Roger Quincy Williams (April 30, 1894 - August 12, 1976) was an American aviator. He established The Roger Q. Williams School of Aeronautics. He designed the
Yankee Aerocoupe.
Biography
He was born in
Brooklyn, New York
Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
on April 30, 1894.
In July 1929 Williams, with
Lewis Yancey, broke the over-water flying record by making a non-stop flight from
Old Orchard Beach, Maine
Old Orchard Beach is a resort town and census-designated place (CDP) in York County, Maine, United States. The population was 8,960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Portland
Portland most commonly refers to:
* Portland, Oregon, the larges ...
to
Santander, Spain
Santander () is the capital of the autonomous community and historical region of Cantabria situated on the north coast of Spain. It is a port city located east of Gijón and west of Bilbao with a population of 172,000 (2017).
It is believed to ...
. The 3,400 mile flight took 31 hours and 30 minutes. After minor repairs in Spain, the
Bellanca
AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983, it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, although it was preceded by p ...
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 confi ...
continued on to Rome.
In 1937 he filed for
bankruptcy
Bankruptcy is a legal process through which people or other entities who cannot repay debts to creditors may seek relief from some or all of their debts. In most jurisdictions, bankruptcy is imposed by a court order, often initiated by the debtor ...
.
During
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
, Williams served with the
United States Army Air Corps
The United States Army Air Corps (USAAC) was the aerial warfare service component of the United States Army between 1926 and 1941. After World War I, as early aviation became an increasingly important part of modern warfare, a philosophical r ...
. Between 1942 and 1946 Williams served with the
United States Army Air Forces
The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...
. Williams wrote ''Flying to the Moon and Halfway Back'' in 1949.
In 1971, Williams received a
National Aviation Hall of Fame
The National Aviation Hall of Fame (NAHF) is a museum, annual awards ceremony and learning and research center that was founded in 1962 as an Ohio non-profit corporation in Dayton, Ohio, United States, known as the "Birthplace of Aviation" with it ...
award from the
OX-5
The Curtiss OX-5 was an early V-8 American liquid-cooled aircraft engine built by Curtiss. It was the first American-designed aircraft engine to enter mass production, although it was considered obsolete when it did so in 1917.Smith, 1981, page ...
Club.
Williams died in
Alameda, California
Alameda ( ; ; Spanish for "Avenue (landscape), tree-lined path") is a city in Alameda County, California, located in the East Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), East Bay region of the Bay Area. The city is primarily located on Alameda (island), Alam ...
on August 12, 1976.
[California Death Index 1940-1997]
References
Further reading
*”Flights and Fliers” ''Time Magazine'', June 17, 1929
*”Wives of Fliers Happy”, ''The New York Times'', July 11, 1929
*Heinmuller, John Paul Virgil. ''Man's Fight to Fly; Famous World-Record Flights and a Chronology of Aviation''. New York: Funk & Wagnalls Co, 1944.
*Roseberry, Cecil. ''The Challenging Skies; The Colorful Story of Aviation's Most Exciting Years, 1919-1939''. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday, 1966.
*Scott, Catherine D. ''Aeronautics and Space Flight Collections''. New York: Haworth Press, 1985.
*University of Wyoming, D. C. Thompson, and John Hanks. ''Guide to Transportation History Resources at the American Heritage Center''. Laramie: The Center, 1996.
External links
*
Old Orchard Beach AirfieldOX-5 Aviation PioneersRoger Q. Williams papers
at the University of Wyoming
The University of Wyoming (UW) is a public land-grant research university in Laramie, Wyoming. It was founded in March 1886, four years before the territory was admitted as the 44th state, and opened in September 1887. The University of Wyoming ...
- American Heritage Center
The American Heritage Center is the University of Wyoming's repository of manuscripts, rare books, and the university archives. Its collections focus on Wyoming and the Rocky Mountain West (including politics, settlement, and western trails) and ...
1894 births
1976 deaths
American test pilots
United States Army Air Forces officers
United States Army Air Service pilots of World War I
United States Army Air Forces pilots of World War II
Aviation pioneers
American aviation record holders
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