As a financial advisor with nearly two decades of experience and a background in aviation, Jake Gaskell brings a unique perspective to the evolution of air travel and its impact on American infrastructure. Before guiding clients at RBC Wealth Management in Clive, Iowa, Jake trained international pilots on high-performance aircraft and served as second in command at Flight Safety International. His dual expertise in aviation and strategic planning offers a valuable lens on the early innovations that connected the country starting with airmail.
One of the milestones in American aviation history was the launch of air mail services that linked distant regions of the country. While the first official U.S. air mail flight took place in 1918, the concept of airborne mail stretches back much further. In 1785, Jean-Pierre Blanchard and John Jeffries used a hot air balloon to deliver a letter across the English Channel to France.
In 1793, a similar feat was performed in the United States. Later, in 1859, John Wise attempted to deliver a pouch of 120 letters via balloon from Lafayette, Indiana, to New York. His first flight only covered 25 miles, but a month later, he completed an impressive 800-mile journey.
By February 1911, the aviation industry was starting to turn heads. Fred Wiseman carried the first aircraft-delivered mail load, flying 15 miles. Just a day later, Henri Pequet completed what’s now recognized as the “official” maiden airmail flight, traveling eight miles in India with 6,500 letters onboard.
The U.S. entered the airmail arena formally on September 25, 1911. Postmaster General Frank Hitchcock handed a mailbag to pilot Earle Ovington in Garden City Estates, New York. Ovington flew the open-cockpit plane to Mineola, where he dropped the mailbags midair—promptly collected by Postmaster William McCarthy waiting on the ground.
In 1916, Congress authorized $50,000 from steamboat and powerboat funding to experiment with airmail delivery. A year later, an additional $100,000 was approved for further trials. With World War I looming, the Army Signal Corps stepped in, seeing an opportunity to provide pilots with essential long-distance flying experience.
On May 15, 1918, scheduled airmail service officially began between Washington, D.C., and New York. Planes departed simultaneously from Belmont Park, Long Island, and the Polo Grounds in D.C., stopping in Philadelphia for refueling. Over the next three months, Army training planes maintained airmail flights along this critical corridor.
The Army’s role in airmail was short-lived. On August 12, 1918, the Post Office Department took full control of operations. They employed specially designed Standard Aircraft Corporation mail planes and hired civilian pilots and mechanics to carry out deliveries.
These early days of flight posed numerous challenges. Planes lacked reliable radios and instrumentation and had to navigate using dead reckoning and physical landmarks. While bad weather often forced emergency landings, the small size, low speed, and maneuverability of the aircraft kept major accidents to a minimum.
Airmail pricing evolved rapidly. It began at 24 cents per ounce, then dropped to 16 cents, and finally reached just six cents by December of the first operational year. Still, many Americans considered the service too expensive, especially since rail delivery was only slightly slower—and planes frequently carried both airmail and standard mail to fill capacity.
The true breakthrough came with transcontinental airmail. Between 1919 and 1920, three major routes opened across the U.S., connecting New York to San Francisco. By 1924, regular night flying was implemented, dramatically improving delivery speed and proving that air travel was not only viable—but essential—for the nation’s future infrastructure.
