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242 EDWIN C. MUSICK Pioneer Test and Transport Pilot Edwin C. Musick was born at St. Louis, Missouri, August 13, 1894. Information is lacking concerning his early life and education, but reportedly he learned to fly in California in 1912. In November, 1915, he was a member of the Aero Corps, 9th Division, California Naval Militia at Glenn Martin's flying field in Los Angeles. On December 29, 1915, Musick obtained F.A.I. Flying License No. 369 at Los Angeles. During World War I Musick served as a civilian flying instructor for the Signal Corps, United States Army at Call Field, Wichita Falls, Texas. After the war Musick became a pilot for the Aeromarine Plane and Motor Corporation, Keyport, New Jersey, where he remained for some time, becoming one of their ablest pilots. The firm had excellent facilities and planned to specialize on a line of commercial planes for personal and airline use. There Musick also gave flying instruction to some of the company officials, including pioneer Joseph Boland, one of the original founders of the firm. On March 13, 1920, Musick and Joe Boland took off from the ice of Raritan Bay in a flying boat, flew over the steamship Princess which was aground off Rockaway Point and returned, landing on the ice. The Aeromarine Company soon made some large twin-engine, cabin-type passenger-carrying flying boats. They were modified from the Navy F5L patrol planes of World War-I. With these modified planes Aeromarine started an aircraft system, then later made some of these large craft with all-metal hull construction and powered by two Liberty-12 engines. Musick gained much valuable experience in the handling of large planes. During this period Aeromarine Airways Inc., of New York, operated their large passenger-carrying flying boats from New York along the Atlantic Coast to Florida, Cuba, and the Bahamas, and were gradually learning the problems of domestic and intercontinental air transport. Later they also operated a route from Detroit to Cleveland over Lake Erie.