Elm Farm Ollie (known as "Nellie Jay" and post-flight as "Sky Queen") was the first cow to fly in an

airplane An airplane or aeroplane (informally plane) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad ...

, doing so on 18 February 1930, as part of the International Air Exposition in St. Louis, Missouri,

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. On the same trip, which covered 72 miles in a

Ford Trimotor The Ford Trimotor (also called the "Tri-Motor", and nicknamed the "Tin Goose") is an American three-engined transport aircraft. Production started in 1925 by the companies of Henry Ford and ended on June 7, 1933, after 199 had been made. It ...

airplane from

Bismarck, Missouri Bismarck is a city in St. Francois County, Missouri, United States. The population was 1,546 as of the 2010 census. History Bismarck, situated in the western part of St. Francois County, owes its origin and early growth to the farming interest ...

, to St. Louis, she also became the first cow milked in flight. This was done ostensibly to allow scientists to observe midair effects on animals, as well as for publicity purposes. A St. Louis newspaper trumpeted her mission as being "to blaze a trail for the transportation of livestock by air." Elm Farm Ollie was reported to have been an unusually productive Guernsey cow, requiring three milkings a day and producing 24

quart The quart (symbol: qt) is an English unit of volume equal to a quarter gallon. Three kinds of quarts are currently used: the liquid quart and dry quart of the US customary system and the of the British imperial system. All are roughly equ ...

s of milk during the flight itself.

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

native Elsworth W. Bunce milked her, becoming the first man to milk a cow mid-flight. Elm Farm Ollie's milk was sealed into paper cartons which were parachuted to spectators below.

Charles Lindbergh Charles Augustus Lindbergh (February 4, 1902 – August 26, 1974) was an American aviator, military officer, author, inventor, and activist. On May 20–21, 1927, Lindbergh made the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris, a distance o ...

reportedly received a glass of the milk. Although Elm Farm Ollie was born and raised in Bismarck, Missouri, it is largely in the dairy state of

where her fame has lived on.

References

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External links

''Tale of a flying cow is milked for all it's worth.'' South Coast Today
article about airshow; no mention of cow

article about airshow; no mention of cow History of aviation Individual cows History of Missouri 1930 in aviation Individual animals in the United States {{Cattle-stub