The first heavier than air flight in our country was on December 17th 1903 and the aircraft was flown by Orville and Wilbur Wright. This was the start of Aviation and would bring in a new era of transportation. Our government would eventually play a huge role in the development of the aviation industry. One of the first major laws are government passed that affected the aviation industry was the Airmail act of 1925 or the Kelly Act. This act gave the Post Office the ability to contract companies to deliver airmail. This law was so important because it almost single handedly started commercial aviation.
Mail Delivery had been around for a long time dating back to colonial America. It was primary a private industry delivery mail from local taverns
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This long stretch of land was divided up into 8 airmail routes. Bids from 10 companies were received to fly but only 7 routes were originally awarded. These seven routes were: Boston to New York, Chicago to St. Louis, Chicago to Dallas, Salt Lake City to Los Angeles, Elko Nevada to Pasco Washington, Detroit to Cleveland, and Detroit to Chicago. These routes first began service on February 15th 1926. Five other routes were awarded later that year. These new routes include: Los Angeles to Seattle, Chicago to Minneapolis, Atlanta to Jacksonville, Cleveland to Pittsburgh, and Pueblo Colorado to Cheyenne Wyoming. Like the Post Office the contract companies had several challenges to face when delivering mail. The aircraft that these companies used were extremely limited and unreliable. Most companies were relying only old aircraft with outdated engines. The introduction of the Boeing 40 airframe and Pratt & Whitney wasp engine would set the new standard for airplanes. This airplane more than tripled the payload of other aircraft. The challenge with this aircraft was that it was hard to get ahold of but was still available years before competitors could produce similar