially entered the war. After the fall of France in 1940, Great Britain needed fighter pilots, and the Royal Air Force discussed with the U.S. State Department the idea that the United States provide pilot training to British subjects. By the end of the year, however, the British government was nearly bankrupt. In 1941, President Roosevelt developed a solution: Lend-Lease. The Lend-Lease Act of March 1941 made it possible for the United States to provide Great Britain with weapons and other materials it needed to avoid defeat at the hands of Nazi Germany. Washington agreed to make 260 primary and advanced trainer aircraft available, and General Arnold suggested that six civil aviation schools in the United States could train British subjects to fly. One of those schools was Embry-Riddle, which borrowed $230,000 from the Reconstruction Finance Corporation to carry out a $330,000 expansion plan. Initially, Carlstrom Field was to be “devoted to British flight trainees exclusively.”43 In June 1941, the first class of British cadets, 42-A, arrived at Carlstrom Field after a train ride from Canada. The 99 cadets were impressed by the vastness of the

24 United States. From June 9 to August 15, the cadets received ten weeks of primary flight instruction that one cadet later described as “proving of great value to the boys in their basic and advanced courses” at Maxwell Air Field. After the course was completed, only 53 of the original 99 graduated. Nevertheless, the cadets were grateful to the people of Arcadia and the school, especially John Paul Riddle, who was described as “a friend who is always willing to spare the time for a short chat-a word of encouragement or maybe a little advice.”44 The first classes arrived at Carlstrom in 1941 without wearing their RAF uniforms, but instead wore khaki uniforms on post and civilian clothes off post in order to disguise the fact that British soldiers were training in a country where the official policy was one of neutrality. Eventually, RAF cadets arrived in the United States wearing RAF blues after October 1941. The cadets enjoyed their country club surroundings with palm trees, a swimming pool, modern bathrooms with showers for four men, and excellent food. The people of Arcadia provided a warm welcome and excellent hospitality as the cadets visited rodeos and dances. What spoiled the atmosphere for some of these cadets who just wanted to get on with the business of flying was the U.S. Army’s discipline system. The British found the system of upperclassmen controlling the lives of lower classmen intolerable. Hazing took the form of being forced to do pushups, to kiss a cadet’s glove for long periods of time, or memorizing and reciting nonsense. Rule infractions led to punishments such as walking around the flag pole for excessive demerits or being forced to walk around the field with parachute on. Some had difficulty adjusting to the “discipline” which was viewed as a hindrance to their learning to fly. A few British cadets had already

25 undergone the experiences of combat, including survivors of Dunkirk and those who sparred with Germans in the air. They were resentful of officers making inspections with magnifying glasses and demanding neatness in all aspects of a cadet’s life. The British were not being singled out because hazing occurred among the Americans. And EmbryRiddle officials were helpless because their sole responsibility, as a civilian flight school, was to provide pilot training and could not intervene in matters that involved the military. Nevertheless, one British cadet, writing in his diary after Pearl Harbor, did not blame the Americans entirely. He blamed the RAF for sending men who were “intolerant of America and her customs” and for not better training these men: “They cannot appreciate that USA is eighteen months behind in war mentality, yet already you can feel the pulse quickening.”45 The British cadets faced numerous difficulties that hindered their ability to graduate. They had to learn the subtleties, slangs, expressions and colloquialisms of American English. Instead of doing an “about-turn” in drill, they had to “about-face.” They learned to ask for an eraser, not a “rubber.” In the U.S., suspenders held up one’s pants; in the United Kingdom, they held up one’s socks. Then there was the heat and humidity of Florida that one cadet described as “devastatingly cruel on the body.” Another cadet complained at the time that he sweated even when flying. Cadets had to acquire the habit of checking their cockpits for rattlesnakes. Embry-Riddle’s civilian flight instructors discovered that boys from the U.K. were not exposed to gasoline engines as American boys were: “automobiles, airplanes, and other similarly driven vehicles are not part of the Englishman’s life that they are of an American’s.” The U.S. instructors found it difficult to “paraphrase our lectures into plain simple language

26 omitting the technical and mechanical terms that are so commonplace to most every boy of 12 years old and up in the U.S. These U/K’ers have not had opportunities of taking apart an old Model T and putting it back together again with the faint idea it will run.”46 By August 1941, the number of U.K. cadets who washed out was between 2545% depending on the school. At Carlstrom Field, one class of cadets suffered a 46% elimination rate. In 1941, British officials who investigated the high rate of elimination found other causes. British cadets drank excessive amounts of Coca-Cola and orange juice, upsetting their stomachs. When required to fly, they were too nervous to mention the problem and started flying already half-sick. The British also found that cadets needed time to acclimate themselves to Florida’s climate and surroundings before they were put to work. Finally, although the British spoke highly of U.S. Army Air Corps instructors, they felt that the U.S. system of flight training was too rigid. Cadets were expected to make weekly, staged progress which meant that the “brilliant pupil” could not quickly advance and the “backward pupil” was eliminated if he did not successfully complete a stage. Such a system was compatible for the United States which had a large pool young college graduates to select from, but the British needed every pilot possible to survive against Germany and Japan.47 In an effort to improve the training of British pilots, the U.S. Army provided a four-week acclimatization course in order to reduce the culture shock. For example, cadets learned 120 years of U.S. history in one morning. The RAF provided each cadet with a pamphlet that tried to explain briefly U.S. history and culture to cadets. John Paul Riddle flew to England in November 1941 in order to inspect British flight training centers and to provide them with “the kind of pilots they need.” Riddle also visited a

27 few of Britain’s Bomber and Fighter Command Stations so as to know “what is required of the pilots after they have completed their training.”48 Eventually, the RAF decided to place its cadets in a predominantly British atmosphere elsewhere in Florida. In August 1941, the British government commenced negotiations with the State of Florida to buy tracts of land for the purpose of training RAF pilots. John Paul Riddle picked out a 2500-acre site near Clewiston for building a school that would provide primary, basic and advanced training. The British agreed with Riddle’s selection, and Embry-Riddle received a contract to build a new field and school. The people of Clewiston welcomed the British cadets to their town, and John Paul Riddle threw himself into the task of making sure that Riddle Field was built quickly. The diamond-shaped Riddle Field ultimately cost $2 million to build, and was operated by the Riddle-McKay Aero College. Riddle Field consisted of one grass runway, two paved runways, and six hangars. The official name of the school, however, was the British Flying Training School no. 5; one of seven schools in the United States. British cadets and personnel at Carlstrom were transferred to Clewiston, FL and eventually the training of British pilots at Carlstrom was phased out.49 Initially, it was difficult for John Paul Riddle to convince experienced instructors to move from Arcadia to Clewiston. Many instructors and their families were already established in Arcadia where the cost of living was less than Clewiston. The instructors would not receive a higher salary, and they would have to train cadets in the Vultee BT13 instead of the safe Stearman PT-17. When operations commenced, there were twenty PT-17s, twenty BT-13s, and twenty AT-6As that the British called Harvards.50

28 For the first couple of years, the general manager of Riddle Field was G. Willis Tyson, who got his start in aviation in the 1920s as a barnstormer in California before operating his own flight school. After working as a pilot for the Los Angeles-Caliente Airline and as a CAA inspector in New York state, he became a test pilot for the CAA. In 1941, Tyson came to Embry-Riddle and first worked at Carlstrom Field. He seemed the perfect choice for managing BFTS no. 5 in Clewiston because he had been born in Manchester, England. And in 1942, Tyson spent six weeks in the U.K. visiting RAF “training facilities and methods.” Tragically, in August 1943, while landing his aircraft in Tallahassee, Tyson was fatally injured when the wing of a P-47 clipped the cockpit.51 At Riddle Field in Clewiston, a small number of U.S. Army cadets trained alongside those of the RAF with what was described as a “spirit of comradeship and cooperation.” After living in the U.K. where all food was rationed, the cadets were overwhelmed by the abundance of food. All the ice-cold Florida orange juice that cadets could drink could be had from dispensers at all times. Cadets were up at 05:00 a.m. with ground school and flight training filling the entire day, and lights were out at 21:30 p.m. There was also constant night training as required by the R.A.F. Besides the heat and the snakes, mosquitoes were a great nuisance for the cadets and instructors alike. For British cadets, there was the constant worry of “eliminitis.” And if a cadet was eliminated, he sometimes felt like an outcast.52 Generally speaking the cadets liked and respected their American instructors, and many cadets enjoyed their experience of training in Florida. According to Peter Brannen, the people of Clewiston “loved us and we loved them.” Each class usually put together an issue called “Listening Out” which was published in the Embry-Riddle Fly-

29 Paper. “Listening Out” often provided photographs of the British cadets and discussed their memories from training. From time to time, cadets wrote to the editor of the FlyPaper to express their appreciation to the school and provide an update of their lives after Embry-Riddle.53 The RAF itself expressed to John Paul Riddle its gratitude for EmbryRiddle’s assistance in providing pilot training during the war. In 1945, Britain awarded Riddle a Member of the British Empire medal. The elimination rate, compared to the Arnold Plan, dropped under the BFTS scheme. Total enrollment in the Arnold School Plan was 7885 with a total washout rate of 45%. The number of pilots trained through the BFTS scheme was 7000 with a washout rate of 23%. One reason may have been that pilots remained at the same field for all of their training, giving them more of a sense of security from the familiarity of their surroundings. Moreover, British cadets were not as exposed to the U.S. Army’s West Point discipline system at BFTS no. 5 as they were at Carlstrom. In 1943, 71% of British cadets received their wings after training at BFTS no. 5. This was the best percentage of all seven BFTS which were 65%-60%. No. 5 BFTS was described as having the “best overall results, best subject results and is well up to standard in all respects.”54

Embry-Riddle Experiences Retraction Although Allied forces in Europe had yet to invade France and the war in the Pacific was nowhere near completion, Embry-Riddle had already peaked in its growth. By 1944, it was described as “the largest privately owned aviation training school in the world.” The U.S. Army Air Forces decided to cut back on primary pilot training, forcing Embry-Riddle to undergo some retraction. In April 1944, the army deactivated Embry-

30 Riddle Field at Union City, Tennessee. The next casualty was Dorr Field which was deactivated in October. A decision that affected women training at Embry-Riddle was the deactivation of the WASP in December 1944. There was also a curtailment of activities in the Technical Division. In July, the U.S. Navy took over the Technical Division building in Miami, forcing the Technical Division to move to the Coral Gables Coliseum. The administrative offices were moved to the Colonnade in Coral Gables. The Engine Overhaul Department went to work for the navy while the Instruments Overhaul Department operated for the army.55 The most dramatic change, however, affected the top management of the organization. In September 1944, John McKay bought out John Paul Riddle’s interests in Embry-Riddle. Riddle decided to solely pursue his venture in Brazil where his name was expected to “span the boundaries of South America and be synonomous (sic) with the flying future of our good neighbors.” He expected to continue to train American instructors at his school in Miami in preparation for teaching at the Technical School of Aviation in Brazil. Riddle believed Miami would become a “logical diplomatic center” because much of the air traffic from South America passed that way and this would lead to the “economic benefit of our entire country.”56

Embry-Riddle’s Contribution to the War By 1944, 26,000 people had been trained by Embry-Riddle. Of that number, according to John Paul Riddle, 22,000 were “Army and Navy cadets who received flight and technical training under civilian instructors at the five Embry-Riddle fields and at the Technical School… in Miami.” The Overhaul Division overhauled over 3000 engines,

31 21,000 aeronautical instruments, and 700 complete aircraft. Embry-Riddle also graduated 4000 civilian trainees to become pilots and technicians. With regard to military cadet training, thirty-two classes of U.S. Army Air Forces cadets and eight classes of RAF cadets were trained at Carlstrom Field. By 1944, 5,932 U.S. Army cadets and 932 RAF graduated; 7500 were graduated by June 1945 when the field closed. From 1941 to 1945, 550,000 hours, flying day and night in the Stearman PT-17, were logged with only one fatality at Carlstrom. The Aeronautical Training Society surveyed fifty-six schools and Carlstrom received honors for having the top safety record for the entire nation. At Dorr Field, 7000 cadets were trained, logging 400,000 flight hours after two years. A total of twenty-four courses, 1800 RAF cadets, trained for six months apiece at Riddle Field. Of that number, 1325 graduated, as did 109 U.S. cadets. Twenty-three British cadets were killed during training at Riddle Field.57 Throughout the war, the Embry-Riddle Fly Paper kept its students informed of its graduates’ exploits in the war. Six, possibly seven, graduates of the Technical School serviced the aircraft used by Jimmy Doolittle in his raid on Tokyo in 1942. Frank Beeson, the first U.S. cadet to receive flight training at Carlstrom was wounded at the Battle of the Coral Sea. At Carlstrom, a roll was kept of its graduates who received the Distinguished Flying Cross, the Air Medal, and the Silver Star as well as those killed in action.58 From 1943 onward, though, Embry-Riddle learned of the deaths of several of its U.S. and British cadets. For example: Lt. Frank Beeson, found dead in his aircraft in New Guinea, 1943; Lt. David Andre, missing in action in the Solomon Islands, 1943; Lt. G.T. Harris, lost at sea off the coast of Africa, 1943; Capt. Albert Amiero, killed in a B17 raid over Germany, 1944; Maj. John Clonts, former Commanding Officer of

32 Carlstrom Field, killed over France on his first B-17 raid; RAF Sgt. Pilot Denis Brooke, missing in action over Germany, 1943; RAF Sgt. Pilot, Kenneth Lee, killed in 1944 not knowing that he had received the Distinguished Flying Cross. These are just a few names of those who gave their lives in the service of their countries. In 1945, dozens of Embry-Riddle aircraft flew over the city of Miami to celebrate the victorious end to WWII. Nevertheless, John McKay was already looking at EmbryRiddle’s role in the postwar years. With the end of the war, Embry-Riddle now faced a new era and understood that the postwar years would provide many challenges.59

John Paul Riddle interview, tapes 16, 18 & 19, Preston Collection, ERAU Archives; “EmbryRiddle,” American Pilot (June 1943): 10. John Paul Riddle interview, tape 16 & 20; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 2:18 (August 19, 1941): 2; M. Peavey, “The Deep Roots of Embry-Riddle,” Flying Magazine (September 1954): 37. Dominick A. Pisano, To Fill The Skies with Pilots: The Civilian Pilot Training Program, 19391946 (Washington: Smithsonian Institution Press, 2001): 1-8; “CAA Flight Training Program Starts—May Be Expanded,” Aero Digest (October 1939): 100; “Embry-Riddle,” p. 10.
4 5 6 7 3 2

1

Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 6:22 (September 17, 1943): 15. Ibid., 1:21 (March 8, 1941): 2. Ibid., 1:26 (April 14, 1941): 2, 11; Ibid., 2:6 (May 26, 1941): 1, 2; Ibid., 2:15 (July 29, 1941): 4.

“Embry-Riddle,” p. 14; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 1:11 (December 28, 1940); Ibid. 1:18 (February 15, 1941).
8 9

Ibid. 1:25 (April 7, 1941): 1, 7.

Warren J. Brown, Florida’s Aviation History: The First One Hundred Years (Largo: AeroMedical Consultants, 1980): 180-181; John Paul Riddle interview, tape 21; Brant to Riddle, November 14, 1940, Riddle Collection. Brown, Florida’s Aviation History, pp. 105, 107; “Embry-Riddle,” p. 11; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 1:10 (December 21, 1940); “Aviation School Making Progress,” Arcadian (December 12, 1940); “Aeronautical Training School for Arcadia is Now Regarded as Being Practically Assured,” Ibid. (December 19, 1940); “Official Information is Released about Flying School Now Being Built Here,”(January 23, 1941). “Embry-Riddle,” pp. 10, 12; “Doubling of Arcadia’s Carlstrom Field Nearly Completed,” Miami Herald (August 24, 1941); Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 1: 23 (March 24, 1941): 8. “School at Dorr,” Arcadian 17:41 (1941): 1; “Citizens Met with RAI Men This Morning,” Ibid. (July 17, 1941); “Embry-Riddle,” pp. 12-13.
12 11 10

33

13 14 15 16

“Embry-Riddle,” pp. 14-15. Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 2:18 (August 19, 1941): 2; Aircraft Year Book, 1942, p. 107. Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 3:16 (February 5, 1942): 6.

Ibid., 3:12 (January 8, 1942): 1-2; John Paul Riddle, “London Journey,” Flying (June 1942): 34, 104; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 3:13 (January 15, 1942): 5.
17 18 19 20 21 22

Pisano, To Fill the Skies with Pilots, p. 84. “Embry-Riddle,” pp. 16-17; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 5:12 (January 8, 1943): 1. Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 3:19 (February 26, 1942): 3; Ibid., 4:8 (June 11, 1942): 19. Ibid., 3:11 (December 31, 1941): 3. Ibid., 7:9 (December 17, 1943): 1; The Barracuda Bucket, p. 2, printed in Ibid.

Rebecca Hancock Cameron, Training to Fly: Military Flight Training 1907-1945 (Washington: U.S. Government Printing Office, 1999): 375, 392; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 3:10 (December 25, 1941): 4; John Paul Riddle interview, tape 21, Preston Collection. Ibid., tape 22; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 3:26 (April 16, 1942): 1; Ibid., 8:1 (April 21, 1944): 9, 12; “Embry-Riddle,” p. 14.
24 25 26 27 28 23

Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 5:15 (January 29, 1943): 4. Sid Pfluger, “What is this Ground School Anyway?” Ibid. 4:13 (July 16, 1942): 2-3. Ibid., 3:16 (February 5, 1942): 3; Ibid. 3:22 (March 19, 1942): 7; Ibid., 6:9 (June 18, 1943): 18-19;

John Paul Riddle interview, tapes 21, Preston Collection; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 4:26 (October 15, 1942): 1; George C. Burt, “We Make Mechanics,” Ibid. 5:8 (December 11, 1942): p. 13; Ibid., 5:11 (January 1, 1943): 3.
29 30 31

Ibid., 3:23 (March 26, 1942): 1,2; Ibid., 5:11 (January 1, 1943): 11. Ibid., 3:17 (February 12, 1942): 1; Ibid., 8:8 (September 15, 1944): 5.

“U.S. Army Officials Inspect New Engine Overhaul Division,” Ibid., 4:15 (July 30, 1942): 1, 10; Ibid., 4:20 (September 3, 1942): 1; Ibid., 5:26 (April 16, 1943): 1; Arthur W.D. Harris, “Embry-Riddle’s Maintenance Facilities Converting to Serve Aviation at Large,” Aviation Maintenance 2:2 (July 1944): 3945, 174, 176, 178; John Paul Riddle interview, tapes 21 & 22, Preston Collection.
32 33

Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 3:22 (March 19, 1942): 2; Ibid., 4:22 (September 17, 1942): 3

Ibid., 3:13 (January 15, 1942): 7; Ibid., 5:5 (November 20, 1942): 1, 3; Ibid., 5:21 (March 12, 1943): 1; Ibid.., 6:18 (August 20, 1943): 8-9; Ibid. 7:4 (November 12, 1943): 1, 14; Ibid., 6:8 (June 11, 1942): 6; “Embry-Riddle,” pp. 15-16;.
34 35

Ibid., p. 18; Riddle Interview, tape 30;Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 5:17 (February 12, 1943): 6

Ibid. 5:13 (January 15, 1943): 16; Ibid., 5:15 (January 29, 1943): 13; Ibid., 6:15 (July 30, 1943): 16; “Aviation Workers Doubt Women Will Run Post War Working World,” Miami Daily News (July 26, 1943).

34

36 37

Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 7:18 (February 18, 1944): 1.

Ibid., 6:21 (September 10, 1943): 1; “Aviatrix to try her Wings in Women’s Ferrying Squad,” Miami Herald (1942); “Miami Girl goes to Washington, D.C.,” Miami Daily News (July 28, 1943): 6C. Ibid., 2:6 (May 26, 1941): 3; “Embry-Riddle,” p. 14; Aircraft Year Book (New York: Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America, 1942): 108; Smellie to Sundstrom, January 7, 1943, Civil Aeronautics Administration, National Archives, RG 237, box 401. Parker to Varney, January 29, 1942, Ibid.; Arcaya to de los Rios, January 5, 1942, Ibid.; Southee to CAA Regional Manager, March 13, 1942, Ibid.; Anthony to Hull, January 18, 1943 (date on document is 1942), Ibid.; Advisory Board Report, June 5, 1942, Ibid.; Robertson to Director, C.A.A. War Training Service, January 23, 1943, Ibid.; Bivings to Shipp, March 1, 1943, Ibid.; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 6:9 (June 18, 1943): 7. Ibid., 3:23 (March 26, 1942): 1; Ibid., 4:25 (October 8, 1942): 7; Ibid. 5:2 (October 29, 1942): 15; Ibid., 5:18 (February 19, 1943): 23; Ibid., 6:2 (April 30, 1943): 10; Ibid. 6:8 (June 11, 1943): 3; Ibid. 6:13 (July 16, 1943): 1; Ibid. 7:12 (January 7, 1944): 1.
41 42 40 39 38

Ibid., 6:26 (October 15, 1943): 3; Ibid., 7:7 (December 3, 1943): 7. Ibid., 7:12 (January 7, 1944): 4,7; Ibid. 7:24 (March 31, 1944): 12; Ibid., 8:3 (May 15, 1944): 1,

19. Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 2:13 (July 15, 1941): 1; Flying Training: The Second World War, 19391945, vol. 1 Policy and Planning (Air Ministry, 1952): 141; “Miami to Train 1,000 for RAF”. Will Largent, RAF Wings over Florida: Memories of World War II British Air Cadets (West Lafayette: Pursue University Press, 2000): 17; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 2:8 (Jun 9, 1941): 8; Ibid., 2:9 (June 16, 1941): 11-12; Ibid. 2:17 (August 12, 1941): 12-13; “Initial Class of Cadets are Graduated,” Arcadian (January 1, 1942). Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, pp. 41, 45, 48-49; Fayers Diary, December 22, 1941, January 5 & February 24, 1942, R. J. Fayers Papers, PP/MCR/268, Imperial War Museum, London. Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, pp. 40,58; Fayers Diary, March 20, 1942; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 3:13 (January 15, 1942): 6. “Final Analysis of Arnold Scheme, 1941-1943,” RAF Museum, Hendon, UK; H.H. Balfour Report, August 1, 1941, Air 8, 378, Public Record Office, Kew; Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, p. 42. Ibid., p. 18; Fayers Diary, December 22, 1941, January 5 & February 24, 1942, R. J. Fayers Papers, PP/MCR/268, Imperial War Museum, London; Notes for Your Guidance (New York: British Library of Information, n.d.); Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 3:12 (January 8, 1942): 1. “British Buying Florida Land to Train RAF,” (August 6, 1941); “Air School at Clewiston is a British Affair,” (August 7, 1941); Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, pp. 63-64; “Ninety Cadets Start Moving to Clewiston,” Arcadian (September 25, 1941): 1.
50 51 52 49 48 47 46 45 44 43

Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, p. 66. Embry-Riddle Fly Paper 6:19 (August 27, 1943): 1,5.

Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, pp. 66, 78, 96; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, 6:6 (May 28, 1943): 4; Riddle interview, tape31; Fayers Diary, March 20, 1942.
53

Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, p. 102.

35

Ibid., p. 18; Air Ministry to Riddle, December 1943, RAF Museum, Hendon; “Riddle Field Receives High Rating as BFTS,” Clewiston News (June 11, 1943): 15. Harris, “Embry-Riddle’s Maintenance Facilities,” p. 39; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper, (April 21, 1944): 9; Ibid., 8:6 (July 15, 1944): 5, 9; Ibid., 8:9 (October 15, 1944): 7, 10.
56 57 55

54

Ibid., 8:8 (September 15, 1944): 1, 4; Ibid., 8:10 (October 15, 1944): 2.

Largent, RAF Wings over Florida, p. 67; Embry-Riddle Fly Paper (September 15, 1944): 1,5; Ibid., 8:12 (January 15, 1944): 17; Ibid., 8: 17 (June 15, 1945): 4; Wayne Parrish, “On the Beam,” Liberty Magazine (November 25, 1944): 15; “Last Civilian AAF Schools Terminated,” Aviation News (May 14, 1945): 45.
58 59

Ibid., 4:8 (June 11, 1942): 1; Ibid., 4:11 (July 2, 1942): 1.

Ibid., (September 15, 1944): 5, 7; Ibid., 8:9 (October 15, 1944): 12; Ibid., 8:13 (February 15, 1945): 5,7; Ibid., 9:8 (August 18, 1945); 1.