Arthur John Hartman (July 14, 1888 – October 19, 1970) was an American pilot and early aircraft builder.

Biography

He was born on July 14, 1888, in

Burlington, Iowa Burlington is a city in, and the county seat of, Des Moines County, Iowa, United States. The population was 23,982 in the 2020 census, a decline from the 26,839 population in 2000. Burlington is the center of a micropolitan area, which includes ...

. Hartman ran away from home at the age of 15 working his first job at the

Illinois Steel Boiler Company Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Roc ...

in Chicago, Illinois, and offering his labor for free at the neighboring Goddard Balloon company. He soloed in a balloon on 6 September 1903, three months before the first heavier than air flight by the Wright Brothers. Hartman would demonstrate parachute drops from a balloon, and at one point from a water tower resulting in a landing in power lines that left him unconscious. Later in 1907, Hartman and a partner built a 67 ft long airship. In 1910 Hartman built the

Hartman monoplane The 1910 Hartman monoplane or Hartman original was the first aircraft built and flown in Iowa. Design and development Arthur J. Hartman built his first monoplane in Burlington, Iowa, completing the project in 1910. The monoplane was modeled af ...

, based on a Blériot XI design. His small hop performed on 10 May 1910 became the first flight of an aircraft in Iowa. Hartman founded the short-lived Hartman-Sellers Airplane Company in 1919 with a fleet of one aircraft that produced more income off the hay from the airfield than barnstorming and operations. The Burlington Airplane Company was founded next after World War I to sell Curtiss Jenny services. Hartman remained active in aviation throughout his life founding Burlington Municipal Airport in 1927 and operating a flight school. In 1956 Hartman demonstrated the Hartman Air-Bike, a series of 50 hydrogen balloons propelled by a suspended pedal-powered frame with a propeller. In 1961, Hartman completed a scratch-built Curtiss Jenny, and demonstrated it at the age of 73. He died on October 19, 1970, in

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hartman, Arthur Members of the Early Birds of Aviation People from Burlington, Iowa American balloonists 1888 births 1970 deaths