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[[left side margin]] CIVIL AERONAUTICS ADMINISTRATION In 1926, civil aviation in the United States definitely was suffering from "growing pains." No license was needed to fly and there was no one to tell the overzealous pilot that his plane was not fit to fly. It was an era of stunt flying and cow pasture air races, with surplus World War I planes. Aviation was coming of age. Barnstormers who had thrilled thousands of spectators at air shows and county fairs were settling down at established airports to establish flying schools and flying services. Pilots tired of flying war surplus planes were beginning to build new models. Far-sighted aviation enthusiasts, convinced of the future of aviation and determined to follow that industry as a livelihood, were responsible for the Air Commerce Act of May 20, 1926, which resulted in the establishment of the Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce. Regulations included such things as certification of aircraft as to airworthiness, periodic examination and rating of air navigations facilities, and establishment of air traffic rules. One of the first activities was to license pilots and airplanes and to establish standards of safety in the design, construction, and operation of aircraft. Early in 1927 there were only 13 inspectors to handle certification of pilots, aircraft and operations. Today the Office of Aviation Safety operates with some 1,750 employees, of whom almost 800 are safety agents, available throughout the country in 138 district offices. In 1926, airline passengers totaled 5,782. In 1950, the scheduled domestic and territorial airlines carried 17,420,859 revenue passengers, while the scheduled international and overseas lines carried 1,676,540 revenue passengers. In 1930 there were 28.2 passenger fatalities for each 100 million passenger miles of scheduled domestic airline flight. In 1950 the nation's domestic airline flight. In 1950 the nation's domestic scheduled airlines operated at the low fatality rate of 1.1 for every 100 million passenger-miles flown. In 1938, the Air Commerce Act was amended by the Civil Aeronautics Act of 1938, which set up the Civil Aeronautics Authority. By presidential order, the Authority in 1940 was separated into the Board and the CAA, with the Board given rule-making powers and the CAA enforcement duties. Industry sits in on rule-making procedures. Much of the inspection work is delegated to industry. Nearly 10 years after the enactment of the Air Commerce Act, there were only 14,806 licensed pilots in the country. Of these, 780 held scheduled air transport ratings. In 1950 alone, the CAA issued 75,725 pilot certificates, and this was the lowest number in the postwar period. In 1947, the CAA issued over 300,000 certificates. CAA personnel co-ordinates and supervises all air activity at the National Air Races from a safety standpoint. 1951 NATIONAL AIR RACES [photo] IT'S A GLIDER ... [photo] ... IT'S A PISTON PLANE ... [photo] ... IT'S A JET PLANE 'THE FIRST AIRCRAFT IN THE WORLD TO HAVE FLOWN PISTON POWERED, JET POWERED, OR AS A GLIDER ..." (AVIATION WEEK MAGAZINE APRIL 30,1951) Chase AIRCRAFT CO., Inc. WEST TRENTON. NEW JERSEY STROUKOFF AVITRUC
