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Fred and Al Key were brothers who performed barnstorming events and other activities during the early 20th century. They are best known for their flight endurance record, which they cemented at twenty-seven days. They also invented a valve for aerial refueling that became the industry standard for the United States military.
Brothers Fred and Al Key became interested in aviation after World War I. They started doing some barnstorming in the 1920s and continued their interest as the managers of the Meridian Municipal Airport, in Meridian, Mississippi.
With the onset of the Great Depression, the city of Meridian began doing whatever it could to save money. The airport was considered unnecessary, given the economic conditions, and was slated to be closed.
The Key brothers had no desire to see this happen, so they came up with a plan to draw attention to Meridian and its airport by breaking the standing flight endurance record of 23 days. [1] At that time, air-to-air refueling was a dangerous affair. If gasoline was spilled, which often happened, it could be ignited by the hot engine exhaust.
To solve this problem, the Key brothers, along with local inventor and mechanic A. D. Hunter, invented a spill-free fueling system that consisted of a valve on the end of the fuel nozzle which was opened by a probe in the neck of the fuel tank. The valve would not allow fuel to flow unless it was inserted into the fuel tank. During fueling, if the nozzle was removed from the tank, the fuel would automatically stop flowing. This nozzle was later adopted by the US Army Air Corps, and is still in use today with some modifications.
Refueling the plane wasn't their only concern. The engine needed regular maintenance during the flight in order to stay in good running order. To facilitate this, a catwalk was built so that Fred could walk out and work on the plane while it was airborne.
On June 4, 1935, The Flying Keys, as the brothers later became known, lifted off in a borrowed Curtiss Robin monoplane named Ole Miss from Meridian, Mississippi's airport. For the next twenty-seven days, they flew over the Meridian vicinity. Several times each day, the crew of a similar plane would lower food and supplies to the brothers on the end of a rope, as well as supply fuel via a long flexible tube. They landed on July 1 after traveling an estimated 52,320 miles and used more than 6,000 gallons of gasoline.
Their non-stop endurance flight lasted 653 hours, 34 minutes. The Ole Miss is permanently displayed in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
After this historic flight, Meridian's public airport was renamed Key Field in the brothers' honor.
According to Owen, [1] the brothers' flight boosted confidence in aviation nationally. People figured if the Key brothers made their flight safely in such a small plane, then the big commercial airplanes were definitely safe.
The Key brothers both served as bomber pilots during World War II. Fred was awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross (USA).
Al was the commanding officer of the 66th Squadron (part of the 44th Bombardment Group) flying Consolidated B-24 Liberators from England. By the time he was taken off combat missions in 1943 he had earned a Distinguished Flying Cross, Distinguished Service Cross, [2] an Air Medal, a Distinguished Service Cross from the British and seven Bronze Stars for participating in combat.
Al remained in the Air Force until his retirement in 1960 at the rank of full Colonel, after which he was elected mayor of Meridian in 1965 and 1969; he was unseated in 1973 by a Republican, Tom Stuart. [3]
Fred Key ran the Key Brothers Flying Service at Key Field until his death in 1971. The cutoff valve developed for the Keys by A.D. Hunter was an important innovation for national defense, being the precursor of those used by modern tanker airplanes, such as the KC-135 Stratotanker, that keep bombers and fighter aircraft in the air. Today, with only slight modifications, U.S. Air Force and Strategic Air Command airplanes use the valve that Hunter invented.
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its engines. Common examples of aircraft include airplanes, helicopters, airships, gliders, paramotors, and hot air balloons.
Aerial refueling, also referred to as air refueling, in-flight refueling (IFR), air-to-air refueling (AAR), and tanking, is the process of transferring aviation fuel from one aircraft to another while both aircraft are in flight. The two main refueling systems are probe-and-drogue, which is simpler to adapt to existing aircraft, and the flying boom, which offers faster fuel transfer, but requires a dedicated boom operator station.
This is a list of aviation-related events from 1935:
John Rodgers was an officer in the United States Navy and a pioneering aviator.
Robert Anderson Hoover was an American fighter pilot, test pilot, flight instructor, and record-setting air show aviator.
Al Key was an American aviator who broke a flight endurance record with his brother Fred in 1935.
An airplane or aeroplane, informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and wing configurations. The broad spectrum of uses for airplanes includes recreation, transportation of goods and people, military, and research. Worldwide, commercial aviation transports more than four billion passengers annually on airliners and transports more than 200 billion tonne-kilometers of cargo annually, which is less than 1% of the world's cargo movement. Most airplanes are flown by a pilot on board the aircraft, but some are designed to be remotely or computer-controlled such as drones.
Clyde Edward Pangborn, nicknamed "Upside-Down Pangborn", was an American aviator and barnstormer who performed aerial stunts in the 1920s for the Gates Flying Circus. He was its half-owner, chief pilot and operating manager, working in partnership with Ivan R. Gates. In 1931, Pangborn and co-pilot Hugh Herndon Jr. flew their plane, Miss Veedol, on the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean.
Bangor International Airport is a joint civil-military public airport on the west side of the city of Bangor, in Penobscot County, Maine, United States. Owned and operated by the City of Bangor, the airport has a single runway measuring 11,440 by 200 ft. Formerly a military installation known as Dow Air Force Base, Bangor International Airport remains home to the 101st Air Refueling Wing of the Maine Air National Guard, although most of the Air Force's aircraft and personnel left in the late 1960s. BGR covers 2,079 acres of land. It is included in the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) National Plan of Integrated Airport Systems for 2023–2027 categorized it as a non-hub primary commercial service facility.
Meridian Regional Airport is a joint civil-military public use airport located at Key Field, a joint-use public/military airfield. It is located 3 nautical miles southwest of Meridian, a city in Lauderdale County, Mississippi, United States. The Meridian Airport Authority owns the airport. At 10,003 feet (3,049 m), Key Field is home to the longest public use runway in Mississippi. It is mostly used for general aviation and military traffic, but it is also served by one commercial airline with scheduled passenger service subsidized by the Essential Air Service program.
Clarence Duncan Chamberlin was an American pioneer of aviation, being the second man to pilot a fixed-wing aircraft across the Atlantic Ocean, from New York to the European mainland, while carrying the first transatlantic passenger.
Lowell Herbert Smith was a pioneer American airman who piloted the first airplane to receive a complete mid-air refueling on June 27, 1923, and later set an endurance record of 37 hours on August 28, both in a De Havilland DH-4B. Smith also piloted the Douglas World Cruiser Chicago, which along with one other made the first aerial circumnavigation in 1924. Smith held 16 records for military aircraft in speed, endurance and distance. He was awarded the best achievement in flight Mackay Trophy twice.
Question Mark ("?") was a modified Atlantic-Fokker C-2A transport airplane of the United States Army Air Corps. In 1929, commanded by Major Carl A. Spaatz, it was flown for a flight endurance record as part of an experiment with aerial refueling. Question Mark established new world records in aviation for sustained flight (heavier-than-air), refueled flight, sustained flight (lighter-than-air), and distance between January 1 and January 7, 1929, in a nonstop flight of 151 hours near Los Angeles, California.
The 186th Air Refueling Wing is a unit of the Mississippi Air National Guard stationed at Meridian Regional Airport, Mississippi. The 153d Air Refueling Squadron, assigned to the Wing's 186th Operations Group, was established on 18 August 1939 as the 153d Observation Squadron, one of the 29 National Guard observation squadrons formed before World War II.
The Mississippi Air National Guard, commonly known as the Mississippi Air Guard, is the aerial militia of the State of Mississippi, United States of America. It is, along with the Mississippi Army National Guard, an element of the Mississippi National Guard.
The 153d Air Refueling Squadron is a unit of the Mississippi Air National Guard 186th Air Refueling Wing located at Key Field Air National Guard Base, Mississippi. The 153d is equipped with the KC-135 Stratotanker aircraft.
The Wright R-540 Whirlwind was a series of five-cylinder air-cooled radial aircraft engines built by the Wright Aeronautical division of Curtiss-Wright. These engines had a displacement of 540 in³ (8.85 L) and power ratings of around 165-175 hp (123-130 kW). They were the smallest members of the Wright Whirlwind engine family.
Lucky Lady II is a United States Air Force Boeing B-50 Superfortress that became the first airplane to circle the world nonstop. Its 1949 journey, assisted by in-flight refueling, lasted 94 hours and 1 minute.
Viola Estelle Gentry was an American aviator, best known for setting the first non-refueling endurance record for women.
On October 2, 2019, a Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress owned by the Collings Foundation crashed at Bradley International Airport, Windsor Locks, Connecticut, United States. Seven of the thirteen people on board were killed, and the other six, as well as one person on the ground, were injured. The aircraft was destroyed by fire, with only the tail and a portion of one wing remaining.
Maj. Algene E. Key of Meridian, Miss., who with his brother Fred set an endurance flight record of 653 hours and 34 minutes in 1935, has been awarded the distinguished service cross for flying his severely damaged heavy bomber in formation during a raid on German-held France, the war department announced today.