In the 1930s, postal officials decided to test the feasibility of inaugurating airmail service in areas without adequate railway or highway mail links. Unfortunately, the towns which needed this type of service usually did not have adequate landing fields for planes. Although a low-flying airplane could easily dump a sack of mail onto the ground, the difficult part would be getting ground mail into the moving plane. The plane that was initially used was a single engine Stinson aircraft, capable of operating at speeds of approximately 150 miles an hour. The crew consisted of the pilot and a flight officer who worked the pick-up mechanism, making the mail exchange. To deliver the mail, the flight officer lowered the mail container out of the bottom of the aircraft through a special opening. Just before reaching the poles he released the canister. Almost at the same instant an arm was lowered. The grappling hook snagged the hanging mail pouch then slid down the arm and caught the noose. Once the catch was made the flight officer activated the winding mechanism to reel the mail canister into the plane. During the first year of operation, more than 23,000 pick ups were made, amounting to 75,000 pounds of mail. The service was used in those areas for about 10 years.
 |
| Click to Enlarge |
