Alan R. Hawley

For the Scottish artist, see Allan Ramsay (artist).
Alan Ramsay Hawley

Sgt. Clarence Blair Coombs (1888-1944) and Hawley in 1918
Born (1864-07-29)July 29, 1864
Perth Amboy, New Jersey
Died February 16, 1938(1938-02-16) (aged 73)
Manhattan, New York City
Education Trinity School
Occupation President of the Aero Club of America
Parent(s) Peter William Radcliffe Hawley (1829–1884)
Isabella Meritt (1838–1904)

Alan Ramsay Hawley (July 29, 1864 – February 16, 1938) was one of the early aviators in the United States. In 1910, he won the national race with his balloon America II. He was the first passenger to fly in an airplane from New York City to Washington, D.C. in May 1916. He was the president of the Aero Club of America from 1913 to 1918.[1]

Biography

He was born on 29 July 1869 in Perth Amboy, New Jersey to Peter William Radcliffe Hawley (1829–1884) and Isabella Meritt (1838–1904). He attended the Trinity School in New York City before becoming a stockbroker with his brother, William Hawley, until he retired in 1912.[2]

Before becoming interested in aeronautics, Hawley was a pioneer in the automobile movement, at the time when the car was an exceptional thing. He was also a founding member of the Automobile Club of America.

He learned to pilot a balloon from 1905 to 1906. He held the Aero Club of America's pilot's certificate No. 7, issued in 1907.

On January 1, 1907 he ascended with Major James C. McCoy in a 35,000 cubic foot balloon Orient in St. Louis, Missouri.[3]

On April 22, 1907 he ascended over a mile in his balloon with Arthur T. Atherolt.[4]

He entered the 1910 Gordon Bennett International Balloon Race with Augustus Post and they left the grounds of the Aero Club of St. Louis at 5:45 p.m. on Monday, October 17, 1910 in their balloon America II. The balloon had been specially constructed in France for this race and was owned by Major James C. McCoy. During the flight they took watches of three hours each, "one sleeping and one watching the statiscopes, aneroid, and other instruments" (sic). A recording barograph (altimeter) kept a precise log of their altitude during the flight. They reached altitudes of 5,000 meters (16400 ft) above the altitude of St. Louis, their 0 altitude reference point. St. Louis is at 140 meters (465 ft) above sea level. 46 hours later, at 3:45 p.m. on Wednesday, 19 October they landed in the middle of the wilderness in Quebec, Canada, about 58 miles (93 km) north of Chicoutimi. They had been forced to land because of a storm. They were on a hillside at some 1,500 feet (460 m) altitude and had traveled 1887.6 kilometers (1,173 mi) from St. Louis. They had traveled at an average of 50 kilometres per hour (30 miles per hour). The next day they traveled south towards civilization. For the next three days they walked, sleeping under their blankets at night and eating a bare minimum of food. They eventually came upon a trapper's hut, which was not occupied at the moment. They rested there for a day, after which four French Canadian trappers turned up. The trappers graciously accompanied them to Saint-Ambroise-de-Kildare, Quebec. Once there, they sent two telegrams, one to Alan's brother William, and the other to the pilot of another balloon in the race. The message to his brother read: "Landed in wilderness week ago, fifty miles north of Chicoutimi. Both well - Alan". Their telegrams ended searches which had various parties had started, looking for them around the Great Lakes. Clifford B. Harman, a wealthy amateur aeronaut and aviator, had offered $1,000 to anyone who found Alan and Augustus, dead or alive. On the evening before their telegrams the amount had even increased to $7,000.[5]

He was the first passenger to fly in an airplane from New York City to Washington, D.C. in May 1916. The flight was in a battle plane and delivered petitions to the United States Congress and Woodrow Wilson urging the training of 2,000 aviators. At that time the number of aviators was limited to sixty, by law, which was considered sufficient for the US Army. As a result, President Woodrow Wilson authorized the creation of the Aerial Reserve on July 13, 1916.

He died of coronary thrombosis on February 16, 1938 at age 73 at his home, 400 Park Avenue.[2]

Legacy

In 1916 he flew to Washington, D.C. from New York City to demonstrate the feasibility of carrying mail by air. Earlier experiments in carrying mail by air had been done, but no regular air mail service existed in the U.S. yet. The trip took 187 minutes, and they flew at an average speed of 78 miles per hour. Alan Hawley was a passenger in the plane flown by Victor Carlstrom. They carried a heavy load of newspapers which represented the "mail". Two years later a regular mail service was established between New York and Washington, D.C., the first in the U.S. The first official mail flight left on May 15, 1918 from New York to Washington, D.C., with a stop in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

References

  1. ↑ "Alan Ramsay Hawley". Early Aviators. Retrieved 2012-09-17.
  2. 1 2 "Alan R. Hawley, Balloonist, Dies. Missing a Week With Post on Record Flight for Bennett Air Trophy in 1910. Former Aero Club Head. Leader in Civil Aviation One of Founders of Automobile Club of America An Automobile Club Founder Set Mark of 1,173 Miles Leader in Civil Aviation". New York Times. February 17, 1938. Retrieved 2012-09-17. Alan Ramsey Hawley, whose record balloon flight with Augustus Post in 1910 won them the James Gordon Bennett trophy and the acclaim of a nation which had given them up for lost, died of coronary thrombosis yesterday afternoon at his home, 400 Park Avenue, in his sixty-ninth year.
  3. ↑ "New York Aeronauts Sail From St. Louis. Alan Hawley and J. C. McCoy Make Ascension Successfully. Land Sixty Miles Away. Aero Club Committee Inspects Suggested Sites for the Projected Contest Next October". New York Times. January 2, 1907. Retrieved 2012-09-17. Prominent New York and St. Louis men interested in aeronautics witnessed the start of a successful ascent from Second and Rutgers Streets here this afternoon, when Alan R. Hawley and J. C. McCoy of the New York Aero Club filled the big 35,000 cubic foot balloon Orient, and sailed off toward the northwest. ...
  4. ↑ "Fast 80-Mile Ride In A Big Balloon. Alan R. Hawley of the Aero Club Makes a Notable Ascent, Rising 1 2-3 Miles. Sunburned By The Trip. Aerial Car Reaches Speed of 30 Miles an Hour and Runs Alongside a Big Cloud. Landing in the Mud". New York Times. April 23, 1907. Retrieved 2012-09-17. Alan R. Hawley who was selected ...
  5. ↑ "Airmen Lost In Canadian Wilds. Alan R. Hawley and Augustus Post of the Balloon America II. Still Missing". New York Times. October 23, 1910. Retrieved 2012-09-17. Practically every inhabited spot in Middle Canada from the islands of the Great Lakes to the Arctic Circle, however isolated, is, or within forty-eight hours will be, alert to ascertain the fate of the aeronauts who drifted away from St. Louis last Monday aboard the balloon America II. in the international race. ...

Further reading

External links


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