The Collier's Magazine obituary for Wilbur Wright (1867 - 1912) was written by the aviator and journalist Henry Woodhouse (born Mario Terenzio Casalengo, 1884 - 1970).
The Brothers Wright gave flying instructions to a young boy who would later become one of the first U.S. Air Force generals - you can read about him here...
Click here to read about a much admired American aviator who was attracted to the fascist way of thinking...
Two months after the death of President Roosevelt, and with W.W. II almost at an end, the censorship concerning FDR's presidential aircraft was terminated. The reporters at Newsweek were not slow in reporting all that could be known about this comfy juggernaut that had spirited FDR to Malta, Yalta and Cairo. The plane was a Douglas C-54A, reconfigured to sleep five and was equipped with an inter-cabin telephone, radio, and a stateroom. The President had anticipated traveling hither and yon while planning the post-war world, but other plans got in the way. Frank Coffyn (1878 – 1960) was one of the earliest pioneer aviators in the United States. In this article he recalls those heady days when he regularly broke bread and talked shop with the likes of Orville Wright and other assorted fathers of aviation. Coffyn has long been remembered for being the first pilot to fly his camera-mounted Wright Flyer over Manhattan and under both Brooklyn and Williamsburg Bridges in 1912 - which he recalls herein. Attached is a well illustrated article concerning two of the earliest parachute drops: one was quite fatal while the other had a jollier ending. The first leap documented in this column was made by a fellow known only as F. Rodman Law (dates?); he jumped 345 feet from the torch of the Statue of Liberty and landed 30 feet from the water's edge. The next day, parachute enthuiast Franz Reichelt (1879 – 1912) jumped from the first platform of the Eiffel Tower with a parachute of his own design. The Popular Mechanics correspondent reported that:
"His body was a shapeless mass when the police picked it up."
In the wake of numerous air disasters involving the nascent passenger airlines, this article was produced to show readers that with each crash, steps were taken to make each flight safer. In 1938, the Federl Government stepped in and established the Civil Aeronautics Authority. "When the twenty-five-ton Martin transport-plane successfully passed its preliminary tests at Baltimore a few days ago, preparatory to entering the regular service of Pan American Airways, it was an occasion of world significance. In all likelihood this new member of the famous Clipper series will be the first to establish regular passenger and mail service across the Pacific." | 
