Roy Franklin Jones (October 16, 1893 – February 17, 1974) was an aviator from the

Ketchikan, Alaska Ketchikan ( ; ) is a city in and the borough seat of the Ketchikan Gateway Borough on Revillagigedo Island of Alaska. It is the state's southeasternmost major settlement. Downtown Ketchikan is a National Historic Landmark District. With a p ...

area. Jones learned to fly in the aviation section of the Army Signal Corps during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. Jones was the first pilot to establish commercial air service in

Alaska Alaska ( ) is a non-contiguous U.S. state on the northwest extremity of North America. Part of the Western United States region, it is one of the two non-contiguous U.S. states, alongside Hawaii. Alaska is also considered to be the north ...

. On July 17, 1922, pilot Roy Jones and mechanic Gerald Smith landed at Ketchikan in the Tongass Narrows. There had been several mechanical breakdowns and some bad weather en route. Jones flew a Curtiss MF-6-K Seagull, named ''Northbird'', an open cockpit biplane equipped with a Hispano-Suiza 180 HP engine. On the day he arrived, Jones sent a telegraph ahead to say he would arrive in 90 minutes. When he arrived there was a crowd which carried Jones to Pioneer Hall where Joe Ulmer gave a welcome speech. He stayed in the area, using ''Northbird'' to operate under the name Northbird Aviation Company. The airline did not prosper, as Jones crashed the

flying boat A flying boat is a type of seaplane with a hull, allowing it to land on water. It differs from a floatplane in having a fuselage that is purpose-designed for flotation, while floatplanes rely on fuselage-mounted floats for buoyancy. Though ...

in Heckman Lake in 1923. Jones continued living in Ketchikan until 1928. Jones later became involved with another Alaskan airline, joining Vern C. Gorst and C.R. Wright to form Pioneer Airways in 1930. A veteran of

as a pilot, during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

Jones joined the

United States Army Air Forces The United States Army Air Forces (USAAF or AAF) was the major land-based aerial warfare service component of the United States Army and ''de facto'' aerial warfare service branch of the United States during and immediately after World War II ...

, being stationed at Ladd Field, Fairbanks, from where he retired as a Major in the reserves post-war. Jones died in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

, in 1974.

Legacy

There is a mountain named after Jones in Ketchikan; Roy Jones mountain sits near Northbird mountain, which was, in turn, named after Jones' first airline.

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Jones, Roy (aviator) 1893 births 1974 deaths Aviators from Alaska People from Ketchikan, Alaska American commercial aviators American military personnel of World War I