CLYDE CESSNAAND THE BIRTH OF A LEGEND

The automobile salesman turned pioneer aviator traded wheels for wings and pursued his dream of flying, building and selling airplanes.

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By Edward H. Phillips

Roy Cessna closed his eyes tightly and turned his head to the side as salt dust struck him in the face. He dug in his heels and gripped the Queen monoplane in a vain attempt to restrain the machine. The engine roared, belching acrid exhaust fumes that cloaked the airplane in clouds of black smoke.

Small chunks of salt crust smacked Cessna in the legs and ankles. The monoplane vibrated, straining to be free. Then the pilot signaled–Cessna released his grip and quickly stepped clear of the machine. Shielding his face from the flying salt, he anxiously watched as the fragile aircraft gathered speed for takeoff on the Great Salt Plains near Jet, Okla.

The ship lifted from the hard ground after rolling only a few hundred feet and sailed aloft to a mere 50 feet. The pilot struggled to keep the tiny craft level as the unrelenting winds buffeted both man and machine. Suddenly, a gust! One wing dipped alarmingly low. Gritting his teeth, the aviator made quick, stabbing inputs to the wing-warping controls in an effort to remedy the ship's balance. Lethargically, the craft responded.

Without warning, another gust struck the machine, then another. As the pilot fought to control the reluctant monoplane, its engine overheated and began to run rough, losing precious power. Although he had been in the air less than one minute, the aviator knew it was time to land. Wisely, he shut off the engine's ignition and began the treacherous descent to the ground. The winds seemed determined to destroy the ship. Gripping the stick with both hands, the pilot managed to keep the craft headed toward terra firma. Then, almost as suddenly as they had come, the winds mercifully subsided–but only for a fleeting moment.

The time had come to land. The salt flats rushed up at the monoplane. "Back stick!" the pilot thought out loud. "Work the rudder bar. Keep her steady," he murmured to himself. Without warning, the Queen stalled. It struck the ground hard, bouncing back into the air briefly before descending a second time. The little ship hit the salt crust again, teetered on one wheel as it rolled out of control for a moment, then suddenly swung its tail around where its nose had been and came to a halt, rocking gently in the wind.

Clyde Cessna sat motionless in the cockpit. He sighed with relief at having survived another flight without damaging his expensive airplane or doing bodily harm to himself. He was pleased with his performance and that of the Queen monoplane, which he had dubbed Silverwing because of its color. After all, like the Wright Brothers eight years before, Cessna was teaching himself to fly. He obviously had much to learn.

As the Elbridge engine hissed steam, its four cylinders crackling as they cooled, Roy Cessna ran up to the cockpit and shook hands with his younger brother. It had been a good flight. Despite the dangerous winds, Clyde had gained a few more moments of valuable experience in the air and had landed without incident. The engine had continued to run for the duration of the flight, and all of the controls functioned properly. Indeed, the Cessna brothers were fast becoming true aviators.

It was June 1911. For months the two brothers had failed to fly without "a crackup," as they called their unsuccessful attempts. Now the persistent brothers were finally making successful flights of a few hundred feet–albeit straight ahead.

They would need to learn much more — including the dangerous turn maneuver — and to fly farther and higher before they could begin flight demonstrations for the public. In 1911, airplanes were a novelty everywhere. In rural farm states such as Oklahoma and Kansas they were virtually unknown. As a result, people would pay good money to see one fly. It was the prospect of such profit that induced Clyde Cessna to sell his successful Overland and Clark automobile dealership in Enid, Okla., to pursue aviation.

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