Professional Pilot, October 2017

crashed severely injuring Bennett A short time later a quiet airmail pilot named Charles Lindbergh flew into history and immortality by crossing the Atlantic and winning the Orteig prize on May 21st 1927 Somewhat ironically Lindbergh had applied to be the pilot on Byrds North Pole expedition but turned in his paperwork too late for consideration Where might Lucky Lindy have ended up had he been selected to fly for Byrds team The Bremen accident Greely Island Canada After the Lindbergh triumph dozens more aviators tried to cross the Atlantic with mixed success A Junkers W33L single engine monoplane named the Bremen made a forced landing during 1 attempt and was stranded on a remote island near the Gulf of St Lawrence in early 1928 Helping their fellow airmen Bennett and copilot Bernt Balchen set off to rescue and repair the downed aircraft and crew despite both suffering from severe colds Arriving in Canada Bennett collapsed and was taken to a hospital in Quebec City John D Rockefeller who had helped finance the North Pole expedition received news of the airmans deteriorating health and offered his full resources to save his life Charles Lindbergh bravely flew a pneumonia serum through a blinding snowstorm to save Bennett only to discover on arrival that it would not benefit the type of pneumonia he had Bennett died with his wife Cora and Cdr Richard Byrd at his bedside a few days later He was only 38 years old Grateful recognition to Bennett Floyd Bennett Field FBF Brooklyn Upon news of his death New York Citys 1st municipal airport was named in his honor and officially opened in 1931 FBF was witness to the greatest aviators of any generation during the 1930s through the 1960s FBF served as headquarters for the commissioning and deployment of the Navys aircraft supporting WWII was the center for military helicopter development and also served as the 1st helicopter training facility for allied pilots deploying overseas The airport gradually faded from 112 PROFESSIONAL PILOT October 2017 public use by the 1970s and is now home only to the New York City Police Department Aviation unit flying airborne law enforcement helicopters Its still opened occasionally for nostalgic fly ins and memorial events Hometown honors Floyd Bennett Memorial GFL Glens Falls Regional Joining a very elite few Floyd Bennett had a 2nd airport named after him in 1998 near his hometown of Warrensburg NY just north of Albany The longest runway is 5000 ft x150 ft and has a single FBO called Rich Air The largest aircraft into GFL has been the Lockheed C5B Galaxy for an airshow Warren County commissioners named the field after Bennett in honor of his birthplace and dedication to Warrensburg Summary Of particular interest to present day airmen FBF in Brooklyn is still open to the public In addition to the main terminal now restored as a museum to the history of the airport it has a very interesting aviation museum called HARP Historic Aircraft Restoration Project at Hangar B check times of operation housing a number of classic aircraft These include a Lockheed Vega Grumman Goose Douglas A4 Skyhawk Lockheed P2V Neptune Consolidated PBY and others up to a Boeing 377 KC97 Stratocruiser with much more in between It is worth the short drive from Teterboro to Brooklyn to visit the aviation museum and tour the main terminal where much of our US aviation history has been made and by which we all have benefited It fills in nicely for those long layovers when pilots are wondering what to do David Bjellos is the Aviation Manager for Florida Crystals flying a GIV SP S 76C and Bell 407 He also serves on the Board of Directors for the Helicopter Association International HAI FBF was at its zenith in 1943 during WWII Hundreds of aircraft and airmen deployed from this airfield to Europe in support of the war effort Capt Richard Byrd with the Fokker plane in which he made the historic flight to the north Pole and back Floyd Bennett Field circa 1933 Wiley Posts white Lockheed Vega Winnie Mae can be seen inside