Captain Royal Leonard (April 3, 1905 – June 21, 1962), was a Texan pilot who previously flew for

TWA Trans World Airlines (TWA) was a major American airline which operated from 1930 until 2001. It was formed as Transcontinental & Western Air to operate a route from New York City to Los Angeles via St. Louis, Kansas City, and other stops, with ...

between 1935–1941. He was first the personal pilot of

Chang Hsueh-Liang Chang Hsüeh-liang (, June 3, 1901 – October 15, 2001), also romanized as Zhang Xueliang, nicknamed the "Young Marshal" (少帥), known in his later life as Peter H. L. Chang, was the effective ruler of Northeast China and much of norther ...

, and then that of

Chiang Kai-shek Chiang Kai-shek (31 October 1887 – 5 April 1975), also known as Chiang Chung-cheng and Jiang Jieshi, was a Chinese Nationalist politician, revolutionary, and military leader who served as the leader of the Republic of China (ROC) from 1928 ...

. He was born on April 3, 1905, in

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 ...

. In 1935 Leonard was first to fly the new Gee Bee Q.E.D. in the Bendix Race. However, Leonard was forced to land in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, due to engine troubles. In 1942, he published an autobiography called ''I Flew for China''. He died on June 21, 1962, in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

, at age 57.

Legacy

In 2011, Barry S. Martin published a book titled Forgotten Aviator: The Adventures of Royal Leonard.

References

External links

From the book's back cover:
OUT OF WAR-TORN SKIES, A LEGENDARY PILOT IS BORN *

at China National Aviation Corporation American aviators 1905 births 1962 deaths {{Aviation-bio-stub