Cecil Arthur Butler (1902 - 1980)
was an Australian businessman who established
Butler Air Transport Co.
Buttler was born in
Warwickshire, England, and migrated to Australia with his family in about 1910.
In 1917 he was apprenticed to become a tool, jig and gauge maker at the
Lithgow Small Arms Factory. In 1921 he transferred to the
Australian Aircraft & Engineering Co. Ltd at
Mascot, Sydney. In 1923 he obtained his ground engineer's licence,
in 1927, his pilot's licence.
In 1930 he designed, built and tested a small, all-metal, high-winged
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing con ...
.
In 1931, he piloted a
Comper Swift
The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a British 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company Ltd of Hooton Park, Cheshire.
Design and development
In March 1929 Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force and form ...
from England to Australia in the record time of 9 days, 1 hours and 40 minutes. In 1934 with the financial help of his wife's uncle, P. S. Garling,
he won the tender for the
Charleville (Queensland) to
Cootamundra (New South Wales) leg of the England-Australia airmail route, servicing the route with
DH.84 Dragon aircraft.
Four years later, with the successful completion of the contract, his company,
Butler Air Transport Co. continued as a civil airline, serving centres in New South Wales and Queensland.
The airline later became
Airlines of New South Wales.
In 1958 he became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (
OBE)
Gallery
File:Arthur Butler being congratulated by crowd at his home-town, Lithgow, after breaking the England to Australia flight record, 1931.jpg, Butler being congratulated by crowd at Lithgow, after his England-Australia record breaking flight
Arthur Butler and the Comper Swift aeroplane G-ABRE in field, 1931.jpg, Butler and the Comper Swift, 1931
Publications
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See also
Butler Air Transport for the story of the civil airline he founded and managed.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Cecil Arthur
1902 births
1982 deaths
Australian businesspeople
Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Australian aviation record holders
Australian aviators
Australian company founders