Cecil Arthur Butler (1902 - 1980)
was an Australian businessman who established
Butler Air Transport Co.
Buttler was born in
Warwickshire, England
Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon ...
, and migrated to Australia with his family in about 1910.
In 1917 he was apprenticed to become a tool, jig and gauge maker at the
Lithgow Small Arms Factory
The Lithgow Small Arms Factory, or Lithgow Arms, is an Australian small arms manufacturing factory located in the town of Lithgow, New South Wales. It was created by the Australian Government in 1912 to ease reliance on the British for the s ...
. In 1921 he transferred to the
Australian Aircraft & Engineering Co. Ltd at
Mascot, Sydney. In 1923 he obtained his ground engineer's licence,
in 1927, his pilot's licence.
In 1930 he designed, built and tested a small, all-metal, high-winged
monoplane
A monoplane is a fixed-wing aircraft configuration with a single mainplane, in contrast to a biplane or other types of multiplanes, which have multiple planes.
A monoplane has inherently the highest efficiency and lowest drag of any wing confi ...
.
In 1931, he piloted a
Comper Swift
The Comper C.L.A.7 Swift is a British 1930s single-seat sporting aircraft produced by Comper Aircraft Company Ltd of Hooton Park, Cheshire.
Design and development
In March 1929 Flight Lieutenant Nicholas Comper left the Royal Air Force and form ...
from England to Australia in the record time of 9 days, 1 hours and 40 minutes. In 1934 with the financial help of his wife's uncle, P. S. Garling,
he won the tender for the
Charleville (Queensland) to
Cootamundra (New South Wales) leg of the England-Australia airmail route, servicing the route with
DH.84 Dragon aircraft.
Four years later, with the successful completion of the contract, his company,
Butler Air Transport Co. continued as a civil airline, serving centres in New South Wales and Queensland.
The airline later became
Airlines of New South Wales
Airlines of New South Wales (also known as Air New South Wales, Ansett NSW and Ansett Express) callsign "NEWSOUTH" was an Australian domestic regional airline that operated from 1959 until its merger into Ansett in 1993. It was formed by Reg Ans ...
.
In 1958 he became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (
OBE
The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations,
and public service outside the civil service. It was established o ...
)
Gallery
File:Arthur Butler being congratulated by crowd at his home-town, Lithgow, after breaking the England to Australia flight record, 1931.jpg, Butler being congratulated by crowd at Lithgow, after his England-Australia record breaking flight
Arthur Butler and the Comper Swift aeroplane G-ABRE in field, 1931.jpg, Butler and the Comper Swift, 1931
Publications
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See also
Butler Air Transport
Butler Air Transport was an Australian airline founded by C. Arthur Butler to operate air transport primarily among New South Wales airports in Australia, from 1934 until 1959. for the story of the civil airline he founded and managed.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Butler, Cecil Arthur
1902 births
1982 deaths
Australian businesspeople
Australian Officers of the Order of the British Empire
Australian aviation record holders
Australian aviators
Australian company founders