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Arch Hoxsey
Early Wright Exhibition Pilot

Born October 27, 1884 at Staunton, Ill. to well-to-do landholders. His father died when he was 7 years old and 2 years later he and his mother moved to California, first living for 3 years at Glendora, then moving to Pasadena.

As a boy he worked at odd jobs and grew up to love autos and to tinker with engines. Later he became a chauffeur and in 1905 opened his own garage.

Nearby lived Roy Knabenshue who was making dirigibles and flying them around the country in exhibition engagements. He was using motorcycle engines and at the times went to Hoxsey's garage to get repair work done. They became good friends, and Hoxsey learned of his air adventures. 

Later Knabenshue gave up his dirigible activities to become Exhibition Manager for the Wright co., Dayton Ohio, who were preparing to enter this business. His duties included helping to get a group of young men to learn to fly for an exhibition team and he invited Hoxsey to join them, and he jumped at the chance. 

Within a month he was flying exhibitions on tour. He was taught to fly by Walter Brookins, starting early in May at the Wright School at Montgomery, Ala., then finished his training at Simms Station, Dayton, after the school moved north about the end of May. At the same time Brookins started training Frank Coffy and Ralph Jonhstone. During training, Hoxsey became a close friend and a real flying rival of Johnstone, and soon the Wrights had difficulty holding them in check. He made his first solo flight on June 11th, 1910 and obtained his pilots license, No. 21, dated October 18, 1910, at Kinloch Field, St. Lous, Mo. on his Wright. The Rivalery continued between Hoxey and Johnstone and at Air Meets they soon became known as "The Heavenly Twins." 

He was always well dressed, a quiet, soft spoken gentleman on the ground but a real hell-raiser in the air, who consistently disobeyed orders and was many times rebuked in very blunt terms by the Wrights. He loved low, roller-coaster flying and "just off the ground" aerobatics. 

His first Air Meet and public exhibition was at Indianapolis, Ind. June 13 - 18th, 1910, then to Detroit, Mich. June 20 - 25th, and to Pittsburg, Kansas, July 2 - 5th, 1910. He was at the Asbury Park, N.J. Air Meet