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First Airplane
Flight at Grand Forks First North Dakota Commercial Airline Service February 1928-Airmail activity in the United States in the 1920's started commercial passenger and cargo aviation. The building of airport runways and terminals in North Dakota lagged behind the rest of the country due to the community's lack of legislative authority to spend public monies. In 1927, a civic-minded banker donated 160 acres (Hector Field) to the City of Fargo. A private sector investor in Grand Forks near the University of North Dakota established runways, hangars and offices. In 1927, Minot purchased land for the airport through the park board. In 1929, Bismarck City leased an 80-acre tract for an airport. Due to the limited airfield facilities, North Dakota's first commercial airline service was a customs stop at Pembina on a Winnepeg to Minneapolis flight in February 1928. By 1932, air mail and passenger service had been established at Fargo, Grand Forks, Pembina, Valley City, Jamestown, Bismarck and Dickinson through Northwest Airways. |
Other North Dakota Aviation Pioneers 1911- Tom McGory of Grand Forks built his own Curtiss-type airplane using a kitchen chair as a swivel cockpit. 1911-Robert
C. St. Henry or "Lucky Bob" was one of the first public performers at
Fargo and Minot shows.
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