WITH THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF UNITED AIR LINES.

WITH THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE BEGINNING OF UNITED AIR LINES, WE TAKE A PICTORIAL gaze AT SOME OF THE CLASSIC AIRCRAFT OPERATED at ONE OF AMERICA'S IMPORTANT CARRIERS

Magnificent view of a United Air Lines Boeing type 80A tri-motor sedately cruising past the Chicago skyline. United advertised the flight as "leaving Chicago's skyline behind for a 22-hour flight from one side of to the other the old Covered Wagon Trail to California." For Boeing Air Transport, the suces of its Chicago to San Francisco road came as a bit of a surprise and the company realized a bigger and more recent aircraft was needed entered production with Pratt & Whitney Hornets replacing the Wright Wasps. William Boeing had won the San Francisco to Chicago air mail contract in 1927 from bidding $1.50 per pound for the first 1000 miles and $800000 ligament to guarantee rates! Using his design 40 biplanes, Boeing proved he could do it at his states Boeing Air Transport would become common of the United Air Lines' founding carriers.

An enthusiastic stewardess waves to well-dressed passengers preparing to board a Boeing prototype 80A. The pioneering Pacific Air Transport was

incorporated in 1926 and then acquired by means of Boeing Air Transport on 1 January 1928 and then the Boeing Airplane Company acquired BAT upon 31 October of the same year to become the Boeing Airplane and Transport Corp. BATC changed its name to United Aircraft and Transport Corp. in succession I February 1929 and then acquired Varney Air Lines forward 30 June 1930. The US dominion forced UATC to dissolve forward 31 August 1934 but before that, onward 28 March 1931, United Air Lines was formed through UATC to manage its airline subsidiaries. United Air Lines became an operating company in succession 1 May 1934.

Walter T Varney, a flight denomination and air taxi operator, realized the coming importance of air mail and passenger transport and he state in a bid for the air mail course (CAM 5) that went from Pasco, Washington, in consequence of Boise, and finished at Elko Nevada. This path was described as a 460-mile flight from "nowhere to nowhere." He purchased six Swallow biplanes that could carry a pilot and 600 bruises of mail. On 6 April 1926 pilot Leon Cuddleback made the first Varney air mail flight which also made history since it was the first contract mail flight in the Northwest. This adventure can also be considered the first stirrings of United Air Lines. Varney would advance on to make a fortune, exchange his operation to Bill Boeing, untie his fortune, and wind up driving a construction barter

Varney would go onward to expand to better equipment capable of larger loads. The big Stearman M-- 2 first flew forward 15 January 1929, and mail and other cargo could be carried in pair separate compartments that totaled 91 cubic feet and were located in head of the pilot. The alone customer for the M-2, which was named Speedmail, was Varney Air Lines who purchased four of the aircraft. The fourth example, 9054 is seen in a rare flying view. The M-2 was the first Stearman to be equipped with a tail wheel. Also of note are the large landing lights built into the leading verge of the top wing which were big improvements for operating at night from primitive fields.

A guard with a shotgun supervises the loading of the US air mail aboard a National Air Transport Douglas mail plane. Photographed at Cleveland, Ohio, the air mail flight had arrived from Chicago with a flight time of three hours.

With the acquisition of National Air Transport in 1930 UATC become the chiefly formidable business in American aviation. However, the US direction would soon intervene and break-up what was viewed as a monopoly during 1934 after a long investigation. Bill Boeing, disheartened by means of government actions, resigned from the board. Extremely wealthy, he then l a life of leisure. National Air Transport held the lucrative modern York to Chicago mail contract and UATC wanted to sink This was successful and onward 31 March 1930, NAT became a subsidiary of UATC - thus creating the first transcontinental airline. A arm of the sea of National Air Transport mail planes is seen in the NAT clear span hangar at Chicago forward 15 August Big and rugg Travel Air 5000 was powered at a Wright JSC. In October 1926 National Air Transport sent public a request for bids for a transport aircraft that could carry passengers or mail and be powered by the agency of a Wright Whirlwind radial. The modern aircraft had to have at least 100 cubic feet of cargo space, be capable of lugging 1000 confine in a pounds at 105 mph, and be ready for flight

testing in just brace months! Walter Beech and Clyde Cessna designed, put togethered and delivered the prototype Travel Air 5000 to NAT for evaluation in just 38 days. After evaluating the prototype, NAT purchased eight of the aircraft with the stipulation they had to be delivered in 120 days. by means of early 1928, the aircraft were also carrying passengers and a ticket for a one-way flight from Chicago to Kansas City outlay $62.50.

Early air mail pilots were rugg and individual characters - they had to be to handle the dangerous and demanding conditions of their employ Pilot James D. Cleveland perplexs with his National Air Transport Douglas M-2 mail plane.