This Day in Aviation History
July 5th, 1939
First scheduled airmail flight flown by an autogyro.
 
 _In 1939 the Post Office Department advertised for bids to fly airmail by autogyro from Philadelphia’s 30th Street Post Office roof to Camden, New Jersey’s Central Airport. The Post Office roof was ten stories high and about a city block square._
 
Eastern Airlines was the successful bidder at $3.86 per mile. The distance was 6 miles. Five round trips a day were flown six days a week. Kellett was selected as the builder of the autogyro which was basically the same as the KD-1A except that a mail pit replaced the front cockpit. An enclosure covered the rear cockpit. All details of construction were the same as the KD-1A. A very high percentage of scheduled flights were completed. The pilot was Kellett’s test pilot, John M. Miller. By act of Congress, all civil air regulations were waived and the operation left to Miller’s discretion. The first scheduled flight was July 5, 1939 and the last flight, July 4, 1940. Three hundred pounds of mail could be carried per flight….
 
Source:
Aviastar, Kellett KD-1B: http://gstv.us/29uRhjV
 
YouTube, The First Air Mail Flight from the roof of the Post Office @ 30th Street in Phila PA to Camden NJ.: http://gstv.us/29uR0gF
 
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Photo from: http://gstv.us/29uRXFM
 
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