Modern Postal History US Airmail K. David Steidley, Ph.D. Hamilton Township Philatelic Society 2012 1 1918 – 1993 163 Airmail Stamps Issued 121 Face Different, 42 Sub-varieties Qty Percent Domestic Letters 64 39% International Letters 63 39% Domestic Postcards 5 3% International Postcards 14 9% Special Rates (e.g., Zeppelin mail) 17 10% About 60% issued for a rate, the rest as commemoratives. 2 The Wright Brothers Dec. 7, 1903 Bicycle repairmen from Dayton, Ohio. Ages 32 and 36. Kitty Hawk, North Carolina Flight lasted less than 1 minute. 3 Aviation History: 1903 - 1910 1903 First flight by Wrights 1908 Curtis flies 1 Kilometer 1908 Farman flies in a circle 1908 Wrights sell to U.S. Army 1910 Curtis flies Albany to NYC 4 Vin Fiz 1911 First Transcontinental Flight by Cal Rodgers Scott CL2 New York to California in 84 days 5 First U.S. Airmail Flight Sept. 23, 1911 Garden City, Long Island Pilot Earle Ovington 640 Letters. 1,280 Postcards 6 First U.S. Airmail Flight "AEROPLANE STATION No. 1 - GARDEN CITY ESTATES, N.Y." 3 miles to Mineola. On time. On target. Mail bag broke when it hit the ground. 7 Aviation History: 1912 - 1918 . 1914 Sopwith : 86.78 mph. 1917 Zeppelin : 42 mph. 4,050 miles in 96 hrs. 1914-18 Many technical changes . 1918 Curtiss JN-4 “Jenny” 6,813 trainers produced. Thousands of pilots trained. 8 The First 14 Months of Airmail May 13 Issued C3 May 15 1st Flight C2 July 11 Issued July 15 Rate reduced: 16¢ P.O. IN, ARMY OUT : 8/12/1918 Dec. 10 Issued C1 Dec. 15 Rate reduced: 6¢ AIRMAIL ENDS : 7/18/1919 9 Oops! Speed: 65 mph Range: 268 miles Ceiling: 10,000 ft. 10 Washington – Philadelphia – New York May 15, 1918 11 New York – Philadelphia - Washington June 18, 1918 10¢ Special Delivery service included in 24¢ postage. 12 Trial Roundtrip Flight June 6, 1918 New York to Boston, returning on June 11 13 14 15 16 Inaugural Night Flight to Chicago Hadley Field - July 1, 1925 17 18 19 20 21 Some favorite covers from the modern era … 22 July 1, 1950 Domestic Double Rate and Special Delivery 23 May 12, 1951 to Iceland European Rate 24 25 26 27 $1 Air Lift 1968 8-zone examples of this stamp on parcel pieces are rare. 28 29 May 24, 1980 to Switzerland $2.00 Special Delivery 30 Oct. 20,1980 to Cape Verde Private Aerogramme 31 $15.20 Domestic Postage 1971 $86,000 insurance. 32 Postage Due for Business Reply Mail 1977 13¢ for 1st class letter, plus 12¢ BRM service per letter. $1.25 paid for five pieces. 33 Certificate of Mailing 1981 40¢ fee for any class of mail 34 To Belize May 6, 1985 90 days after rate change 35 To Spain April 1, 1988 Issued only 5 days before the 44¢ rate increased to 45¢ on April 3. 36 To Northern Mariana Islands 1994 Domestic rate with four Quimby stamps to pay $2 Certified Mail. 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 Thanks ..……. 44.