Iowa Almanac
Iowa Almanac -- Thursday, October 17, 2024
A record long distance delivery. More from the Iowa Almanac in a moment. Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Now is the time to make a plan. Whether you plan to vote absentee by mail in person at your county auditor's office before Election Day or at your polling place on November 5th, it's important you take steps now to make your plan at voterready.iowa.gov. Remember Election Day is Tuesday, November 5th. Buy more information at voterready.iowa.gov. This message presented by the Iowa Secretary of State. When Billy Robinson was 12 years old, he and his widowed mother and three siblings moved to Grinnell. His early life was tragic. In addition to his father dying when he was young, his two brothers were killed in a mine explosion near Oskaloosa a few years later. To support the family, Billy worked for the town's handyman. He learned to repair bicycles and opened his own bicycle shop. That's when he began looking to the sky, literally. He built a monoplane complete with 60 horsepower motor. He studied flying with a famous aviator, Max Lily, and returned to Grinnell in December 1913, where local businessmen persuaded him to start his planned aeroplane company there, instead of in Kansas City, as he had intended. He quickly drew attention for his monoplanes and flew at the 1914 Iowa State Fair as a special attraction. On Saturday, October 17, 1914, Billy Robinson set a new American record for continuous flight. Sponsored by two Des Moines newspapers, he took off from Des Moines at 10.56 a.m., bound for Chicago on a non-stop flight. Weather forced him to actually travel farther to Kentland, Indiana, about 80 miles southeast of Chicago. He landed at 3.40 p.m., having been in the air for four hours and 45 minutes, traveling 390 miles, beating the old American record by 125 miles. By authority of the government, Robinson carried a package of letters from Des Moines and Grinnell with him, making him only the second aviator to carry the U.S. mail. Billy Robinson quickly became famous as a result of his long distance flying feet, but he was not able to enjoy it for long. He died in a plane crash south of Grinnell on March 11, 1916, while attempting to break the American altitude record. He was 31 years of age and accomplished all these feats despite having a weak heart and being blind in one eye. Since 1988, the Grinnell Regional Airport has been named Billy Robinson Field, in honor of the local aviation pioneer who set the American record for non-stop flight on this date in 1914. And that's Iowa Almanac for October 17. More online at IowaAlmanac.com. Until tomorrow, I'm Jeff Stein.