Ed Musick
Encyclopedia
Pan American World Airways
Pan American World Airways, commonly known as Pan Am, was the principal and largest international air carrier in the United States from 1927 until its collapse on December 4, 1991...
and pioneered many of Pan Am's transoceanic routes including the famous route across the Pacific Ocean
Pacific Ocean
The Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic in the north to the Southern Ocean in the south, bounded by Asia and Australia in the west, and the Americas in the east.At 165.2 million square kilometres in area, this largest division of the World...
on the China Clipper
China Clipper
The China Clipper was the first of three Martin M-130 four-engine flying boats built for Pan American Airways and was used to inaugurate the first commercial transpacific air service from San Francisco to Manila in November, 1935. Built at a cost of $417,000 by the Glenn L...
.
Biography
He was born on August 13, 1894, St. Louis, MissouriSt. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
.
Musick learned flying at a flying school in Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
in the years leading up to World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. In 1917 he joined the Aviation Section
Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps
The Aviation Section, Signal Corps, was the military aviation service of the United States Army from 1914 to 1918, and a direct ancestor of the United States Air Force. It replaced and absorbed the Aeronautical Division, Signal Corps, and was succeeded briefly by the Division of Military...
, U.S. Signal Corps (later called the United States Army Air Service
United States Army Air Service
The Air Service, United States Army was a forerunner of the United States Air Force during and after World War I. It was established as an independent but temporary wartime branch of the War Department by two executive orders of President Woodrow Wilson: on May 24, 1918, replacing the Aviation...
) in San Diego as a flight instructor. During the war he taught at airfields in Wichita Falls, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
, and Miami, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. It was in Florida after the war that Musick founded his own flying school and surpassed the 10,000 flying hours mark.
In October 1927, Musick joined Pan American as it was just starting operations. He made the company's inaugural mail flight to Havana
Havana
Havana is the capital city, province, major port, and leading commercial centre of Cuba. The city proper has a population of 2.1 million inhabitants, and it spans a total of — making it the largest city in the Caribbean region, and the most populous...
, Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
from Key West
Key West
Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida on the North American continent at the southernmost tip of the Florida Keys. Key West is home to the southernmost point in the Continental United States; the island is about from Cuba....
, Florida, that same year. Musick was promoted to chief pilot for Pan American's Caribbean Division in 1930.
In 1934, Musick was chosen to make the trial flights for the new Sikorsky S-42
Sikorsky S-42
|-See also:-References:NotesBibliography* Davies, R.E.G. Pan Am: An Airline and its Aircraft. New York: Orion Books, 1987. ISBN 0-517-56639-7....
flying boat. During these stringent test flights, Musick collected 10 world records for seaplanes. Musick's work on these trials led to him piloting the first two trans-Pacific survey routes for Pan American in 1935.
Because of his exploits with Pan American, Musick was one of the best known pilots of the 1930s, even making the cover of Time Magazine on December 2, 1935. Also that year, he received the Harmon Trophy
Harmon Trophy
The Harmon Trophy is a set of three international trophies, to be awarded annually to the world's outstanding aviator, aviatrix , and aeronaut...
. At one point during the 1930s, Musick held more flying records than any other pilot. At the time of his death, Captain Musick had reportedly flown about two million transocean miles in airline service.
Musick and his crew of six died in the crash of the S-42 Samoan Clipper
Samoan Clipper
Samoan Clipper was one of ten Pan American Airways Sikorsky S-42 flying boats. It exploded over Pago Pago, American Samoa, on January 11, 1938, while piloted by famous aviator, Ed Musick. Musick and his crew of six died in the crash....
near Pago Pago, American Samoa, on a cargo and survey flight to Auckland, New Zealand. About one hour after take-off the aircraft reportedly experienced an engine oil leak and Musick turned back toward Pago Pago. After the crew reported they were dumping fuel
Fuel dumping
Fuel dumping is a procedure used by aircraft in certain emergency situations before a return to the airport shortly after takeoff, or before landing short of its intended destination to lighten the aircraft's weight.-Aircraft fuel dump:Aircraft have two major types of weight limits: the maximum ...
in preparation for a precautionary landing, an explosion tore the aircraft apart in flight. Pan American stated at the time that the fuel dump valves underneath the wings likely vented vaporized fuel near the engines' exhaust ports, causing the explosion and loss of the seaplane. Floating wreckage from the plane was later found about 14 miles northwest of Pago Pago by the U. S. naval seaplane tender Avocet. The bodies of the seven crewmen were not recovered.
Musick Point
Musick Point
Musick Point is the headland of the peninsula that forms the eastern shore of the Tamaki River in Bucklands Beach, a suburb of Manukau City in New Zealand. In 1942 Musick Point was named after Ed Musick, a famous aviator,who visited NZ in 1937., although the headland is also known as Te Waiarohia,...
in Auckland Harbour is named after him.