Washington aviator and holder of the world's solo endurance record who died from injuries received last Friday (April 25th 1930) when his plane crashed at Roscommon Michigan.
Herbert John "Hub" Fahy was born December 3, 1900 in Washington, D.C. to John Joseph and Bertha (Landgraf) Fahy. His love of flying began in 1908 when he witnessed the Wright Brothers demonstrating the first airplane at Fort Myer, Virginia (next to Arlington National Cemetery). When World War I broke out, Fahy joined the Army Signal Corps, which operated airplanes for the military. He flew at nearly every Army airfield in the United States, and when the war ended was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army Air Reserve Corps.
Fahy was considered one of the best test pilots on the United States. During the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on May 30, 1922, Fahy buzzed the crowd at a height of just 200 feet. An outraged President Warren G. Harding ordered Fahy discharged from the Reserves.
Fahy worked as an aircraft designer and test pilot for the Detroit Aircraft Company and later for Lockheed. Fahy's fame was such that he was named Chief Pilot for Lockheed. In 1927, Fahy helped co-found Washington Airport -– the second airfield at the nation's capital. On May 29, 1929, Fahy broke the world's record for non-refueled endurance flying when he flew remained aloft in a Lockheed Vega for 36 hours, 56 minutes, and 36 seconds.
On April 26, 1930, Fahy and his wife Claire Adams Fahy crashed during take-off at Roscommon, Michigan, when one of the plane's wheels hit a partially hidden stump in the grass field. Fahy suffered a fractured skull and died early on April 27, without regaining consciousness.
Washington aviator and holder of the world's solo endurance record who died from injuries received last Friday (April 25th 1930) when his plane crashed at Roscommon Michigan.
Herbert John "Hub" Fahy was born December 3, 1900 in Washington, D.C. to John Joseph and Bertha (Landgraf) Fahy. His love of flying began in 1908 when he witnessed the Wright Brothers demonstrating the first airplane at Fort Myer, Virginia (next to Arlington National Cemetery). When World War I broke out, Fahy joined the Army Signal Corps, which operated airplanes for the military. He flew at nearly every Army airfield in the United States, and when the war ended was commissioned a 2nd Lieutenant in the US Army Air Reserve Corps.
Fahy was considered one of the best test pilots on the United States. During the dedication of the Lincoln Memorial on May 30, 1922, Fahy buzzed the crowd at a height of just 200 feet. An outraged President Warren G. Harding ordered Fahy discharged from the Reserves.
Fahy worked as an aircraft designer and test pilot for the Detroit Aircraft Company and later for Lockheed. Fahy's fame was such that he was named Chief Pilot for Lockheed. In 1927, Fahy helped co-found Washington Airport -– the second airfield at the nation's capital. On May 29, 1929, Fahy broke the world's record for non-refueled endurance flying when he flew remained aloft in a Lockheed Vega for 36 hours, 56 minutes, and 36 seconds.
On April 26, 1930, Fahy and his wife Claire Adams Fahy crashed during take-off at Roscommon, Michigan, when one of the plane's wheels hit a partially hidden stump in the grass field. Fahy suffered a fractured skull and died early on April 27, without regaining consciousness.
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Lieut Air Corps, US Army
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