566 ANNUAL REPORT SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION, 1941 



Maryland, completely off the course. The trip from New York, how- 

 ever, was successful, consuming 3V^ hours' time at a cost, in this 

 Army training plane, of approximately the same amount per mile as is 

 now required to fly a modern 14-passenger transport with many times 

 the load and speed. However, the line continued and great credit is 

 due this pioneering effort to carry the mail regularly by air, a service 

 which has never ceased to improve and expand. 



Landmarks in this expansion followed in rapid succession. One 

 was the opening of the New York-to-Chicago route in 1919, using" 

 rebuilt wartime DH-4 airplanes. Another, and an illuminating' 

 vision of the future, was the first crossing of the Atlantic Ocean 

 })y air — the successful undertaking of the United States Navy, using 

 NC-4 flying boat. 



On September 8, 1920, the first transcontinental flight was made 

 during a competition, one plane getting through in 9 days 41/2 hours. 

 But an event of outstanding importance occurred on February 22, 

 1921, when Jack Knight completed a night flight from Omaha to 

 Chicago, under terrifically unfavorable weather conditions. His 

 way was lighted only by occasional bonfires. Lighting of this sort 

 at frequent intervals had been promised but because of weather con- 

 ditions so unfavorable to flying, many communities failed to light 

 their fires. Made possible by this night flight, mail was carried from 

 San Francisco to New York in about 331/2 hours, approximately 

 twice the time now required for a similar service. 



Another important event of 1921 was the inauguration by the 

 Army Air Service of a regular Dayton-to-Columbus airway for 

 night flying. Here the revolving beacon with periodic flashes was 

 developed, an innovation which was to prove so advantageous in 

 the system of airways later evolved for this country. Its inherent 

 advantages over the simple lighthouse type favored in Europe con- 

 tributed much toward the more rapid advance of air transportation 

 in this country. The lighted airway from Cheyenne-to-Chicago was 

 completed and put into operation on July 1, 1921. This was a most 

 important step in progress as by it a great number of enthusiasts 

 of that time appreciated anew the fact that in order to take full 

 advantage of the airplane as a means of transportation night flying 

 must be used. This country surpassed Europe by a wide margin 

 both in the proportion and technique of night-flying operations. 



By 1927, the Post Office Department had satisfactorily established 

 its basic air-mail system and was ready to turn it over to private 

 operators. The last flight by the Department was on September 1, 

 1927. It had expended 17 million dollars in its pioneering efforts, 

 had received back about 7 million and thus gave to the American 

 people a magnificent start in air transportation at the exceedingly 



