A
viation history refers
to the history of
development of
mechanical flight from the
earliest attempts in kites and
gliders to powered heavierthan-air, supersonic and
space-flights. The first form
of man-made flying objects
were kites. The earliest known
record of kite flying is from
around 200 B.C. in China,
when a general flew a kite over
enemy territory to calculate
the length of tunnel required
to enter the region. Chinese
emperors also tied prisoners
to paper kites, most of whom
fell to their death. Centuries
later, the first glider flight was
demonstrated by Abbas Ibn
Firnas in Córdoba, Spain in 875
A.D. Leonardo da Vinci’s dream
of flight found expression in
several designs, but he did
not attempt to demonstrate
flight by literally constructing
them. Earliest record of the
use of buoyancy to achieve
un-manned flight is as old as
the 3rd century, when Zhuge
Liang used hot air balloons
for military signaling and to
scare away enemy troops.
With the efforts to analyze the
atmosphere in the 17th and
18th century, gases such as
hydrogen were discovered
which in turn led to the
invention of hydrogen balloons.
Various theories in mechanics
by physicists during the same
period of time notably fluid
dynamics and Newton’s laws
of motion led to the foundation
of modern aerodynamics.
Tethered balloons filled with
hot air were used in the first
half of the 19th century and
saw considerable action in
several mid-century wars, most
notably the American Civil
War, where balloons provided
observation during the battle of
Petersburg. Experiments with
gliders laid the groundwork to
build heavier-than-air crafts,
and by the early 20th century,
advancements in engine
technology and aerodynamics
made con-trolled, powered
flight possible for the first time.
12| FlyUAA| www.FlyUAA.org| November Issue
S
tout Air Services was an
airline based in the United
States. Stout Air Services was
the first regularly scheduled
passenger airline in America.
Starting services back in
November 1st, 1928. Stout Air
Services was founded by the
engineer and businessman,
William Bushnell Stout. Stout
operated in close conjunction
with his aircraft production
company, Stout Metal Airplane
company. Stout operated from
Ford Airport (Dearborn) under
the name Detroit-Grand Rapids
Airline with round trip fares of
$35 in 1926. An airline of firsts,
Stout was the first to hire male
flight attendants, and the Book
Cadillac Hotel became the first
airline ticket office by selling
Stout Air Services tickets.
With expanded services, Stout
operated aircraft as DetroitCleveland Airline. In 1928
Stout Air Services purchased
airmail routes from Ford Air
Transport Service. On April 29,
1929, Stout Air Services was
purchased by United Aircraft
and Transport Corporation
(UATC). It continued to
operate under the Stout name
as a separate division. In
June of 1930, the Universal
Air Lines hangar caught fire
destroying 27 aircraft, leaving
only five. The fire spread to
the neighboring Grey Goose
Air Lines hangar that housed
aircraft leased to Stout Air
Lines. On September 12, 1930,
National Air Transport (NAT),
itself a newly acquired division
of UATC, purchased the Stout
division. In 1931, NAT in turn
became part of the newly formed
United Air Lines.
D
estinations include: Detroit
(Ford Airport (Dearborn)),
Grand Rapids (Airport), Cleveland
(Airport), Toledo (Airport), Battle
Creek (Airport), Kalamazoo
(Airport), and South Bend
(Airport)).
The Stout Air Services fleet
consists of the following aircraft as
of 1928:
The Ford Trimotor (also called the
“Tri-Motor”, and nicknamed “The
Tin Goose”) was an American
three-engined transport aircraft.
Production started in 1925 by the
companies of Henry Ford and
ended June 7, 1933. A total of 199
Ford Trimotors were made.[1] It
was designed for the civil aviation
market, but also saw service with
military units. The Ford Trimotor
was sold around the world.
Incidents and accidents:
Stout Air Service flew over 200,000
miles without an accident or
incident.
The Stout 2-AT “Pullman” or “Air
Pullman” was a single engine
all-metal monoplane that was
used for early airline travel and
air mail transport in America.
Issue November| www.FlyUAA.org| FlyUAA| 13