Pub. 7 2017 Issue 2

9 MINING FOCUS railroad to specific destinations, along with a box of spare parts, a large tent for a hangar, and enough necessities to get the aviator through an airshow. After the planes got to their destination, they were assembled again and flown around the local area. Going a larger distance was unusual, which is why William Randolph Hurst, in October 1910, offered a $50,000 prize to anyone who could fly in 30 days across the continental U.S. It was a pretty safe offer, considering that no airplane at the time was dependable enough to fly for any great distance. It was, however, enough to spark the imagination and fuel the dreams of the few aviators making the airshow circuit, which largely made up the entire flight industry at the time. In 1911, eight years after Orville andWilbur Wright made history, Salt Lake City was already applying Brigham Young’s famous slogan (“This is the place”) to aviation, had set up a landing strip located west of Salt Lake City on Basque Flats, and was also able to host a midair flying daredevil competition called the “Great International Aviation Carnival.” In July of 1914, World War I had started in Europe; by August, all of Europe had chosen sides. The war essentially divided Europe in half —England, France, and Russia against Germany, Austria, and Hungary — and escalated into the largest war the world had ever known. Meanwhile, President WoodrowWilson was working hard to keep the U.S. neutral and out of the war. That proved impossible, and the U.S. entered WWI in April of 1917. There was no such thing as U.S. aviation in 1917. Anthony Martini’s book, Flying Machines Over Zion, states that the entire industry consisted of roughly 60 officers able to pilot a plane, and about 300 substandard planes that were unfit for air combat but could be used for training. During the early years of WWI, therefore, many U.S. aviators were trained by the English and the French because their aviation programs were well ahead of what the U.S. had accomplished. The American pilots flew English and French “reject” planes after their training. It wasn’t until 1918, three months before the war ended, that the U.S. flew its first combat mission in American-made planes. Mail delivery by air began on May 15, 1919, when the first segment of a transcontinental route was completed between Chicago and Cleveland. In 1920, Salt Lake City bought another 100 acres and named them after John P. Woodward, a local pilot who crashed and died during a snowstormwhile flyingmail betweenWyoming and Salt Lake City. Jack Dempsey, the world heavyweight boxing champion from July 4, 1919 until his defeat by Gene Tunney on September 23, 1926, took part in the dedication ceremony. (Jack Dempsey was born June 24, 1895, grew up in Manassa, Colorado and Provo, Utah, and had ties to the LDS church because his parents converted in West Virginia about 15 years before he was born. “I’m proud to be a Mormon,” he once said. “And ashamed to be the Jack Mormon that I am.”) Unger Aviation was founded at Woodward Field in 1922 by Ken Unger, and was bought out in 1925 by “Tommy Tailspin” Thompson, who renamed the company Thompson Flying Services. Thompson became a local hero because of the air shows he staged. Pilots walked on the wings of their planes, did barrel rolls, and flew loops to entertain crowds. He died in a plane crash on San Francisco Bay in 1937 while piloting a DC-3 for United Airlines. The Salt Lake International Airport has a plaque honoring Thompson’s life on display in the terminals. AVIATION AND MINING continued on page 10 Utah’s location meant it could act as a midpoint for travelers across the U.S. for flight as well as for train travel. Utah’s leaders understood that being a transportation hub for the railroad was an economic benefit for Utah’s citizens. As air travel developed and became more important, they were soon excited by more than the thought of being able to fly. They understood that the new industry could benefit Utah, and they wanted to be a part of that development.