14 May 1908: Charles William Furnas, a mechanic for the Wright Company, was the first passenger to fly aboard an airplane.
At the Kill Devil Hills, Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, Furnas rode aboard the Wright Flyer III with Wilbur Wright as pilot. The flight covered approximately 600 meters (656 yards) and lasted for 29 seconds. Later the same day, Orville Wright flew the airplane, again with Charley Furnas aboard, this time covering 2.125 miles (3.42 kilometers) in 4 minutes, 2 seconds.
Charles William Furnas was born at Butler Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, 20 December 1880. He was the second of three sons of Franklin Reeder Furnas, a farmer, and Elizabeth J. Rutledge Furnas.
Furnas enlisted in the United States Navy at Dayton, Ohio, 15 November 1902, and was discharged at New York City, 14 November 1906.
Furnas, a machinist, married Miss Lottie Martha Washington, 3 June 1913.
Mrs. Furnas died 1 January 1931. On 30 January 1931, Charles Furnas was admitted to a Veterans Administration Facility in Jefferson Township, Montgomery County, Ohio, where he would remain for the rest of his life.
Charles Furnas died at the Veterans Administration Hospital, Dayton, Ohio, at 9:00 a.m., 15 October 1941. His remains were interred at the Woodland Cemetery and Arboretum, Dayton.
© 2018, Bryan R. Swopes
I hope this gets to Bryan R. Swopes, the writer of aviation articles. I recently read an article you wrote about CC Mosely. I read your article because I have found a interesting carbon copy of a Memorandum to the Chief of Air Services called : REPORT ON THE VERVILLE PARKARD IN THE PULITZER TROPY CONTEST, dated November 25, 1920. I found this memorandum in my grandmother effects. I think my grandmother was a typist or secretary for the armed services in New York? I know she typed this letter as her initials are on the top right corner. ccm-GES (Gladys Elizabeth Schaupe ). My dad tells me that her brother Paul Schaupe built small racing aircraft ( bumble bee)? Please contact me if you would like more information
Typo. I think he was born in 1880.
Yes. Thank you, John. 🙂
Love the blog! Great initiative! Already bookmarked it for future visits.
Thank you. 🙂
as a machinest of over 45 yrs. I enjoy your pages so much. The craftmanship of each part, with the tools of their day. Thanks for all u do.
Thank you very much.
Dear Bryan,
I would like to suggest two topics for posts.
Today is the anniversary of the death of a great aeronautical engineer, Stelio Frati (1919, Milan + 14th May 2010, Milan). In his life he invented some of the most beautiful airplanes such as the SIAI SF-260 and many others.
May 20th will be the first anniversary of the death of Commander Brian Shul. I have learned about his pilot’s life story by listening to some of his conferences.
I believe that his extraordinary story of rebirth in life is a beautiful example for all generations.
I think it’s nice to dedicate a post to both of them.
Keep on doing this great job.