DUANE
Duane's take
The official marker at Love Field tells it like this, and I'm just the one passin' it along. Now, Love Field in Dallas has seen a lot of history come and go, but there are two moments — two firsts — that put this patch of Texas ground on the map of American aviation forever. The first one came on May 12, 1926.
National Air Transport — a company that would later become United Air Lines — stood up in front of Texas and said: we're movin' the mail by air. First time it had ever been done in this state. And they didn't ease into it gentle, either.
They loaded up two single-engine monoplanes named "Miss Dallas" and "Miss Fort Worth," packed them with airmail packets weighing a total of one thousand, five hundred and fifty-six pounds, and sent those birds north toward Chicago. Twelve hours of flying. That was the trip.
But here's what makes it a real story. While those two planes were climbing out of Love Field heading north, "Miss Chicago" was already in the air coming south. She was carrying two hundred and seventy-five pounds of mail and parcels bound for Dallas — and among those parcels were apparel shipments for two clothing stores, and a shipment of diamonds.
Total value: one hundred thousand dollars. Flying over the middle of the country at whatever altitude those early monoplanes could manage, a hundred thousand dollars in diamonds cutting through the sky. Nobody thought that was unusual.
That was just Tuesday. Then came September 1st, 1927. That's the day National Air Transport decided Texas was ready for passengers.
Eight in the morning. Departure time. A full load boarded that plane out of Love Field.
A full load being — and I want you to hold onto your hat here — three people. Three passengers. A full load.
That was it. That was the whole cabin. But those three souls were the first paying passengers ever to fly out of Texas on a scheduled airline.
And about an hour before those three settled into their seats in Dallas, another plane had already left Chicago heading the other direction — two passengers aboard and the first load of air express ever shipped on this route. Now, you might be wondering why anybody would go to all this trouble for three passengers and a box of diamonds. Here's your answer: the train took fifteen hours longer.
That 990-mile run between Dallas and Chicago, with seven stops along the way, took nearly twelve hours by air — but it was still cutting a day and a half off the railroad clock. Time, apparently, was already worth something. The ticket wasn't cheap in the way of comfort, but it was simple in the way of math: ten cents per mile.
Each passenger got twenty-five pounds of baggage, and if you went over, you paid a dollar a pound for the privilege. Air express shipments were capped at two hundred pounds and five thousand dollars in valuation. So the next time you're sitting in traffic on the way to Dallas Love Field, maybe stuck behind somebody who's convinced the left lane is optional — just remember.
On this very ground, two planes called "Miss Dallas" and "Miss Fort Worth" once lifted off into a Texas morning carrying over fifteen hundred pounds of mail toward Chicago, while a hundred thousand dollars in diamonds rode the sky the other direction. And a little over a year later, three very lucky — or very brave — Texans sat down in an airplane and became the first passengers this state ever sent into the air on a schedule. Some firsts whisper their way into history.
These two roared.
What the marker says
Love Field witnessed two "firsts" in Texas aviation history. National Air Transport (later became United Air Lines) on May 12, 1926, inaugurated first airmail service in Texas, and on Sept. 1, 1927, flew the first passengers and express. The flights were to Chicago. The first airmail packets, weighing a total of 1,556 lbs., were dispatched in two single-engine monoplanes, "Miss Dallas" and "Miss Fort Worth," for a 12-hour flight. At the same time, "Miss Chicago" was on its way to Dallas with 275 lbs. of mail and parcels, including apparel for two clothing stores and a shipment of diamonds; total value $100,000. The first passenger service began at 8 a.m., with departure of a full load of three. About an hour earlier, another plane with two passengers and the first load of express left Chicago for Dallas. These early flights cut rail time by 15 hours, though it took almost 12 hours to fly the 990-mile, 7-stop trip, which cost 10 cents per mile. Each passenger was allowed 25 lbs. in baggage, with overweight charged at a dollar a pound. Air express shipments were limited to 200 lbs. and $5,000 valuation. Early travel, communication and transportation series; erected by Moody Foundation - 1965