'Copter Draws Attention At Open House at East Hill Airport on Sept 20, 1953The Ithaca Journal, Sep 21 1953, P. 5, Col.1, with 3 photos 'A "whirly bird" - formally known as a helicopter — was the star guest at Mohawk Airlines' fourth annual open house Sunday at East Hill Airport.
The open house program marked the takeoff on Ithaca's observance of the 50th anniversary of powered flight. It also marked Mohawk Airlines' eighth anniversary.
Another milestone observed Sunday was the fifth anniversary of scheduled air mail flights from Ithaca.
Despite the weather which gradually improved from heavy rains in the morning to occasional sprinkles in the afternoon, nearly 8,000 persons turned out. The visitors took sightseeing tours over Ithaca, watched the antics of the Sikorsky S-55 helicopter, inspected a DC-3, and saw a film, "Air Head," a Marine Corps documentary on the role of the helicopter in Korea.
On hand for the doings were four of the area's "old time" pilots. They were Joseph S. Barr, Jerome Fried,
Richard Parmenter, and Prof.
Forrest B. Wright.
In brief ceremonies at the Youth Bureau's Red Wagon, E. Victor Underwood, airline president, awarded each an Air Chief certificate. Underwood pointed out that while they were old-time pilots, "aviation is still not old enough for the old-timers." Certificates were also awarded Harold Nelson Bliss, Carl Crandall, and Robert Morse, old-time pilots who were not present.
== Early Experience Outlined =="Alderman Kenneth C. Johnson, Junior Chamber of Commerce president, introduced the pilots who outlined their early flying experience. Barr in 1917 flew a World War I "Jenny" equipped with pontoons for the U.S. Navy.
Fried, once general manager of the Thomas-Morse Aircraft Company which turned out 800 World War I planes here, began his flying in 1919. Ithaca got into the airplane business in 1914, he said.
Parmenter transferred from the French Army in World War I to the U.S. Air Corps where after 37 hours of training he was assigned to the front lines. Twenty-one years after the Armistice he again took up flying.
Professor Wright was sent to Ithaca for flight training in 1918 after the Signal Corps (then in charge of the air force) had recruited fliers from the nation's college football teams.
Robert Peach, executive vice-president of the airline and a member of the state committee for the 50th anniversary observance, welcomed the visitors. Johnson noted that Ithaca originated the first air mail flight, that 4,500 pilots have been trained here, and that Mohawk is the only local service line in the state. He outlined forthcoming events in the Chamber of Commerce-sponsored anniversary observance which will culminate on Dec. 17.
Acting Postmaster Stanley C. Shaw personally delivered two air mail pouches to Lee W. Holmes, customer service manager, while James L. Gibbs, Post Office clerk in charge of air mail, observed the transfer. The pouches, destined for Newark, N.J., and Binghamton, brought the total air mail handled here to 222,831 pounds.
== Helicopter Demonstrated == A demonstration of the helicopter's maneuverability was performed by Capt. John P. Keating, Sikorsky's chief helicopter test pilot. A "flyy-past" by three naval patrol bombers based at Niagara Falls Naval Air Station was in charge of James E. Walsh Jr., 851st Squadron commander and chairman of Ithaca's anniversary committee. Walsh was also in charge of an air show Sunday at Buffalo.
At a press conference, David E. Postle, Mohawk director of research, declared that "the helicopter is the answer to what is needed by the public for short haul transportation." The present military-use helicopter, however, is a "vest pocket model" of what will eventually be used.
Peach stressed that rather than hurting "fixed wing" air transportation, the new craft would bring new communities into availability to long-distance air routes.
Jackson E. Bieghle, Sikorsky sales manager, said the new passenger helicopters should be available in about three years. He cited the construction of "heliports" in congested areas or in terrain not suitable for fixed wing planes.'
Caption for photos by C. Hadley Smith: A CROWD estimated at upward of 8,000 persons attended open house at Mohawk Airlines Sunday. Part of the crowd and a Sikorsky helicopter are shown here. Below (left) are four old-time pilots: Jerome Fried, Richard Parmenter, Forrest B. Wright, and Joseph S. Barr. Below (right) Acting Postmaster Stanley C. Shaw (right) delivers air mail to Lee W. Holmes, Mohawk's customs service manager.