Walter Edwin Lees (July 16, 1887 – May 16, 1957) was an early American

aviator An aircraft pilot or aviator is a person who controls the flight of an aircraft by operating its directional flight controls. Some other aircrew members, such as navigators or flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they a ...

who set a

flight endurance record The flight endurance record is the longest amount of time an aircraft of a particular category spent in flight without landing. It can be a solo event, or multiple people can take turns piloting the aircraft, as long as all pilots remain in the ai ...

in 1931.

Biography

He was born on July 16, 1887, in

Janesville, Wisconsin Janesville is a city in Rock County, Wisconsin, United States, and its county seat. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 65,615, making it the List of cities in Wisconsin, tenth-most populous city in Wis ...

, and attended the

University of Wisconsin–Madison The University of Wisconsin–Madison (University of Wisconsin, Wisconsin, UW, UW–Madison, or simply Madison) is a public land-grant research university in Madison, Wisconsin, United States. It was founded in 1848 when Wisconsin achieved st ...

. He made his first solo flight on November 14, 1912, near

St. Louis, Missouri St. Louis ( , sometimes referred to as St. Louis City, Saint Louis or STL) is an Independent city (United States), independent city in the U.S. state of Missouri. It lies near the confluence of the Mississippi River, Mississippi and the Miss ...

. He joined the

Army Air Service The United States Army Air Service (USAAS)Craven and Cate Vol. 1, p. 9 (also known as the ''"Air Service"'', ''"U.S. Air Service"'' and before its legislative establishment in 1920, the ''"Air Service, United States Army"'') was the aerial warf ...

as a civilian flying instructor in 1917, and married Loa Lloyd. He worked as a pilot, test pilot, instructor, and barnstormer. He also worked as a mechanic in the Army Air Service at

Wright Field Wilbur Wright Field was a military installation and an airfield used as a World War I pilot, mechanic, and armorer training facility and, under different designations, conducted United States Army Air Corps and Air Forces flight testing. Loc ...

between 1919 and 1920. In the mid-1920s he test flew aircraft for the Stout Engineering Company. He and Frederick Brossy made a world's non-refueling duration record at

Jacksonville Beach, Florida Jacksonville Beach is a coastal resort city in Duval County, Florida, United States. The population was 23,830 at the 2020 census. The city is part of group of communities collectively referred to as the Jacksonville Beaches on the northern ...

, in 1931 with a flight time of 84 hours and 32 minutes in a

Bellanca AviaBellanca Aircraft Corporation was an American aircraft design and manufacturing company. Prior to 1983, it was known as the Bellanca Aircraft Company. The company was founded in 1927 by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca, although it was preceded by ...

J2 Diesel. His military service included five years as a pilot in the

Air Force Reserve Command The Air Force Reserve Command (AFRC) is a MAJCOM, major command (MAJCOM) of the United States Air Force, with its headquarters at Robins Air Force Base, Georgia. It is the federal Air Reserve Component (ARC) of the U.S. Air Force, consisting of ...

, and 20 years as pilot in the

United States Navy Reserve The United States Navy Reserve (USNR), known as the United States Naval Reserve from 1915 to 2004, is the Reserve Component (RC) of the United States Navy. Members of the Navy Reserve, called reservists, are categorized as being in either the S ...

, and 6 years active duty with the

Navy A navy, naval force, military maritime fleet, war navy, or maritime force is the military branch, branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral z ...

from 1940 to 1946. He retired from the Navy in 1948 with the rank of Commander. He was active in aviation for over 35 years and flew approximately 12,000 hours, in over 60 different types of planes. He died on May 16, 1957.

References

External links

Ralph Cooper: Walter Lees
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lees, Walter Edwin 1887 births 1957 deaths Aviators from Wisconsin Members of the Early Birds of Aviation People from Janesville, Wisconsin University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni United States Navy officers United States Air Force officers Flight endurance record holders American aviation record holders Military personnel from Wisconsin

Biography

References

Further reading

External links