First pilot certificate issued
It’s been 81 years since the U.S. issued the first civilian pilot’s license. The license was issued April 6, 1927, a month before Lindbergh’s historic transatlantic flight. The license was issued to William MacCracken and signed by Herbert Hoover, who was Secretary of Commerce at the time. MacCracken was a former Army pilot and a supporter of federal aviation legislation. He was an advocate for the Air Commerce Act to encourage aviation in American. By 1927, MacCracken was the assistant secretary of commerce for aeronautics. He later would sign pilot’s licenses himself.
The license will be auctioned Monday, Dec. 15 during a rare book and manuscript auction at the New York galleries of Bonhams.
