This photo is taken east of Bend with Pilot Butte, a familiar landmark, barely visible to the left. Photo courtesy: Deschutes Historical Museum
Aviation has a long and storied history in the U.S. Wilbur and Orville Wright perfected the first heavier-than-air, motorized airplane in the late 1800 and early 1900. Their first flight took place on December 17, 1903, at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. The 120-foot jump started an unprecedented development of a technology that continues to this date.
The first recorded Central Oregon showing of an airplane took place in 1912 at the Crook County Fair Grounds when pilot Silas Christofferson’s winged his Curtiss biplane over the fairgrounds.
Bend and Redmond’s first close-up experience with an airplane took place in early May 1920 when Roland Thompson’s Curtiss JN-4 (a World War I training aircraft, a.k.a “The Jenny”) touched down in Redmond – a part of a Central Oregon barnstorming tour. And on Saturday May 8, Bend folks got to see Thompson’s Jenny flying over Knott Field, a cleared part of Edward Knotts’ dairy farm. Today, you’ll find Deschutes County Solid Waste – Knott Landfill in the same spot.
Over the weekend, 27 daring residents took the chance to see the city from above. The Bend Bulletin reported that one of Thompson’s passengers steadied his nerves with a quart of Prohibition-era “hootch” during the one-hour flight.
“Under the influence of the stimulant, the aerial joy rider decided that it would be well for him walk about a bit and unbuckled his life belt before Thompson could interfere. He was promptly jerked to his seat and sat quietly until the plane was circling close to earth when he wished to get out. This time a tap on the head from a wrench in the hand of the pilot seated behind him, persuaded him to wait.”
tor hanson 