| Harry J. Brooks | |
|---|---|
A Ford Trimotor flown by Brooks |
|
| Died | 21 February, 1928 Melbourne, Florida |
| Cause of death | Aircraft Crash |
| Known for | Test Pilot |
Harry J. Brooks ( 1903 -1928 ) was an American test pilot. His crash of the Ford Flivver for the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company in 1928 was citied with the great depression as a factor in Henry Ford exiting the aviation business.[1].
Harry Brooks was hired as a test pilot for the Stout Metal Airplane Division of the Ford Motor Company. Henry Ford nicknamed Harry, "Brooksie". He was the son of Henry Ford's favorite fiddler. [2] Brooks demonstrated the capabilities of the new monowing Ford Trimotor to biplane maker, William Boeing by handing him the controls and sitting back in the passenger cabin. For the first night flight of a Ford Trimotor, Brooks flew Charles Lindbergh's mother from Detroit to Cleveland. Brooks was also the pilot that flew Lindbergh's mother to Mexico alongside the Spirit of St. Louis in their 1927 publicity trips.[3] On February 10, 1927, Brooks flew the first aircraft guided solely by a radio-beacon system.[4]
When Ford released the new Ford Flivver in 1926, Brooks used the prototype to fly to his home just north of Ford Airport.[5] Brooks set out on a record setting flight in a updated Ford Flivver in 1928. He flew from Detroit to Miami. He experienced a forced landing in Ashville North Carolina, still setting a world record flight of 1200 miles unrefueled. Brooks then repaired a propeller from another forced landing in Titusville, Florida. He took off over the Atlantic ocean and the plane crashed just offshore. [6] Harry Brooks body was never found.[7]
Brooks was slated to be a pilot for Richard Evelyn Byrd's expeditions. [8]