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Russian
00:00:05
stretching from the west coast to the00:00:06
east coast of the u.s00:00:08
is a series of arrow-shaped concrete00:00:09
slabs stubbornly resisting the forces of00:00:12
tan they're often in the middle of complete00:00:14
wilderness far removed from civilization00:00:16
and some are practically inaccessible00:00:19
conspiracy theorists might say these00:00:20
were designed by nasa00:00:22
to guide ufos to nearby landing points00:00:24
the truth is00:00:25
we know exactly when and why these00:00:27
massive arrows were placed00:00:29
their story is intimately tied to the00:00:30
intriguing story of00:00:32
us airmail welcome to intrigued mind and00:00:35
in this episode00:00:36
we're covering the early history of00:00:38
aviation in the united states00:00:39
and the wonderful pragmatism of its00:00:41
protagonists in laying out the00:00:43
foundations of commercial aviation00:00:45
as we know it today 1903 a year you00:00:47
might remember from history class00:00:49
the wright brothers became the first00:00:51
humans ever to pilot a motor-operated00:00:53
airplane00:00:54
from the sand dunes of kitty hawk north00:00:55
carolina the millennial old human00:00:57
fascination with flight had just reached00:00:59
an epic milestone00:01:01
the international reaction was limited00:01:03
partly because the brothers tried to00:01:05
limit information to the press00:01:06
in order to prevent competitors from00:01:08
stealing their ideas but00:01:10
they had unofficially inaugurated a race00:01:12
to improve aeronautical technology and00:01:14
soar through the skies00:01:15
almost immediately after the riots00:01:17
triumph observers took an interest in00:01:19
aviation00:01:20
and began to consider its potential for00:01:21
mail rail mail had been the standard00:01:24
since the mid-1800s00:01:25
connecting the country through the00:01:26
sprawling railway system as more pilots00:01:29
took to the skies and safer aircraft00:01:30
flying greater distances and at greater00:01:32
altitudes people considered the00:01:34
viability of planes for male care rich00:01:36
more and more00:01:37
but many more were skeptical in 1910 the00:01:40
new york times mockingly wrote that00:01:42
quote love letters will be carried in a00:01:44
rose pink aeroplane00:01:46
steered by cupid's wings and operated by00:01:48
perfumed gasoline00:01:49
when asked if airmail had a future00:01:51
orville wright himself said00:01:53
i do not think it will supplement the00:01:54
steamship and the railroad as a mail00:01:56
carrier00:01:57
because it will be too expensive it00:01:59
would take a very large number of flying00:02:00
machines00:02:01
perhaps 100 to carry as much mail as we00:02:03
now get in a mail car00:02:04
the us postmaster general frank00:02:06
hitchcock thought otherwise00:02:08
in november 1910 at an aviation event00:02:11
attended by senior government officials00:02:13
he agreed to fly as a passenger on a00:02:14
monoplane for a three minute journey00:02:16
this is a small nothing to us now but at00:02:19
the time00:02:20
this was huge and when hitchcock landed00:02:22
safely he said as he was climbing out00:02:24
it will not be long before we are00:02:26
carrying the mail this way00:02:27
that is certain from that point on the00:02:30
us post office was committed to make00:02:31
airmail a reality00:02:33
the first official mail carrying00:02:35
airplane flight in world history was on00:02:37
september 2300:02:38
1911 piloted by earl ovington from00:02:41
garden city estates in mineola new york00:02:44
the department received official permits00:02:45
for dozens more flights over the next00:02:47
few years00:02:48
with ever-increasing distances by 191800:02:51
the postal department had made such00:02:52
strides with airmail that congress00:02:54
in the face of stiff resistance finally00:02:56
approved an air mail service between00:02:58
washington d.c00:02:59
and new york with a stop in philadelphia00:03:02
after gargantuan preparation00:03:04
efforts simultaneous inauguration00:03:05
ceremonies in washington and new york00:03:07
were held for the opening of the mail00:03:09
service00:03:10
attended in washington by president00:03:11
woodrow wilson and then assistant00:03:13
secretary of the navy00:03:14
franklin roosevelt planes from00:03:16
washington and new york00:03:18
left almost simultaneously for the first00:03:20
leg to philadelphia00:03:21
the total flight service was scheduled00:03:22
to last three hours00:03:24
the first plane departing from new york00:03:26
was a resounding success00:03:28
the one from washington however was a00:03:30
complete disaster00:03:32
until recently experimental flights00:03:33
overseen by the postal department were00:03:35
exclusively flown by military pilots00:03:38
some of them in reserve for military00:03:39
duty in europe during the final months00:03:41
of world war one00:03:42
in this instance however lieutenant00:03:44
george boyle was hand-picked00:03:46
not by the military but by the postal00:03:47
department boyle had just graduated from00:03:50
a texas flight school00:03:51
and had no more than 60 hours of00:03:53
piloting time00:03:54
since these were the early days of00:03:55
aviation with a limited supply of pilots00:03:57
and00:03:58
even more limited precautionary measures00:04:00
boyle seemed like a sensible pick00:04:02
at the scheduled time for liftoff boyle00:04:04
couldn't get his plane to start00:04:05
it was discovered his tanks were low on00:04:07
fuel and his departure was delayed by 1500:04:10
minutes later00:04:11
then he followed the wrong railroad line00:04:13
got lost00:04:14
ran out of fuel and crash-landed 2500:04:16
miles south of washington00:04:18
two days later the young pilot was given00:04:20
another chance to fly to philadelphia00:04:22
to ensure he was on the right track00:04:24
boyle was shadowed by his superior for00:04:25
40 miles00:04:26
before peeling off north of washington00:04:28
an hour later00:04:29
boyle got lost again he landed on a farm00:04:32
obtained some tractor fuel from a local00:04:34
farmer then resumed the journey sadly he lost00:04:37
his way once again00:04:38
ran out of fuel and crashed near the00:04:40
philadelphia country club00:04:42
luckily for boyle he made it out alive00:04:44
and the press barely picked up on his00:04:45
misadventure00:04:46
and nor should he be judged too severely00:04:49
though an embarrassing moment in the00:04:50
early history of aviation00:04:52
boyle's epic failure just highlights the00:04:54
myriad problems which early aviators00:04:56
faced in the u.s00:04:57
early airplanes were nightmarish to00:04:59
pilot aviators flew in open cockpits in00:05:01
extremely unpredictable weather00:05:03
and during tornadoes cloudbursts and00:05:05
electrical storms00:05:06
planes were flimsy with technical flaws00:05:09
repeatedly exposed by rain00:05:10
ice wind snow and extreme temperatures00:05:14
according to pilots at the time there00:05:16
was essentially a 50 50 chance of engine00:05:18
failure on any given flight00:05:20
although fatalities were not as common00:05:22
in the early years as they would be00:05:23
later00:05:24
it was only because of the plane's small00:05:26
size maneuverability and slow landing00:05:28
speed00:05:29
but as with boyle the risk of getting00:05:31
lost was enormous00:05:33
there was no radio at the time no00:05:35
satellite navigation00:05:36
few aeronautical markers on the ground00:05:38
and especially00:05:39
terrible maps american states were all00:05:42
shown on different scales00:05:43
and maps featured practically no00:05:44
topographical data00:05:46
the only seemingly dependable tool that00:05:48
avuters could have00:05:49
was a compass and even that consistently00:05:52
failed them00:05:53
also in syria's need was a reliable00:05:55
altimeter pilots were forced to rely on00:05:57
their own navigational instincts which00:05:59
could only be properly developed from00:06:00
substantial piloting experience00:06:02
as planes began to travel faster the00:06:04
risk of crashing into a mountain00:06:06
or something else grew substantially the00:06:08
u.s postal department needed to resolve00:06:10
all these issues00:06:11
and fast if they wanted to keep the00:06:13
service running despite the general00:06:15
success of the first airmail service00:06:17
the american public certainly wasn't00:06:19
sold just yet airmail postage initially00:06:21
cost 24 cents per ounce00:06:23
it was lowered to 16 cents in july 191800:06:26
then to six cents in december of that00:06:28
same year even so00:06:30
rail mail cost two to three cents00:06:32
depending on the year and the american00:06:33
public seemed reluctant to pay extra for00:06:35
a service that was only a little bit00:06:37
faster00:06:38
to convince more americans of airmail's00:06:39
viability longer flights needed to be00:06:42
scheduled to better differentiate air mill and00:06:44
rail mail service times00:06:46
enter the transcontinental airway while00:06:48
great strides were being made in00:06:50
aeronautical equipment and map making00:06:52
flight visionaries within the department00:06:54
were making plans for an airmail route00:06:55
connecting the east and west coast of00:06:57
the u.s00:06:58
the department soon secured funding for00:07:00
new routes connecting new york to san00:07:02
francisco00:07:03
stopping off at six cities belafont00:07:06
chicago00:07:07
omaha cheyenne salt lake and reno00:07:10
as the country became more connected and00:07:12
the price per ounce dropped to two cents00:07:14
in 191900:07:15
thereby reaching parity with the cost of00:07:17
first class rail mail00:07:18
airmail began to revolutionize the00:07:20
postal service the service wasn't yet00:07:22
profitable00:07:23
but it was clear that as it expanded and00:07:25
underwent rapid technical developments00:07:27
it could make airmail the future of00:07:29
postal service in the u.s00:07:30
however even with better planes and near00:07:33
parity of cost with rail mail00:07:34
not enough people were committing to00:07:36
airmail as a faster alternative00:07:38
it had to become even faster there was00:07:40
one major obstacle00:07:42
and that was flying at night if flying00:07:44
during the daytime came with a host of00:07:46
problems00:07:47
flying in complete darkness was00:07:48
essentially a death wish00:07:50
the government initially sidestepped00:07:52
this issue through flight service by day00:07:54
rail service by night repeating in this00:07:56
manner until the post00:07:57
reached its destination this system00:07:59
operated for three years00:08:00
between 1921 and 1924 the average time00:08:04
for coast to coast mail was 72 hours00:08:07
compared to the week-long duration of00:08:08
rail mail but for the visionaries and00:08:10
government00:08:11
it wasn't enough night flying had to00:08:13
become a reality00:08:14
and the solution was the00:08:15
transcontinental lighted airway00:08:17
this involved a system of beacons and00:08:19
landing fields across the entire country00:08:21
and the cross-continental airway was a00:08:23
lit up beacon for nighttime flyers to00:08:25
see where they were going00:08:26
the first stretch was from chicago to00:08:28
cheyenne covering 885 miles00:08:31
the postal service built landing fields00:08:33
every 25 miles00:08:34
each marked by 50-foot towers with00:08:36
revolving beacon lights00:08:38
the pre-existing regular fields were00:08:40
also equipped with beacons00:08:41
visible for up to 80 miles between00:08:43
landing fields00:08:44
flashing gas beacons were installed00:08:46
every three miles and those concrete00:08:48
arrow-shaped slabs00:08:49
you guessed it they were built too right00:08:52
underneath beacon towers00:08:53
painted in fluorescent yellow to guide00:08:55
pilots and literally point them in the00:08:57
right direction00:08:58
on some sides the rusting tower still00:09:00
stands above the arrow00:09:01
planes were also provided with00:09:03
luminescent equipment navigational00:09:05
lights and parachute flares the initial project of00:09:07
the chicago cheyenne airway00:09:09
was expanded throughout 1923 and 192400:09:12
until cross-country nighttime service00:09:14
was officially opened in 192400:09:17
beacon towers were built every 10 miles00:09:19
along the 14 airways making up the00:09:21
transcontinental route00:09:22
with the fluorescent arrows right00:09:24
underneath at every third beacon00:09:26
was a landing field with this system the00:09:28
duration of coast-to-coast aerial mail00:09:30
dropped from 72 hours to roughly 3500:09:33
hours including 15 stops00:09:35
by 1926 the official privatization of00:09:38
u.s airmail00:09:39
meant that management of the landed00:09:40
airstrip was transferred to the00:09:42
department of commerce00:09:43
the system was enlarged and more00:09:45
airfields and airports were built00:09:47
by 1929 there were over 4 000 airports00:09:50
and landing fields servicing airmail in00:09:51
the us00:09:52
the system made airmail a revolution but00:09:55
with the advent of radio00:09:56
became less and less important many of00:09:58
the towers were demolished for00:10:00
much-needed metal during world war ii00:10:02
while many of the arrows were either00:10:03
destroyed or had their fluorescent paint00:10:05
removed from fear that enemy planes could use00:10:07
the arrows to navigate the us00:10:09
however parts of the system survived00:10:11
until the 1960s00:10:12
and an even smaller some remain active00:10:14
to this day particularly in montana00:10:17
while the u.s government was laying out00:10:18
the foundations for u.s airmail00:10:20
it made spectacular advances in00:10:22
aeronautical navigation00:10:23
and directly impacted commercial00:10:25
aviation today00:10:27
the digital age has practically made00:10:29
airmail redundant just as it did to rail00:10:31
mill in the 1930s and 40s00:10:33
by the mid to late 70s airmill as a00:10:35
separate class of domestic mail00:10:36
officially ended00:10:38
for decades post that bore airmail stamp00:10:40
was a symbol of prestige00:10:42
today it is taken for granted the00:10:44
milestones of the aerial male revolution00:10:47
are largely forgotten today may the00:10:48
mysterious concrete arrows00:10:50
scattered across the u.s be a00:10:52
bittersweet reminder of its momentous00:10:54
historic importance00:10:55
for more videos on the most amazing00:10:57
forgotten parts of our history00:10:59
be sure to subscribe to the intrigued00:11:00
mind channel like the video00:11:02
and leave your suggestions in the00:11:03
comments belowDescription:
Discover the origins of the system of giant arrows connecting the US coast to coast, in itself a fascinating story of trial and error, technological advancement and human courage. Join the pioneers in the US government who laid out the foundations for modern commercial aviation. More to Watch: Hottest Jets of the Cold War https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iw7iNrlRgyU ______________________________________________ ▶ Like us on Facebook 👍 @theintriguedmind www.facebook.com/theintriguedmind ▶ Follow our Instagram @_intriguedmind www.instagram.com/_intriguedmind ▶ Follow our TikTok @_intriguedmind www.tiktok.com/@_intriguedmind
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