Ruth Bancroft Law at the controls of a Curtiss Pusher, ca. 1915. (Lt. H.M. Benner/U.S. Air Force)
19 November 1916: Ruth Bancroft Law (Mrs. Charles Augustus Oliver) flew a Curtiss Pusher non-stop from Chicago, Illinois to Hornell, New York, a distance of 590 miles (949.5 kilometers). This exceeded the previous long distance flight record of 452 miles (727.4 kilometers) and set a new Aero Club of America record for distance.
Ruth Law departed Chicago at 8:25 a.m., in very windy conditions. After a very difficult flight, she landed at Hornell at 2:10 p.m., gliding the last two miles to a landing after the engine stopped from fuel starvation.
With her airplane refueled, Law took off from Hornell at 3:24 p.m. and flew on to Binghampton, New York, landing there at 4:20 p.m.
One the morning of 20 November, Law departed Binghampton at 7:23 a.m., finally arriving at Governor’s Island, New York City at 9:37:35 a.m. The total flight time for the 884-mile (1,422.66 kilometers) Chicago–New York City journey was 8 hours, 55 minutes, 35 seconds.
For a more detailed article about Ruth Law’s flight, please see:
Ruth Bancroft Law arrives at New York City, 1916. (George Grantham Bain Collection, Library of Congress)
Ruth Bancroft Law was born at Lynn, Massachussetts, 21 March 1887. She was the third of four children of Frederick Henry Law and Sarah Bancroft Breed Law. She married Charles Augustus Oliver in 1907. He would act as her business manager during her aviation career.
Law (Mrs. Oliver) was taught to fly by Harry Nelson Atwood, chief instructor of the General Aviation Corporation, Saugus, Massachussetts, and Archibald A. Freeman, assistant instructor. She received her pilot’s certificate in November 1912.
Ruth Bancroft Law with her Wright Model B at Daytona Beach, Florida, 1916. (National Archives and Records Administration)
Ruth Law enlisted in the Army 30 June 1917, after the United States entered World War I. Although it was her intention to serve as a pilot, she was not permitted to fly, but was assigned to the U.S. Army Accessions Command, to assist with recruiting and instruction. Law trained with the 38th Infantry Division at Camp Shelby, Mississippi. She served in Europe and held the non-commissioned officer rank of Sergeant.
Ruth Bancroft Law at Camp Shelby, Mississippi, 1917. At the far right is Major General William Hampden Sage, commanding officer, 38th Division, with his wife, Elizabeth Sage. Ruth Law is fourth from right, not wearing a hat. (Sun Herald)
Following the War, Law set several aviation records, did stunt flying and operated Ruth Law’s Flying Circus. Several sources say the she earned as much as $9,000 per week, approximately equivalent to $112,590 U.S. dollars in 2016. She retired from aviation in March 1922, saying that her husband was worried about her, and that she wanted to raise a family.
Mr. and Mrs. Oliver moved to Beverly Hills, California, living at 613, N. Roxbury Drive. Later, Mr. and Mrs. Oliver resided at 34 Rosewood Drive, San Francisco, California. Mr. Oliver died in 1947.
Ruth Bancroft Law Oliver died at Notre Dame Hospital, San Francisco, California, at 1:30 a.m., 1 December 1970, of a cerebro-vascular accident, at the age of 83 years. She was buried at Pine Grove Cemetery, Lynn, Massachussetts.
Ruth Law with her Curtiss Pusher races Gaston Chevrolet at the Canadian National Exhibition, Toronto, Ontario, Saturday, 29 June 1918. The race was to cover 5 laps. Chevrolet was given a 1-lap head start, and won the race by ½ a lap. (Library of Congress)
The first Full Scale Development McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A-1-MC Hornet, Bu. No. 160775. (McDonnell Douglas Corporation)
18 November 1978: At Lambert Field, St, Louis, Missouri, McDonnell Douglas Corporation Chief Test Pilot John Edward (“Jack”) Krings, took the number one Full Scale Development (FSD) F/A-18A-1-MC Hornet, Bu. No. 160775, for its first flight. During the 50-minute test flight, Krings flew the Hornet to 24,000 feet (7,315 meters) before returning to STL.
The F/A-18 Hornet was developed for the United States Navy from the prototype Northrop YF-17, a competitor for a U.S. Air Force fighter program. (The rival General Dynamics F-16 was selected for production.) Initially, it was planned that there would be fighter variant, the F-18, and a ground attack version, the A-18. The Navy and manufacturers determined that a single airplane could perform both assignments. The Hornet was produced by McDonnell Douglas, with Northrop Corporation as the prime subcontractor.
The F/A-18 remains in production as the Boeing F/A-18 Block III Super Hornet. Current orders should keep the Hornet in production until 2025.
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18A-1-MC Hornet Bu. No. 160775 is on static display at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division (NAWCWD) China Lake, near Ridgecrest, California.
McDonnell Douglas F/A-18 Full Scale Development aircraft, Bu. No. 160775.Jack Krings
John Edward (“Jack”) Krings was born 2 April 1930 at Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. He was the son of John J. Krings, a refrigeration salesman, and Jean Molamphy Krings. Jack Krings attended Central Catholic High School, in Pittsburgh, graduating in 1948. He then attended Louisiana State University, graduating in 1952 with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Chemistry and Physics, with a minor in mathematics. While at LSU, Krings played football and was a member of the Phi Chapter of the Sigma Nu fraternity.
On 27 December 1952, Krings married Miss Marilyn Dill at Kirkwood, a suburb of St. Louis. They would have several children, but later divorced.
After graduating from LSU, Krings joined the United States Air Force and was trained as a fighter pilot. He flew the Republic F-84 and served in combat during the Korean War. In 1956, Krings left the Air Force and was employed as an engineer at the McDonnell Corporation in St. Louis, Missouri. He continued to serve with the Air National Guard until 1966.
Krings was sent to the U.S. Naval Test Pilot School at NAS Patuxent River. He was a production test pilot and then moved on to development programs. He flew the F3H Demon, and F4H Phantom II. In 1962, Jack Krings was promoted to Chief Test Pilot. For his work as project pilot on the F-15A Eagle test program, Krings won the Iven C. Kincheloe Award of the Society of Experimental Test Pilots for 1975, and in 1979, the Jack Northrop Award and Ray E. Tenhoff Award for for the most outstanding technical paper. In 1986, the SETP presented Krings with its J.H. Doolittle Award for outstanding technical management of engineering achievement in aerospace technology.
On 27 March 1980, Kring married Joan Christian at St. Louis. It was the second marriage for both. They divorced 22 July 1988.
In 1985, Jack Krings retired from McDonnell Douglas. He then went to work in the U.S. Department of Defense as Director of Operational Test and Evaluation. He was twice warded the Department of Defense Medal for Distinguished Public Service. In 1989, he left the Pentagon and formed a consulting company, Krings Corporation.
Jack Kring married his third wife, Barbara Lynn McKemie, at Arlington, Virginia, 7 October 1988.
John Edward Krings died at Austin, Texas, 7 March 2014, at the age of 83 years. he was buried at Cook Walden Forest Oaks Cemetery in Austin.
Major William J. Knight, U.S. Air Force, with the modified X-15A-2, 56-6671, at Edwards Air Force Base, California. Knight is wearing a David Clark Co. MC-2 full-pressure suit with an MA-3 helmet. (U.S. Air Force)
18 November 1966: On Flight 175 of the research program, Major William J. (“Pete”) Knight, U.S. Air Force, flew the newly-modified North American Aviation X-15A-2, 56-6671, to Mach 6.33 (4,261 miles per hour/6,857 kilometers per hour) at 98,900 feet (30,245 meters). This is just 11 years, to the day, since Pete Everest made the first powered flight in the Bell Aircraft Corporation X-2 rocketplane, with more than 6 times an increase in speed.
On this date, NASA made an attempt to launch two X-15s, -671 and -672, using the NB-52A 52-003 and NB-52B 52-008. However -672, the number three ship, had to abort the mission.
At the left, Boeing NB-52A 52-003 carries X-15 56-6670 while on the right, NB-52B 52-008 carries X-15 56-6671.(NASA)
Balls 8, the NB-52B, flown by NASA test pilot Fitz Fulton and Colonel Joe Cotton, USAF, carried 56-6671 to the launch point over Mud Lake, Nevada, approximately 200 miles to the north of Edwards AFB. (This was the lake where -671 was severely damaged in an emergency landing, 9 November 1962. It was returned to North American to be rebuilt to the X-15A-2 configuration and returned to flight operation 19 months later.)
At 1:24:07.2 p.m. local time, Pete Knight and the X-15 were dropped from the pylon under the right wing of the B-52. He ignited the Reaction Motors XLR99-RM-1 and began to accelerate with its 57,000 pounds of thrust (253.549 kilonewtons).
Since this was to be a high temperature test flight, it was planned to fly no higher than 100,000 feet (30,480 meters). The denser atmosphere would result in greater aerodynamic heating of the rocketplane.
With the two external propellant tanks carrying an additional 1,800 gallons (6,814 liters) of liquid ammonia and liquid oxygen, the engine ran for 2 minutes, 16.4 seconds. The rocketplane had accelerated to Mach 2. The external tanks emptied in about 60 seconds and were jettisoned. The tanks were equipped with parachutes. They were recovered to be reused on later flights.
The X-15, now about 25,000 pounds (11,340 kilograms) lighter and without the aerodynamic drag of the tanks, continued to accelerate. At its highest speed, the rocketplane was travelling approximately 6,500 feet per second (1,981 meters per second), more than twice as fast as a high-powered rifle bullet. Its surface temperatures exceeded 1,200 °F. (649 °C.)
Knight landed the X-15 on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base. The duration of this flight had been 8 minutes, 26.8 seconds.
The modified North American Aviation X-15A-2, 56-6671, with external propellant tanks mounted. (NASA)
Major Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., U.S. Air Force, with the Bell X-2 supersonic research rocketplane, on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards AFB, California, 1955. (U.S. Air Force)
18 November 1955: Major Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., USAF, makes the first powered flight in the Bell X-2 research rocketplane, 46-674, at Edwards AFB, California. The rocketplane was airdropped from a Boeing EB-50D Superfortress, 48-096. Only one 5,000-lb. thrust rocket tube ignited, but that was enough to accelerate “Pete” Everest to Mach 0.992 (655.4 miles per hour/1,054.5 kilometers per hour) at 35,000 feet (10,668 meters).
The X-2 was a joint project of the U.S. Air Force and NACA (the National Advisory Committee on Aeronautics, the predecessor of NASA). The rocketplane was designed and built by Bell Aircraft Corporation of Buffalo, New York, to explore supersonic flight at speeds beyond the capabilities of the earlier Bell X-1 and Douglas D-558-II Skyrocket.
In addition to the aerodynamic effects of speeds in the Mach 2.0–Mach 3.0 range, engineers knew that the high temperatures created by aerodynamic friction would be a problem, so the aircraft was built from stainless steel and K-Monel, a copper-nickel alloy.
The Bell Aircraft Corporation X-2 was 37 feet, 10 inches (11.532 meters) long with a wingspan of 32 feet, 3 inches (9.830 meters) and height of 11 feet, 10 inches (3.607 meters). Its empty weight was 12,375 pounds (5,613 kilograms) and loaded weight was 24,910 pounds (11,299 kilograms).
The Bell X-2 being loaded into the EB-50D Superfortress “mothership” at Edwards AFB, California. (LIFE Magazine)
The X-2 was powered by a throttleable two-chamber Curtiss-Wright XLR25-CW-1 rocket engine that produced 2,500–15,000 pounds of thrust (11.12–66.72 kilonewtons)
Rather than use its limited fuel capacity to take off and climb to altitude, the X-2 was dropped from a modified heavy bomber as had been the earlier rocketplanes. A four-engine Boeing B-50D-95-BO Superfortress bomber, serial number 48-096, was modified as the drop ship and redesignated EB-50D.
The launch altitude was 30,000 feet (9,144 meters). After the fuel was exhausted, the X-2 glided to a touchdown on Rogers Dry Lake at Edwards Air Force Base.
The Bell X-2 and Boeing EB-50D Superfortress in flight. (U.S. Air Force)
Pete Everest joined the United States Army Air Corps shortly before the United States entered World War II. He graduated from pilot training in 1942 and was assigned as a P-40 Warhawk pilot, flying combat missions in North Africa, Sicily and Italy. He was credited with shooting down two German airplanes and damaging a third.
Everest was returned to the United States to serve as a flight instructor. He requested a return to combat and was then sent to the China-Burma-India theater of operations where he shot down four Japanese airplanes. He was himself shot down by ground fire in May 1945. Everest was captured by the Japanese and suffered torture and inhumane conditions before being freed at the end of the war.
The Bell X-2 was dropped from a Boeing EB-50D Superfortress, 48-096. (U.S. Air Force)
After the war, Everest was assigned as a test pilot at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, before going west to the Air Force Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, California. At Edwards, he was involved in nearly every flight test program, flying the F-88, F-92, F-100, F-101, F-102, F-104 and F-105 fighters, the XB-51, YB-52, B-57 and B-66 bombers. He also flew the pure research aircraft, the “X planes:” the X-1, X-1B, X-2, X-3, X-4 and X-5. Pete Everest flew the X-1B to Mach 2.3, and he set a world speed record with the X-2 at Mach 2.9 (1,957 miles per hour, 3,149.5 kilometers per hour) which earned him the title, “The Fastest Man Alive.”
Pete Everest gives some technical advice to actor William Holden (“Major Lincoln Bond”), with Bell X-2 46-674, on the set of “Toward The Unknown,” 1956. (Toluca Productions)
Frank Everest returned to operational assignments and commanded a fighter squadron, two combat crew training wings, and was assigned staff positions at the Pentagon. On 20 November 1963, Colonel Everest, commanding the 4453rd Combat Crew Training Squadron, flew one of the first two operational McDonnell F-4C Phantom II fighters from the factory in St. Louis to MacDill Air Force Base. In 1965, Pete Everest was promoted to the rank of brigadier general. He was commander of the Aerospace Rescue and Recovery Service. He retired from the Air Force in 1973 after 33 years of service. General Everest died in 2004.
Brigadier General Frank Kendall Everest, Jr., United States Air Force, 1920–2004. (U.S. Air Force)
Amy Johnson Mollison with her de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth, G-ACAB, The Desert Cloud, Lympne Aerodrome, London, 14 November 1932. (Unattributed)
14–18 November 1932: Amy Johnson, CBE, (Mrs. James A Mollison) flew her new de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth, c/n 2247, registration G-ACAB, from Lympne Aerodrome, London, England, to Cape Town, South Africa, a distance of approximately 6,300 miles (10,140 kilometers) in a total elapsed time of 4 days, 6 hours, 54 minutes. This broke the previous record which had been set by her husband, Jim Mollison, by 10 hours, 28 minutes.
A contemporary news article described the event:
FLIGHT, November 24, 1932
MRS. MOLLISON’S FINE FLIGHT
Beats her Husband’s Cape Record by 10½ Hours
THERE are few, we think, who will not admit that Mrs. J.A. Mollison (Miss Amy Johnson) has accomplished a really remarkable feat in her latest flight—from England to Cape Town in 4 days 6 hr. 54 min., thus beating her husband’s previous record for the same journey of 4 days 17 hr. 22 min. by 10 hr. 28 min.
Not only is the flight a magnificent achievement as far as the time taken is concerned, but as a feat of endurance, pluck, good piloting and navigation, it must be placed foremost in the list of great flights.
Throughout the flight Mrs. Mollison had had only 5 hours’ sleep!
As reported in last week’s issue of FLIGHT, Mrs. Mollison set out from Lympne, in her D.H. “Puss Moth” (“Gipsy Major”), Desert Cloud, at 6.37 a.m. on November 14, and at 7.30 p.m. arrived at Oran, on the North African coast, 1,100 miles distant. She made an hour’s stop to refuel en route at Barcelona, and after a halt of 4 hours at Oran she started off on a night flight across the Sahara Desert towards Gao and Niamey.
At this stage some anxiety was felt owing to the absence of news concerning her progress for over 24 hours. Then came the news that she had landed safely at Gao (some 1,300 miles from Oran) at noon, November 15—having thus successfully accomplished a most difficult flight across the desert, without landmarks, at night. After a short stop for refuelling Mrs. Mollison left for Duala, but after flying for about an hour she noticed that her tanks were almost empty. She at once returned to Gao and found that they had put in only 10 galls. instead of 42 galls.!
After this irritating delay she proceeded once more, arriving safely at Duala in the evening, and continuing, after a short halt, towards Loanda. On this stage, during the night, the oil circulation caused her some trouble, and so she landed the next morning at Benguela (Port. W. Africa) to set matters aright.
Fortunately, the trouble was not serious—probably a portion of the Sahara in the filters—and she was able to proceed after a delay of some 9 hours. A halt to refuel was made at Mossamedes in the evening of November 17 and then came another night flight on the final stage of her journey.
Meanwhile, news of her start on the last hop reached Capetown, and from midnight November 17–18, huge crowds made their way to the Municipal aerodrome—although Mrs. Mollison could not possibly arrive much before midday. There were, therefore, several thousand people on the aerodrome by the time she arrived.
Mrs. Mollison appeared somewhat unexpectedly, from inland, shortly after 3 p.m., and it was not until the machine was about to land that the crowd realised that it was the Desert Cloud. She landed at 3.31 p.m. (1.31 p.m. G.M.T), and immediately the cheering crown broke down the barriers and surrounded the machine. It was some time before she could get out of her machine, but eventually she was got into a car, and before driving away she waved to the crowd and said: “Thank you very much for your great welcome. I said I would come back, and I have done so. It is really too kind of you to give me such a welcome.”
Safely inside the aerodrome building, Mrs. Mollison spoke over the telephone to Mr. Mollison, after which she was taken to some friends, where she could obtain some well-earned sleep.
1st day Lympne–Oran (1,100)
2nd ” Oran–Gao (1,400)
3rd ” Gao–Duala (1,150)
4th ” Duala–Mossamedes (1,350)
5th ” Mossamedes–Cape (1,300)
(Concluded on page 1141)
MRS. MOLLISON’S FINE FLIGHT
(Concluded from page 1133)
Needless to say, Mrs. Mollison has received numerous messages of congratulation, amongst which were the following: —From H.M. the King: “Please convey to Mrs. Mollison hearty congratulations on her splendid achievment. I trust that she is not too exhausted. —George, R.I.”
From Lord Londonderry, Secretary of State for Air: “On behalf of the Air Council I congratulate you most warmly on the successful completion of your magnificent flight.”
Messages were also sent by the Royal Aero Club and Royal Aeronautical Society, Lord Wakefield, etc.
Mr. A.E. Whitelaw, the Australian philanthropist—who gave Mr. Mollison £1,000 in recognition of his Australia flight—is presenting a cheque for £1,000 to Mrs. Mollison in recognition of her achievement.
— FLIGHT, The Aircraft Engineer and Airships, No. 1248 (Vol. XXIV, No. 48.), 24 November 1932 at Pages 1133 and 1141.
The de Havilland Aircraft Co., Ltd., DH.80A Puss Moth was a single-engine high-wing monoplane with an enclosed cabin for a pilot and two passengers. It was constructed of a tubular steel frame covered with doped fabric. The airplane was 25 feet (7.620 meters) long with a wingspan of 36 feet, 9 inches (11.201 meters) and height of 6 feet, 10 inches (2.083 meters). The Puss Moth had an empty weight of 1,265 pounds (574 kilograms) and gross weight of 2.050 pounds (930 kilograms).
G-ACAB was powered by a 373.71-cubic-inch-displacement (6,124 cubic centimeters) air-cooled de Havilland Gipsy Major I inverted, inline 4-cylinder engine with a compression ratio of 5.25:1. It produced 120 horsepower at 2,100 r.p.m and 130 horsepower at 2,350 r.p.m. The engine weighed 306 pounds (138.8 kilograms).
The DH.80A had a cruise speed of 95 miles per hour (153 kilometers per hour) and maximum speed of 108 miles per hour (174 kilometers per hour). The airplane had a service ceiling of 17,000 feet (5,182 meters). The standard DH.80A had a range of 430 miles (692 kilometers), but The Desert Cloud had additional tanks which increased its range to over 2,000 miles (3,219 kilometers).
De Havilland built 284 DH.80A Puss Moths between 1929 and 1933. Only eight are known to exist. G-ACAB, then owned by Utility Airways, Ltd., was destroyed in a hangar fire at Hooton Park, Cheshire, 8 July 1940.
Amy Johnson flew this de Havilland DH.80A Puss Moth, G-ACAB, The Desert Cloud, from England to South Africa, 14–18 November 1932. She made the return flight the following month. (Arch. B. Bambeau via Fan d’ Avions)
