Aeronautics

The Department of Aeronautics at William & Mary was initiated in 1931 by President Julian A.C. Chandler in connection with James Riordan School of New York City which was operating out of a steamship berthed at Jamestown. It was the first of its kind at any American institution.

Lieutenant Colonel Earl C. Popp, who taught at the Riordan School, offered his services as a flight instructor to William and Mary students for free in exchange for the use of laboratory facilities at the college for his students. In addition to Popp, Julian Chandler, President Chandler's son, and Yelverton O. Kent served as assistant instructors. Students learned to fly in four different planes, including an open-cockpit Biplane, a Fleet Trainer, a Kitty Hawk and a Curtis Robin. Survivors of the era recall that the planes were painted green, gold and silver. Students were required to take part in courses three times a week and additional laboratory work at the College Airport.

Once students logged 20 hours of flight time, they were eligible to become private pilots. After three years, the college deemed the cost of insurance and maintenance on the planes too much, and the program was shut down. By the end, approximately forty-four students completed training, including one woman, Minnie Cole Savage.

The students of the Aeronautics Department formed the Flight Club in 1931, and won the Loening Cup in 1933.

Material in the SCRC

• University Archives Artifact Collection
• Student Organizations Collection, Flying Club
• Flight School, University Archives Subject File, Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, William & Mary
• The Flat Hat
• Office of the President
• B. Traver Hulse Scrapbook
• University Archives Faculty-Alumni File Collection, W.L. McCutchen.

References

• Flight School, University Archives Subject File, Special Collections Research Center, Earl Gregg Swem Library, William & Mary.

Need help?

To search for further material, visit the Special Collections Research Center's Search Tool List for an overview of the Special Collections Database, W&M Digital Archive, Flat Hat-William & Mary News-Alumni Gazette index, card catalogs, and other tools available to help you find material of interest in William & Mary Libraries Special Collections Research Center.

Questions? Contact the Special Collections Research Center at spcoll@wm.edu or 757-221-3090, or visit the Special Collections Research Center in the Earl Gregg Swem Library at William & Mary.

A Note About The Contents Of This Wiki

The information available in this wiki is the best available from known documents and sources at the time it was written. Unfortunately, many of the early original records of William & Mary were destroyed by fires, military occupation, and the normal effects of time. Information in this wiki is not complete as new information continues to be uncovered in Swem Library's Special Collections Research Center and elsewhere. Researchers are strongly encouraged to use the Special Collections search tools for their research as the information contained in this wiki is by no means comprehensive.