Elko Airport
Elko, Elko County, Nevada
Marker Inscription
Elko Airport. On April 6, 1926, Varney Air Lines pilot Leon Cuddeback carried one bag of mail and landed his tiny Curtiss Swallow biplane at Elko, Nevada, completing the first scheduled Air Mail run in the United States.The single-engine 90 horsepower aircraft had taken off from Pasco, Washington, stopped in Boise, Idaho for fuel and mail, and then completed the 460-mile flight to Elko. The Varney contract was awarded October 27, 1925, at a rate of B cents an ounce. Varney sold to Boeing, which merged with United Airlines in 1931.
Erected by Northeastern Historical Society
The Story
On an April morning in 1926, Varney Air Lines pilot Leon Cuddeback set his little Curtiss Swallow biplane down at Elko with a single sack of mail, completing the first scheduled airmail flight in the United States. The ninety-horsepower plane had lifted off from Pasco, Washington, refueled at Boise, and covered some 460 miles to reach Nevada under a fresh federal contract. Varney's modest venture proved the commercial promise of flying the mail; the company was later sold to Boeing and folded into United Airlines.
Why it matters
This unassuming field marks the birth of scheduled airmail in America and, with it, the lineage of a major national airline—a first small step toward the country's commercial aviation network.
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Related people
- · Leon Cuddeback
Related events
- · First scheduled U.S. Air Mail flight
Themes & tags
Nearby & related markers
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