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FROM THE
FLYING PIONEERS BIOGRAPHIES
OF HAROLD E. MOREHOUSE

CLIFFORD L. WEBSTER

Early Burgess-Wright Pilot - - Instructor

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Clifford L. Webster was born in Haverhill, Massachusetts in May 14, 1891. He attended Dean and Phillips Exeter Academies, and developed an early interest in flying.
Webster joined the Burgess Co. and Curtiss Flying School at Squantum, Mass. in June, 1911, but after only three or four lessons his instructor, harry N. Atwood, left on his celebrated flying trip from Boston to Washington, D.C. Webster went along with the ground crew hoping to get a few more lessons along the way, but this did not work out. As a result he was sent to the Wright School at Dayton, Ohio during July, where he finished his course from Instructor Leonard W. Bonney, but did not solo at that time.
Returning to Squantum, Webster learned that a student had just wrecked the school machine so he was unable to solo there. He was also informed that another plane would not be available until after the Boston and Nassau Boulevard flying meets. During this period of waiting however, Webster did obtain about three additional hours of training from military aviators Its. Dewitt Milling and Henry H. Arnold. About October 1st, following the Nassau Meet, the Burgess Co. assigned a Burgess-Wright Model "F" plane to Webster and Phillips W. Page for their use, and on October 3rd Webster made his first solo flight. On October 12th he had his first accident when one of the propeller drive chains jumped a sprocket while in flight, causing him to make a bad landing, but he was not injured. Continuing his practice at Nassau, Webster obtained pilot license No. 69