Charles F. Blair Jr
Encyclopedia
Charles F. Blair, Jr. was a United States Air Force
Brigadier General
, United States Navy
aviator
Captain, a test pilot
, an airline pilot, and airline owner. He died in a Grumman Goose
seaplane
crash in the Caribbean
.
degree in mechanical engineering
from the University of Vermont
, and the following year was commissioned an Ensign as a naval aviator. He served with the Naval Reserves at the same time as flying for United Airlines
for seven years. In 1940, Blair became a chief pilot at American Export Airlines, later renamed American Overseas Airlines
, where he trained the pilots.
In World War II
Blair flew with the Naval Air Transport Service
and the Air Transport Command
as well as being a test pilot
for Grumman Aircraft, testing the F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F8F Bearcat and the Martin Mars flying boat
.
Following the war, Blair commanded testing and the first scheduled flights of the Lockheed Constellation
and Boeing Stratocruiser airliner
s of American Overseas Airlines as well as owning and operating Associated Air Transport, Inc.. American Overseas Airlines merged with Pan American World Airways
in 1950, with Blair becoming a Pan Am pilot.
Blair had purchased the P-51 Mustang
"Blaze of Noon" that Paul Mantz
flown to wins in the Bendix Trophy
air races in 1946 and 1947. Rechristened "Excalibur III", Blair began setting records. On 31 January 1951 Blair flew non stop from New York to London to test the jet stream
, traveling 3478 miles (5,597 km) at an average speed of 446 miles per hour (199 m/s) in seven hours and 48 minutes setting a record for a piston engine plane. On 29 May of the same year he flew from Bardufoss
, Norway
to Fairbanks, Alaska
flying 3260 non stop miles across the North Pole
. Captain Blair was awarded the Harmon Trophy
from President Truman and the Gold Medal of the Norwegian Aero Club. The Excalibur III is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
.
Blair resigned his naval commission in 1952 and was later commissioned a Colonel
in the United States Air Force
Reserves while still flying for Pan Am. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1959. In the same year he led two F-100 Super Sabre
s in a nonstop flight from England to Alaska in the first jet fighter flight over the North Pole. Blair earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
for the flight.
Brigadier General Blair became a consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1962. He retired from Pan Am in 1969, founding Antilles Air Boats based in St Croix with the idea of having a flying boat
service from New York to and throughout the Caribbean. In 1974 Blair purchased two Sandringham
flying boats from Ansett Airlines that had serviced the Sydney to Lord Howe Island
route. In 1967 he also acquired the last Sikorsky VS-44
"Excambian" that Antilles operated until it was damaged in 1969.
He co-wrote a novel with A.J Wallis in 1956, Thunder Above, which was filmed as Beyond the Curtain in 1960 and wrote his autobiography
Red Ball in the Sky in 1970.
, whom he had first met on a flight to Ireland in 1947.
He is survived by his wife and four children from two previous marriages: Suzanne, Christopher, Charles Lee and Stephen. His ashes are interred in Arlington National Cemetery
.
, Limerick, Ireland, as a patron of the museum. A significant portion of the museum is dedicated to her late husband Charles.
O'Hara donated her late husband's flying boat (Sikorsky VS-44A) "The Queen of the Skies" to the New England Air Museum
. The restoration of the plane took 8 years and time was donated by former pilots and mechanics in honour of Charles Blair.
A reproduction of Blair's red P-51 used to be displayed on the roof of the Queen's Building at Heathrow airport.
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Brigadier General
Brigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
, United States Navy
United States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
aviator
Aviator
An aviator is a person who flies an aircraft. The first recorded use of the term was in 1887, as a variation of 'aviation', from the Latin avis , coined in 1863 by G. de la Landelle in Aviation Ou Navigation Aérienne...
Captain, a test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
, an airline pilot, and airline owner. He died in a Grumman Goose
Grumman Goose
The Grumman G-21 Goose amphibious aircraft was designed as an eight-seat "commuter" plane for businessmen in the Long Island area. The Goose was Grumman’s first monoplane to fly, its first twin-engined aircraft, and its first aircraft to enter commercial airline service...
seaplane
Seaplane
A seaplane is a fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing on water. Seaplanes that can also take off and land on airfields are a subclass called amphibian aircraft...
crash in the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
.
Life and career
Charles Blair learned to fly in San Diego and made his first solo at the age of 19. In 1931, he earned a Bachelor of ScienceBachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
degree in mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering
Mechanical engineering is a discipline of engineering that applies the principles of physics and materials science for analysis, design, manufacturing, and maintenance of mechanical systems. It is the branch of engineering that involves the production and usage of heat and mechanical power for the...
from the University of Vermont
University of Vermont
The University of Vermont comprises seven undergraduate schools, an honors college, a graduate college, and a college of medicine. The Honors College does not offer its own degrees; students in the Honors College concurrently enroll in one of the university's seven undergraduate colleges or...
, and the following year was commissioned an Ensign as a naval aviator. He served with the Naval Reserves at the same time as flying for United Airlines
United Airlines
United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees United Air Lines, Inc., is the world's largest airline with 86,852 employees (which includes the entire holding company United Continental...
for seven years. In 1940, Blair became a chief pilot at American Export Airlines, later renamed American Overseas Airlines
American Overseas Airlines
American Overseas Airlines was an airline that operated between the United States and Europe between 1945 and 1950. It was headquartered in Midtown Manhattan, New York City.-Early history:...
, where he trained the pilots.
In World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
Blair flew with the Naval Air Transport Service
Naval Air Transport Service
The Naval Air Transport Service or NATS, was a branch of the United States Navy from 1941 to 1948. At its height during WW II, NATS’s totaled four wings of 18 squadrons that operated 540 aircraft with 26,000 personnel assigned....
and the Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command
Air Transport Command is an inactive United States Air Force unit. Its mission was to meet the urgent demand for the speedy reinforcement of the United States' military bases worldwide during World War II, using an air supply system to supplement surface transport...
as well as being a test pilot
Test pilot
A test pilot is an aviator who flies new and modified aircraft in specific maneuvers, known as flight test techniques or FTTs, allowing the results to be measured and the design to be evaluated....
for Grumman Aircraft, testing the F6F Hellcat, F7F Tigercat, F8F Bearcat and the Martin Mars flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
.
Following the war, Blair commanded testing and the first scheduled flights of the Lockheed Constellation
Lockheed Constellation
The Lockheed Constellation was a propeller-driven airliner powered by four 18-cylinder radial Wright R-3350 engines. It was built by Lockheed between 1943 and 1958 at its Burbank, California, USA, facility. A total of 856 aircraft were produced in numerous models, all distinguished by a...
and Boeing Stratocruiser airliner
Airliner
An airliner is a large fixed-wing aircraft for transporting passengers and cargo. Such aircraft are operated by airlines. Although the definition of an airliner can vary from country to country, an airliner is typically defined as an aircraft intended for carrying multiple passengers in commercial...
s of American Overseas Airlines as well as owning and operating Associated Air Transport, Inc.. American Overseas Airlines merged with Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
in 1950, with Blair becoming a Pan Am pilot.
P-51 Mustang
The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...
"Blaze of Noon" that Paul Mantz
Paul Mantz
Albert Paul Mantz was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races.-Early years:...
flown to wins in the Bendix Trophy
Bendix trophy
The Bendix Trophy is a U.S. aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental, point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Air Races. Initial prize money for the winners was $15,000...
air races in 1946 and 1947. Rechristened "Excalibur III", Blair began setting records. On 31 January 1951 Blair flew non stop from New York to London to test the jet stream
Jet stream
Jet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents found in the atmospheres of some planets, including Earth. The main jet streams are located near the tropopause, the transition between the troposphere and the stratosphere . The major jet streams on Earth are westerly winds...
, traveling 3478 miles (5,597 km) at an average speed of 446 miles per hour (199 m/s) in seven hours and 48 minutes setting a record for a piston engine plane. On 29 May of the same year he flew from Bardufoss
Bardufoss
Bardufoss is a small village in the municipality of Målselv in Troms county, Norway. The population was 2,580. Bardufoss is located in the Målselvdalen valley near the confluence of the Barduelva and Målselva rivers. It is located about north of the city of Narvik and about south of the city...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
to Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks, Alaska
Fairbanks is a home rule city in and the borough seat of the Fairbanks North Star Borough in the U.S. state of Alaska.Fairbanks is the largest city in the Interior region of Alaska, and second largest in the state behind Anchorage...
flying 3260 non stop miles across the North Pole
North Pole
The North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets its surface...
. Captain Blair was awarded the Harmon Trophy
Harmon Trophy
The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix , and aeronaut...
from President Truman and the Gold Medal of the Norwegian Aero Club. The Excalibur III is now on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
The Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum 's annex at Washington Dulles International Airport in the Chantilly area of Fairfax County, Virginia, United States....
.
Blair resigned his naval commission in 1952 and was later commissioned a Colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
in the United States Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Reserves while still flying for Pan Am. He was promoted to Brigadier General in 1959. In the same year he led two F-100 Super Sabre
F-100 Super Sabre
The North American F-100 Super Sabre was a supersonic jet fighter aircraft that served with the United States Air Force from 1954 to 1971 and with the Air National Guard until 1979. The first of the Century Series collection of USAF jet fighters, it was the first USAF fighter capable of...
s in a nonstop flight from England to Alaska in the first jet fighter flight over the North Pole. Blair earned the Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
Distinguished Flying Cross (United States)
The Distinguished Flying Cross is a medal awarded to any officer or enlisted member of the United States armed forces who distinguishes himself or herself in support of operations by "heroism or extraordinary achievement while participating in an aerial flight, subsequent to November 11, 1918." The...
for the flight.
Brigadier General Blair became a consultant to the National Aeronautics and Space Administration in 1962. He retired from Pan Am in 1969, founding Antilles Air Boats based in St Croix with the idea of having a flying boat
Flying boat
A flying boat is a fixed-winged seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a float plane as it uses a purpose-designed fuselage which can float, granting the aircraft buoyancy. Flying boats may be stabilized by under-wing floats or by wing-like projections from the fuselage...
service from New York to and throughout the Caribbean. In 1974 Blair purchased two Sandringham
Short Sandringham
- External links :* -See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Jackson, A.J British Civil Aircraft since 1919 - Volume Three. London: Putnam & Company Ltd, 1974. ISBN 0-370-10014-X....
flying boats from Ansett Airlines that had serviced the Sydney to Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island
Lord Howe Island is an irregularly crescent-shaped volcanic remnant in the Tasman Sea between Australia and New Zealand, directly east of mainland Port Macquarie, and about from Norfolk Island. The island is about 11 km long and between 2.8 km and 0.6 km wide with an area of...
route. In 1967 he also acquired the last Sikorsky VS-44
Sikorsky VS-44
-References:NotesBibliography** early article on VS-44 with cutaway drawing of VS-44 on of three page article.* excellent photos...
"Excambian" that Antilles operated until it was damaged in 1969.
He co-wrote a novel with A.J Wallis in 1956, Thunder Above, which was filmed as Beyond the Curtain in 1960 and wrote his autobiography
Autobiography
An autobiography is a book about the life of a person, written by that person.-Origin of the term:...
Red Ball in the Sky in 1970.
Personal life
On March 11, 1968, Blair married the actress Maureen O'HaraMaureen O'Hara
Maureen O'Hara is an Irish film actress and singer. The famously red-headed O'Hara has been noted for playing fiercely passionate heroines with a highly sensible attitude. She often worked with director John Ford and longtime friend John Wayne...
, whom he had first met on a flight to Ireland in 1947.
Death
On September 2, 1978, Blair was piloting a Grumman Goose from St. Croix to St. Thomas when the plane crashed into the ocean due to engine failure. He and three passengers were killed, seven passengers were severely injured.He is survived by his wife and four children from two previous marriages: Suzanne, Christopher, Charles Lee and Stephen. His ashes are interred in Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery
Arlington National Cemetery in Arlington County, Virginia, is a military cemetery in the United States of America, established during the American Civil War on the grounds of Arlington House, formerly the estate of the family of Confederate general Robert E. Lee's wife Mary Anna Lee, a great...
.
Legacy
In 2006, O'Hara attended the Grand Reopening and Expansion of the Flying Boats Museum in FoynesFoynes
Foynes is a village and major port in County Limerick in the midwest of Ireland, located at the edge of hilly land on the southern bank of the Shannon Estuary. The population of the town was 606 as of the 2006 census.-Foynes's role in aviation:...
, Limerick, Ireland, as a patron of the museum. A significant portion of the museum is dedicated to her late husband Charles.
O'Hara donated her late husband's flying boat (Sikorsky VS-44A) "The Queen of the Skies" to the New England Air Museum
New England Air Museum
The New England Air Museum is located at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, USA. The museum is housed in three large display buildings consisting of more than of exhibit space...
. The restoration of the plane took 8 years and time was donated by former pilots and mechanics in honour of Charles Blair.
A reproduction of Blair's red P-51 used to be displayed on the roof of the Queen's Building at Heathrow airport.