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ternity at Cicero Flying Field and that winter worked for Partridge and Keller as a mechanic building planes.

In the spring of 1913 Snyder took on the task of trying to fly a freak experimental plane for a group in Janesville, Wisconsin, but wrecked it, then he returned to Chicago where he became a mechanic and assistant to Early Daugherty who was flying a 50-Gnome Morane monoplane for the Illinois Aero Construction Company of Coal City, Illinois. Daugherty had the plane based at Cicero Field that summer and Snyder worked with him during the season flying exhibitions throughout the mid-west states.

During the late fall of 1913 and early spring of 1914 Snyder helped Otto Timm make a Kirkham-powered tractor biplane in the Partridge and Keller shop at Cicero Field and was Timm's mechanic on some exhibition dates that year.

In mid-summer Snyder assisted Early Daugherty conduct flight tests of a new plane at Cicero Field. Called the P-L-V biplane, it was designed by Chance Vought and was powered by a 6-cylinder 75 H.P. Sturtevant engine. On August 29th they attempted to fly this plane to Elgin, Illinois to attend automobile races. On the way they had a forced landing when the engine froze. Forced into a cornfield, the plane turned turtle and was badly wrecked, but fortunately Snyder and Daughterty were not injured.

In the spring of 1915 Snyder and Art Mix rebuilt Katherine Stinson's Partridge exhibition tractor biplane at Cicero Field and installed the 80-Gnome engine formerly owned and used by Lincoln Beachey, and for a time later in the season Snyder served as Miss Stinson's exhibition mechanic. He was employed with Miss Stinson again in the spring of 1916 until the New York Sheepshead Bay Air Tournament when he left to become mechanic for DeLloyd Thompson for the remainder of the 1916 season.

On November 15, 1917 Snyder entered civilian Government service at McCook Field, Dayton, Ohio, then moved to Wright Field in late 1927 where he remained until 1941, advancing to Project Engineer on training, transport, cargo and miscellaneous aircraft.

During that period, while in Government service, Snyder personally engaged