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the United States Aviation Corps at Hempstead, Long Island, conducting tests on the Barlow Bomber, where with Lieutenant Wheaton they made several drop tests. During late November and December Rader was at the Naval Air Station, Pensacola, Florida, where he conducted the prescribed military acceptance tests of ten new Curtiss planes for the service.

In January 1917 he was an instructor at the new Curtiss flying school at Miami, Florida, where he remained for some time and taught a class of notable students. In early March Rader made several [[strikethrough]] sweeping [[/strikethrough]] wide-range flights over the Everglades with a student passenger in search of three New York survey engineers who were believed to be lost in the swamps. After [[strikethrough]] being lost [[/strikethrough]] searching for over five weeks, Rader [[strikethrough]] later [[/strikethrough]] located them from the air and they were brought out to safety by ground crews.
 
Rader remained at Miami until about June 1 when he transferred to the Gallaudet Aircraft Corporation at East Greenwich, Rhode Island, where he did test and instruction flying through June and July. Then he returned to Miami for some time.

During the winter months of 1918 Rader was instructor at Kelly Field, San Antonio, Texas. During that period the Curtiss Company of Buffalo were at work on a program to produce [[strikethrough]] the [[/strikethrough]] a British fighter plane in America, [[strikethrough]] but [[/strikethrough]] using the Liberty-12 engine. The first of these new experimental planes was ready for test in March 1918, and Rader was assigned to conduct the flight tests at Buffalo. [[strikethrough]] While still on this assignment [[/strikethrough]] He was killed on June 10, 1918 when a serious situation arose [[strikethrough]] in [[/strikethrough]] during flight resulting in an unavoidable crash. The Liberty engine was heavier and of considerably higher power than was previously used in this plane; [[strikethrough]] which [[/strikethrough]] this was believed to have been the primary cause of the accident.

Flying Pioneer Lieutenant Phillip D. Rader was a very expert early aviator who had never had a serious accident prior to his fatal one. Well known and highly respected, his death was a serious loss to aviation.

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