Many from the book
"Pioneer Pilot"
edited by his daughter
Jo Lees Cooper
WALTER E. LEES 1887 - 1957 (Click On Name For Brief Biographical Sketch) |
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Many from the book "Pioneer Pilot" edited by his daughter Jo Lees Cooper |
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| Ralph & Jo Lees Cooper | Walter E. Lees |
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Walter E. Lees, Pioneer Pilot, soloed in 1912 and continued in aviation until 1945.
He flew approximately 12,000 hours and handled over 60 different types of aircraft. In 1931, he set a non-refueling endurance
record in a Packard-Diesel powered Bellanca which stood until 1986
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| Gallery 1, 1911-1912 Early Years |
Gallery 2, 1912-1915 Early Years & North Island |
Gallery 3, 1915 Chicago & Lake Geneva |
Gallery 4 1915-1917 Newport News World War I |
| Gallery 5 1920-1925 Johnson Airplane & Supply |
Gallery 6, 1923-1924 Barnstorming Air Races |
Gallery 7, 1927-1931 First Diesel Flight Stinson, Buhl |
Gallery 8, 1931 Endurance Flight Packard Diesel |
| Gallery 9, 1931 Post Endurance Flight, |
Gallery 10, 1931-1993 Early Birds Miscellaneous |
Gallery 11, 1940-1946 War Years South Pacific |
Gallery 12, 1947-1957 Post War Turlock, CA |
| Biographical Briefs |
Chapter Excerpts |
Ordering the Book | Links |
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OF AVIATION, Inc. An organization of pioneers who flew solo before December 17, 1916 |
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We, The Early Birds of Aviation, Inc.,
in order to encourage, promote and foster international interest in aeronautics and astronautics, and to preserve the history of all pioneers in
aerospace, and for the purpose of advancing and promulgating all forms of human related flight do ordain, establish and adopt this
constitution. In Walter's collection of memorabilia I found some 25 issues of the CHIRP, the official organ of the Early Birds. The issues extend from June, 1936 through July, 1995, with many missed copies in the sequence. In spite of this, I found much information, both photos and stories, which I used in the building of my Pioneer Pilot website. Now I am building a new website which features information on all of the original members of the Early Birds. In addition, I have entries for some 20 or more non-members, who were important in the early days. I hope this will prove to be a valuable online resource to the friends, relatives and other interested researchers of the group. To that end, I have already added a page for each of the 598 Original Early Birds of Aviation. So far I have been able to add biographies, some very brief, some extensive, for more than 450 of them. More will be added as time and materials permit. If you are interested in the subject, I invite you to click on the logo or titles and visit the site, still under construction. If you have any photos or stories which you would like to share or inquiries which I might help you to answer, feel free to contact me. (7-6-2003) |