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I doubt airmail ever flew at 10,000 feet in the pre-radio navaid era. It shocks me how low these people flew. I suppose part of it was for weather/cloud/tempera
by kqr 4y ago
I doubt airmail ever flew at 10,000 feet in the pre-radio navaid era. It shocks me how low these people flew. I suppose part of it was for weather/cloud/temperature reasons, and maybe that it somehow felt safer to be closer to the threat (i.e. ground) but the number of stories of airmail pilots flying into trees and buildings and whatnot makes me shiver.
- perilunar 4y agoSome of the early airmail planes couldn't even reach 10,000 feet. e.g. the JN-1 had a ceiling of 6,500 ft.
- aidenn0 4y agoHow did airmail cross the continental divide?
- Oxidation 4y agoThe first trancontinental routes crossed via Rock Springs (6388 ft) and Rawlins (6834 ft). It's not immediately clear to me which planes they used, but that's over the Curtiss JN-4B service ceiling. The route was originally surveyed in 1920 by 3 cutting-edge Junkers-Larsen JL-6s, an American-built F13 (only 8 JL-6s were ever made!). Bert Acosta flew one of them. Map of the 1924 route: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_airmail_service#/media/File%3ATranscontinental_Air_Mail_Map_1924.jpg https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_airmail_service#...