Page 86 - Demo

The 1936 American Legion Air Show at the Purdue Airport, was organized by the Legion%u2019s Harry R. Schilling, and Captain Lawrence I. Aretz, the airport%u2019s operations manager. Involving several weeks of planning, the event included outstanding stunt pilots as well as something previously seen only at national air meets%u2014a demonstration %u201cof the latest equipment in the field of two-way communication between planes and ground stations.%u201d Participants included Lieut. H. B. Butterfield of Chicago%u2019s Great Lakes Naval Training Base, and Mike (The Flying Irishman) Murphy of Kokomo, a well known stunt pilot. During a sky-writing demonstration over Lafayette, Murphy wrote %u201cPurdue Air Show%u201d in impressive, giant, smoky letters. Also sharing top billing was Leona Harper of Indianapolis, one of only two women who were licensed commercial pilots in Indiana, and Ohio%u2019s Earl Stine, a %u201cdelayed bat-wing parachutist.%u201dWhen it opened in 1930, the Purdue Airport was the first airport owned and operated by a university in the country. As such, it was soon selected by the federal government for aeronautical research and instruction. Initially, however, the airport was bare bones, rarely used, and consisted of only a windsock and an emergency landing area. That changed after local industrialist David Ross donated 360 acres to the facility, and the Federal Civil Works Administration offered to help develop the land. With Captain Aretz in charge, the upgrading began in early 1934 with the installation of lights, water lines, and a new runway. On September 4, 1934, the new, much better equipped facility opened. Interestingly, during this time period, Amelia Earhart was employed as a Purdue career counselor and an adviser to its Department of Aeronautics. Earhart had been recruited by Purdue%u2019s President Edward Elliott, who was impressed by her spirit of adventure, and her message to women to risk living out their dreams. In April of 1936 a fund was created by the Purdue Research Foundation, which purchased the Lockheed Electra she and navigator Fred Noonan used in their attempt to fly around the world. Unfortunately, the flight ended their lives somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.