CLARENCE D. CHAMBERLIN - AUTOGRAPH - HFSID 321640

CLARENCE D. CHAMBERLIN


The American pioneer of aviation who was considered one of the seven greatest flyers in the world pens his signature on this 5x4 piece of paper, in blue ink


Signature: "Clarence Chamberlin" in blue ink. 5x4. After WWI, Clarence Chamberlin (1893-1976) purchased the first Bellanca airplane ever sold and barnstormed throughout the East. In 1925, he joined the Wright Aeronautical Corporation as a company pilot and soon convinced it to build an advanced monoplane designed by Guiseppe Bellanca to demonstrate the abilities of the new Whirlwind engine. Later, Chamberlin and veteran pilot Bert Acosta took the plane aloft over Long Island and set a world's endurance record of over 51 hours. After christening the plane Miss Columbia, Chamberlin and its new owner, Charles A. Levine, took off from Roosevelt Field on June 4, 1927, only two weeks after Charles Lindbergh's solo crossing. Chamberlin thus became the first pilot to carry a passenger across the Atlantic. In 1932, Chamberlin set an altitude record, flying above 19,000 feet. After his very active aviation exploits in 1927, he was considered one of the seven greatest flyers in the world; however, his days of breaking records were in the past and he got involved in the business of designing and selling planes. During the 1930s he traveled around the United States in his 26-passenger Curtiss Condor CO plane giving rides to people as a hobby. During the next few decades he remained busy with a diverse array of projects. In addition to taking time to write a semi-autobiographical book entitled in Record Flights, he continued to fly, sell and tinker with airplanes after World War II and eventually retired. He is honored in the Aviation Hall of Fame at Dayton, Ohio and in the Iowa Aviation Hall of Fame. Binding holes in left edges. Lightly toned. Pencil note on verso (unknown hand). Otherwise, fine condition.