Moye W. Stephens
Encyclopedia
Moye Wicks Stephens was an American
aviator and businessman. He was a pioneer in aviation
, circumnavigating the globe with adventure writer Richard Halliburton
in 1931, and co-founding Northrop
Aircraft, Inc.
. He married Contessa Gadina de Turiani, an aviatrix from Trieste, Italy, who had divorced millionaire aviator Ross Hadley. In later years Stephens lived in Ensenada
, Baja California
, Mexico
; he died in Calistoga, California
in 1995.
flying ace
s, pioneers of early aviation
. These were people such as Frank Clarke
, Pancho Barnes
, Sandy Sandblom, Leo Nomis, Bud Creeth, Eddie Bellande, Ross Hadley, and Stephens's lifelong best friend, Dick Rinaldi. He knew movie stars such as Richard Arlen
, Ramon Novarro
, Sue Carol
, Reginald Denny
, Wallace Beery
, and Dolores del Río
. He also knew movie executives and directors such as Cecil B. DeMille
, Victor Fleming
, Howard Hawks
,and Howard Hughes
.
flown by Louis Paulhan
into the Southern California sky; in 1910 it was the only monoplane to have successfully flown, including the first flight across the English Channel.
, with its requisite ground courses and instruction hours. When a pilot first took him aloft, he saw a Los Angeles unrecognizable today. He looked down on a Wilshire Boulevard surrounded by countryside, bordered by "a row of stunted palms." He sometimes flew out of Mines Field, one day to become Los Angeles International Airport
.
In 1923, he flew for the first time in an OX-5-powered Standard J-1 from Rogers Airport at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. That same year he persuaded the manager to allow him flying lessons in exchange for work. As a sixteen-year-old at Hollywood High in Los Angeles, he was taught to fly by pilots such as Leo Nomis.
, A single-seat biplane with fabric-covered wood frame, it had been an advanced trainer for World War I pilots. Its engine was most unusual, a Le Rhône Rotary, in which the engine block moved rather than the pistons. Moye paid movie stunt pilot Leo Nomis $450 for the Scout after his father relented and allowed the boy to buy the plane. (In 2007 a "Tommie" was on sale for $125,000.) Stephens' plane weighed 961 pounds empty and had no throttle. It did have two fuel levers, or manettes, which served in lieu of carburetor, one controlling air intake, the other, fuel. Engine speed was controlled by a so-called blipper, a switch. To manage speed as he taxied for take off, the pilot cut ignition, then let it start again. With this plane Moye really learned how to fly.
In 1926, he bought his first airplane for $450, a war surplus Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout from Leo Nomis, a leading motion picture stunt pilot. In 2007, a "Tommie" was listed for sale at $125,000.
Link to a picture of a Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout http://www.aviation-history.com/thomas/scout-1.jpg
, Palo Alto, California, graduating in 1928 with an AB in law, then entering Stanford graduate school for a JD so he could one day practice law in his father's firm, mainly to satisfy his father.
In 1924 he began study at Stanford University
, Palo Alto, California, and majored in law. His father, an attorney, had plans for his son to join his law firm. That summer Stephens returned to his flying lessons at Rogers Airport. In the fall he resumed his studies at Stanford.
's film, Corporal Kate and in Howard Hughes
' ' Hells Angels
, famous today for its harrowing World War I aerial combat scenes.
In summer 1928 he taught the donor of the Los Angeles La Brea Tar Pits
, Captain G. Allan Hancock
, to fly in an OX-5-powered Travel Air
2000. Hancock backed the Kingsford-Smith Southern Cross Pacific flight.
Jack Northrop
, Jerry Vultee, and Cliff Garrett
, each eventually founding, respectively, Northrop
Aviation, Vultee Aircraft
, and Garrett AiResearch
, were given their initial flying instruction by Moye Stephens in the same OX-5 Travel Air.
Moye Stephens was a stunt pilot for Hollywood movies produced by Howard Hughes
and Cecil B. DeMille
. He gave Hughes flying lessons, and knew Victor Fleming
, Gone With The Wind
director, as well as various movie stars.
In 1926 with J.M. Hiatt, a Stanford classmate, he wrote stories, "The Assault Upon Miracle Castle", and "Ghosts of the Air", both published in Weird Tales
, a magazine still in existence. He also co-authored science-fiction for Weird Tales
, gave flying lessons to Howard Hughes
and flew as a stunt pilot in Hughes' silent movie extravaganza, Hell's Angels.
, TAT. He needed somebody to cover for him at Maddux when he left for TAT. Although TAT pay was slightly better, the Maddux pay was princely, with mileage and other factors working out to $500 monthly. He asked if Stephens wanted to pilot for Maddux. Moye Stephens flew his Tommie home from Stanford University to ask his father for permission to join Maddux. His father relented, but only if Moye shave off his mustache.
Moye went on to pilot Ford Tri-Motors for Transcontinental Air Transport
(TAT), the airline that became Trans World Airlines
, (TWA
). He quit that job when offered an opportunity to fly around the world with Richard Halliburton
. A commercial pilot for Transcontinental Air Transport
, or TAT, which became TWA
, he flew Ford Tri-Motors.
In 1928 he left Stanford just when beginning law school as he was hired as captain for Maddux Airlines to fly Ford Tri-Motors, although he had no multi-engine experience. He had no co-pilot at Maddux. Instead the right hand seat was occupied by a mechanic with the title "mate." For aircraft checkout, he rode shotgun on a trip to San Diego, and one more, a trip to Alameda, California. He handled the controls while in the air. He was checked-out for take off and landing by doing a quick circuit of Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California
, with the pilot observing from the right-hand seat. Then the pilot got out and Stephens did three quick solo circuits. The pilot had not stayed to observe.
In June 1929 he resigned from Maddux to join Transcontinental Air Transport
(TAT) which eventually became Trans World Airlines
(TWA). TAT was the first United States transcontinental passenger airline.
In 1929 he was elected to a term as president of the Professional Pilots Association http://www.propilots.org/. In the same year he become one of the founders of the Los Angeles Hangar of the Quiet Birdmen
.
's New York
to Paris
flight, Stephens flew an open cockpit biplane around the world. He was approached by famous travel-adventurist Richard Halliburton
, who proposed up to two years away, visiting well-known and less known places. Stephens chose a Stearman C-3B
with Halliburton, taking eighteen months, and reaching places such as Timbuktu
in Africa, Mount Everest
in the Himalayas, The Taj Mahal
in India, Petra
in Jordan, Singapore
in Southeast Asia, and Sarawak
in Borneo.
The two men simply shook hands. Moye had no pay, but unlimited expenses.http://www.opencockpit.net/moye.html When Crown Prince Ghazi of Iraq
was a boy, Stephens and Halliburton flew the lad over a school yard so class mates could see the Prince in an open-cockpit airplane. They performed acrobatics for the Maharajah of Nepal. They were feted by Sylvia Brett
, wife of the White Rajah of Sarawak.
In a 23 January 1932 letter to his parents, Halliburton wrote, "Moye continues to be the world's best pilot. Once we are in the air, no matter where, everything goes like clock-work."
For Halliburton, he piloted a Stearman C-3B biplane, The Flying Carpet, and Halliburton wrote a book of the same name, published in 1932, which became a best seller. They flew to French Foreign Legion
outposts, and across the Sahara
to Timbuktu
. Their flight took them to Asia, including India, Persia, Malaysia, and other countries. In Iran, they met young German aviatrix Elly Beinhorn
, famous in her day, who had also flown to Timbuktu in a Klemm
, although her plane had been forced down because of mechanical failure.
In 1931, Richard Halliburton
, a famous travel-adventure writer of the time, asked Stephens to pilot and mechanic for him in an around the world flight. The purpose was to gather material for Halliburton's next book, The Flying Carpet, which became a best seller. The trip in a biplane called The Flying Carpet, a Stearman C-3B, took eighteen months, covered 33,660 miles, visited 34 countries, and included France, the Sahara, Persia, Singapore, and the Philippines. In that global flight, Stephens performed aerobatics for the first air meet in Oran, Algeria, aerobatics for the first air meet in Fez, Morroco, rescued Elly Beinhorn
a famous German aviatrix, and flew aerobatics for the Maharajah of Nepal.
Among the highlights of his trip was the first aerial photograph of Mount Everest
. He and Halliburton were the first Americans to fly to the Philippines. He flew Crown Prince Ghazi of Iraq
. In Persia, Princess Mahin Banu climbed into the front cockpit for a ride with him. In Borneo, he took Sylvia Brett
, known as Ranee Sylvia of Sarawak, for a ride, the first woman to fly in that country. At the Rajang River there, he took the chief of the Dyak
head-hunters for a flight.
." Stephens said, "Tom Ellsworth was talking to my brother-in-law Wesley LeFevre. He said, 'It's a shame for that fellow Northrop to be working for other people. He should head his own company.'" In 1939, Stephens used his lawyerly skills to scout the countryside for a site to erect Northrop
Aviation's first buildings. He was one of the men who brought John K. "Jack" Northrop
together with Gage H. Irving and La Motte Cohu. Stephens was appointed to the board as secretary and was chief of the flight division. As chief test pilot, he flew the first Flying Wing
, the Northrop N-1M
, prototype of today's B-2
bomber.
In 1939 he was instrumental in the promotion and organization of Northrop Aircraft, Inc., in consideration of which he was awarded stock interest in the company and was made Assistant Corporate Secretary. Following the departure of the original secretary, he was moved into that position by the board of electors.
The Northrop N-1M
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1994/3/1994_3_54.shtml, was the first aircraft Northrop produced. The "M" stood for "mock-up", as the craft was intended to explore the controllability and stability of the all-wing aircraft concept. Stephens did most of the experimental test flying in the two year test program. The ship was vastly overweight, severely underpowered, and was plagued with constant engine problems. Still, it fulfilled its design purpose. The test program produced the general configuration for the subsequent Northrop Flying Wings.
Stephens also tested other experimental Northrop aircraft: the N-3PB float plane patrol bomber, the A-31 Vengeance dive bomber, and the P-61 Black Widow
night fighter.
In the 1920s he had given Jack Northrop flying lessons. (He also taught Jerry Vultee, of Vultee Aircraft, maker of jets such as the F-102, F-106 and B-58
.)
sent him to New Zealand
and Australia
to promote sales and to check out the pilots of Union Airways
and Ansett Airways in their new Lockheed Model 10 Electra
airplanes. In 1942, he was presented an award of Distinguished Service by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
in recognition of this work.
At the close of World War II
, Stephens and Ted Coleman, Northrop sales manager, left Northrop to start an air cargo business in the interior of Brazil
. They obtained a franchise from the Brazilian government, but the climate severely affected his young son's health so Stephens returned to the United States.
In 1948, John K. Northrop awarded him a lifetime membership in the Flying Wing Club as "one of a small group of distinguished pilots who have participated in the historical development and pioneered in the public acceptance of this revolutionary and highly efficient type of aircraft."
In 1982, he was made a member of the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers. In 1989, he was elected to the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame
; he was chosen to join Charles Lindbergh
, Howard Hughes
, Jimmy Doolittle
and some 50 other "carefully selected...eminent individuals in the aerospace field" "Moye Stephens: Aviation Pioneer and Adventurer" by Ronald Gilliam, originally published in the July 1999 issue of Aviation History. In 1983, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of The Society of Experimental Test Pilots
in the San Diego Aerospace Museum
. In 1990, his interview as a pioneer aviator appeared on a PBS
television series, The American Experience, on the life of Charles Lindbergh
, produced by Ken Burns
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
aviator and businessman. He was a pioneer in aviation
Aviation history
The history of aviation has extended over more than two thousand years from the earliest attempts in kites and gliders to powered heavier-than-air, supersonic and hypersonic flight.The first form of man-made flying objects were kites...
, circumnavigating the globe with adventure writer Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
in 1931, and co-founding Northrop
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
Aircraft, Inc.
Family
His father was also named Moye Wicks Stephens; his mother was Mary Hendrick Stephens. His grandparents, Judge and Mrs. Albert Moye Stephens, had a ranch in the mountains near Pomona, CaliforniaPomona, California
-2010:The 2010 United States Census reported that Pomona had a population of 149,058, a slight decline from the 2000 census population. The population density was 6,491.2 people per square mile...
. He married Contessa Gadina de Turiani, an aviatrix from Trieste, Italy, who had divorced millionaire aviator Ross Hadley. In later years Stephens lived in Ensenada
Ensenada, Baja California
Ensenada is a coastal city in Mexico and the third-largest city in Baja California. It is located south of San Diego on the Baja California Peninsula. The city is locally referred to as La Cenicienta del Pacífico, or, The Cinderella of the Pacific...
, Baja California
Baja California
Baja California officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is both the northernmost and westernmost state of Mexico. Before becoming a state in 1953, the area was known as the North...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
; he died in Calistoga, California
Calistoga, California
Calistoga is a city in Napa County, California, United States. The population was 5,155 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , 99.30% of it land and 0.70% of it water.-Climate:...
in 1995.
Friends and acquaintances
Stephens knew barnstormers and World War IWorld 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...
flying ace
Flying ace
A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down several enemy aircraft during aerial combat. The actual number of aerial victories required to officially qualify as an "ace" has varied, but is usually considered to be five or more...
s, pioneers of early aviation
Aviation history
The history of aviation has extended over more than two thousand years from the earliest attempts in kites and gliders to powered heavier-than-air, supersonic and hypersonic flight.The first form of man-made flying objects were kites...
. These were people such as Frank Clarke
Frank Clarke
Frank Clarke may refer to:* Frank Gay Clarke , U.S. Representative from New Hampshire, 1897–1901* Frank James Clarke , English footballer* Frank Wigglesworth Clarke , American chemist and mineralologist...
, Pancho Barnes
Pancho Barnes
Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes was a pioneer aviator, the founder of the first test pilots union and the owner of the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a bar and restaurant. She broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record in 1930...
, Sandy Sandblom, Leo Nomis, Bud Creeth, Eddie Bellande, Ross Hadley, and Stephens's lifelong best friend, Dick Rinaldi. He knew movie stars such as Richard Arlen
Richard Arlen
-Biography:Born Sylvanus Richard Van Mattimore in St. Paul, Minnesota, he attended the University of Pennsylvania. He served as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps during World War I. His first job after the war was with St. Paul's Athletic Club...
, Ramon Novarro
Ramón Novarro
Ramón Novarro was a Mexican leading man actor in Hollywood in the early 20th century. He was the next male "Sex Symbol" after the death of Rudolph Valentino...
, Sue Carol
Sue Carol
Sue Carol was an American actress and talent agent.While at a social function in Los Angeles in 1927, a director offered her a part in a film. She took it and began playing minor parts...
, Reginald Denny
Reginald Denny (actor)
Reginald Denny was an English stage, film, and television actor. He was once an amateur boxing champion of Great Britain.-Acting career:...
, Wallace Beery
Wallace Beery
Wallace Fitzgerald Beery was an American actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Bill in Min and Bill opposite Marie Dressler, as Long John Silver in Treasure Island, as Pancho Villa in Viva Villa!, and his titular role in The Champ, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Actor...
, and Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río
Dolores del Río was a Mexican film actress. She was a star of Hollywood films during the silent era and in the Golden Age of Hollywood...
. He also knew movie executives and directors such as Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
, Victor Fleming
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
, Howard Hawks
Howard Hawks
Howard Winchester Hawks was an American film director, producer and screenwriter of the classic Hollywood era...
,and Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
.
First encounter with planes
Not quite four, he saw his first planes in 1910 at the Los Angeles International Air Meet at Dominguez Field, in today's Dominguez Hills, California, on the southern outskirts of Los Angeles, and the boy became enamored of aeroplanes. His most vivid image was of a French BlériotBlériot Aéronautique
Blériot Aéronautique was a French aircraft manufacturer founded by Louis Blériot. It also made a few cyclecars from 1921 to 1922.After Louis Blériot became famous for being the first to fly over the English Channel in 1909, he established an aircraft manufacturing company. This company really took...
flown by Louis Paulhan
Louis Paulhan
Isidore Auguste Marie Louis Paulhan, known as Louis Paulhan, was a pioneering French aviator who in 1910 flew "Le Canard", the world's first seaplane, designed by Henri Fabre....
into the Southern California sky; in 1910 it was the only monoplane to have successfully flown, including the first flight across the English Channel.
Flying lessons
After classes at Hollywood High, Stephens rushed to Rogers Airport at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue to look at the biplanes and to talk with the pilots. (Today, not a trace of the airport remains.) As months passed, the men came to like the lad, and taught him what they knew, even taking him on short hops. Eventually, Jim Webster, airport manager, agreed—with parental permission—to give him flying lessons in exchange for work around the hangars. In his lessons he was a quick learner, and after logging more cockpit time he finally soloed. This, of course, was an era before the Federal Aviation AdministrationFederal Aviation Administration
The Federal Aviation Administration is the national aviation authority of the United States. An agency of the United States Department of Transportation, it has authority to regulate and oversee all aspects of civil aviation in the U.S...
, with its requisite ground courses and instruction hours. When a pilot first took him aloft, he saw a Los Angeles unrecognizable today. He looked down on a Wilshire Boulevard surrounded by countryside, bordered by "a row of stunted palms." He sometimes flew out of Mines Field, one day to become Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport
Los Angeles International Airport is the primary airport serving the Greater Los Angeles Area, the second-most populated metropolitan area in the United States. It is most often referred to by its IATA airport code LAX, with the letters pronounced individually...
.
In 1923, he flew for the first time in an OX-5-powered Standard J-1 from Rogers Airport at the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue. That same year he persuaded the manager to allow him flying lessons in exchange for work. As a sixteen-year-old at Hollywood High in Los Angeles, he was taught to fly by pilots such as Leo Nomis.
First plane purchased
His first plane was a Thomas-Morse S-4C ScoutThomas-Morse S-4
|-See also:-Bibliography:* Donald, David, ed. Encyclopedia of World Aircraft, p. 875, "Thomas Brothers and Thomas-Morse aircraft". Etobicoke, Ontario: Prospero Books, 1997....
, A single-seat biplane with fabric-covered wood frame, it had been an advanced trainer for World War I pilots. Its engine was most unusual, a Le Rhône Rotary, in which the engine block moved rather than the pistons. Moye paid movie stunt pilot Leo Nomis $450 for the Scout after his father relented and allowed the boy to buy the plane. (In 2007 a "Tommie" was on sale for $125,000.) Stephens' plane weighed 961 pounds empty and had no throttle. It did have two fuel levers, or manettes, which served in lieu of carburetor, one controlling air intake, the other, fuel. Engine speed was controlled by a so-called blipper, a switch. To manage speed as he taxied for take off, the pilot cut ignition, then let it start again. With this plane Moye really learned how to fly.
In 1926, he bought his first airplane for $450, a war surplus Thomas-Morse S-4C Scout from Leo Nomis, a leading motion picture stunt pilot. In 2007, a "Tommie" was listed for sale at $125,000.
Link to a picture of a Thomas-Morse S-4 Scout http://www.aviation-history.com/thomas/scout-1.jpg
Education
He graduated Hollywood High School at age 16. His parents kept him from college for a year. He attended Stanford UniversityStanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Palo Alto, California, graduating in 1928 with an AB in law, then entering Stanford graduate school for a JD so he could one day practice law in his father's firm, mainly to satisfy his father.
In 1924 he began study at Stanford University
Stanford University
The Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University or Stanford, is a private research university on an campus located near Palo Alto, California. It is situated in the northwestern Santa Clara Valley on the San Francisco Peninsula, approximately northwest of San...
, Palo Alto, California, and majored in law. His father, an attorney, had plans for his son to join his law firm. That summer Stephens returned to his flying lessons at Rogers Airport. In the fall he resumed his studies at Stanford.
Early work
During his summer vacations, he soon started flying in movies as a paid stunt pilot. This included work in Cecil B. DeMilleCecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
's film, Corporal Kate and in Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
' ' Hells Angels
Hells Angels
The Hells Angels Motorcycle Club is a worldwide one-percenter motorcycle gang and organized crime syndicate whose members typically ride Harley-Davidson motorcycles. In the United States and Canada, the Hells Angels are incorporated as the Hells Angels Motorcycle Corporation. Their primary motto...
, famous today for its harrowing World War I aerial combat scenes.
In summer 1928 he taught the donor of the Los Angeles La Brea Tar Pits
La Brea Tar Pits
The La Brea Tar Pits are a cluster of tar pits around which Hancock Park was formed, in the urban heart of Los Angeles. Asphaltum or tar has seeped up from the ground in this area for tens of thousands of years. The tar is often covered with water...
, Captain G. Allan Hancock
Allan Hancock
George Allan Hancock was the owner of the Rancho La Brea Oil Company. He inherited Rancho La Brea, including the La Brea Tarpits which he donated to Los Angeles County. He also developed Hancock Park, Los Angeles...
, to fly in an OX-5-powered Travel Air
Travel Air
The Travel Air Manufacturing Company was an aircraft manufacturer established in Wichita, Kansas in the United States in January 1925 by Clyde Cessna, Walter Beech, and Lloyd Stearman.-Company history:...
2000. Hancock backed the Kingsford-Smith Southern Cross Pacific flight.
Jack Northrop
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
, Jerry Vultee, and Cliff Garrett
Cliff Garrett
John Clifford "Cliff" Garrett founded a company in Los Angeles in 1936 which came to be known as Garrett AiResearch....
, each eventually founding, respectively, Northrop
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
Aviation, Vultee Aircraft
Vultee Aircraft
The Vultee Aircraft Corporation became an independent company in 1939 and had limited success before merging with the Consolidated Aircraft Corporation in 1943 to form the Consolidated Vultee Aircraft Corporation, or Convair.-History:...
, and Garrett AiResearch
Garrett AiResearch
Garrett AiResearch was a manufacturer of turboprop engines and turbochargers, and a pioneer in numerous aerospace technologies. It was previously known as Aircraft Tool and Supply Company, Garrett Supply Company, AiResearch Manufacturing Company, or simply AiResearch...
, were given their initial flying instruction by Moye Stephens in the same OX-5 Travel Air.
Moye Stephens was a stunt pilot for Hollywood movies produced by Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
and Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil B. DeMille
Cecil Blount DeMille was an American film director and Academy Award-winning film producer in both silent and sound films. He was renowned for the flamboyance and showmanship of his movies...
. He gave Hughes flying lessons, and knew Victor Fleming
Victor Fleming
Victor Lonzo Fleming was an American film director, cinematographer, and producer. His most popular films were The Wizard of Oz , and Gone with the Wind , for which he won an Academy Award for Best Director.-Life and career:Fleming was born in La Canada, California, the son of Elizabeth Evaleen ...
, Gone With The Wind
Gone with the Wind
The slaves depicted in Gone with the Wind are primarily loyal house servants, such as Mammy, Pork and Uncle Peter, and these slaves stay on with their masters even after the Emancipation Proclamation of 1863 sets them free...
director, as well as various movie stars.
In 1926 with J.M. Hiatt, a Stanford classmate, he wrote stories, "The Assault Upon Miracle Castle", and "Ghosts of the Air", both published in Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
, a magazine still in existence. He also co-authored science-fiction for Weird Tales
Weird Tales
Weird Tales is an American fantasy and horror fiction pulp magazine first published in March 1923. It ceased its original run in September 1954, after 279 issues, but has since been revived. The magazine was set up in Chicago by J. C. Henneberger, an ex-journalist with a taste for the macabre....
, gave flying lessons to Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
and flew as a stunt pilot in Hughes' silent movie extravaganza, Hell's Angels.
Maddux
Then, while at Stanford he received a phone call from Eddie Bellande, a man who taught him to fly. Stephens could have Bellande's old pilot job with Maddux Airlines because Bellande was taking a job as pilot with a new airline, Transcontinental Air TransportTranscontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport was an airline founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys that merged in 1930 with Western Air Express to form what became TWA....
, TAT. He needed somebody to cover for him at Maddux when he left for TAT. Although TAT pay was slightly better, the Maddux pay was princely, with mileage and other factors working out to $500 monthly. He asked if Stephens wanted to pilot for Maddux. Moye Stephens flew his Tommie home from Stanford University to ask his father for permission to join Maddux. His father relented, but only if Moye shave off his mustache.
Moye went on to pilot Ford Tri-Motors for Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport was an airline founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys that merged in 1930 with Western Air Express to form what became TWA....
(TAT), the airline that became Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
, (TWA
Twa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
). He quit that job when offered an opportunity to fly around the world with Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
. A commercial pilot for Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport was an airline founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys that merged in 1930 with Western Air Express to form what became TWA....
, or TAT, which became TWA
Twa
The Twa are any of several hunting peoples of Africa who live interdependently with agricultural Bantu populations, and generally hold a socially subordinate position: They provide the farming population with game in exchange for agricultural products....
, he flew Ford Tri-Motors.
In 1928 he left Stanford just when beginning law school as he was hired as captain for Maddux Airlines to fly Ford Tri-Motors, although he had no multi-engine experience. He had no co-pilot at Maddux. Instead the right hand seat was occupied by a mechanic with the title "mate." For aircraft checkout, he rode shotgun on a trip to San Diego, and one more, a trip to Alameda, California. He handled the controls while in the air. He was checked-out for take off and landing by doing a quick circuit of Grand Central Air Terminal in Glendale, California
Glendale, California
Glendale is a city in Los Angeles County, California, United States. As of the 2010 Census, the city population is 191,719, down from 194,973 at the 2000 census. making it the third largest city in Los Angeles County and the 22nd largest city in the state of California...
, with the pilot observing from the right-hand seat. Then the pilot got out and Stephens did three quick solo circuits. The pilot had not stayed to observe.
In June 1929 he resigned from Maddux to join Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport was an airline founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys that merged in 1930 with Western Air Express to form what became TWA....
(TAT) which eventually became Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
(TWA). TAT was the first United States transcontinental passenger airline.
In 1929 he was elected to a term as president of the Professional Pilots Association http://www.propilots.org/. In the same year he become one of the founders of the Los Angeles Hangar of the Quiet Birdmen
Quiet Birdmen
The Quiet Birdmen is a secretive club in the United States for male aviators. Founded in 1921 by World War I pilots, the organization meets in various locations, never announced to the public. Members, called QBs, must be invited to join, and they join for life...
.
The Flying Carpet expedition
A few years after Charles LindberghCharles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
's New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
flight, Stephens flew an open cockpit biplane around the world. He was approached by famous travel-adventurist Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
, who proposed up to two years away, visiting well-known and less known places. Stephens chose a Stearman C-3B
Stearman C3
|-References:NotesBibliography* Davies, R.E.G. Airlines of the United States since 1914. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution Press, 1998. ISBN 1-888962-08-9....
with Halliburton, taking eighteen months, and reaching places such as Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
in Africa, Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
in the Himalayas, The Taj Mahal
Taj Mahal
The Taj Mahal is a white Marble mausoleum located in Agra, India. It was built by Mughal emperor Shah Jahan in memory of his third wife, Mumtaz Mahal...
in India, Petra
Petra
Petra is a historical and archaeological city in the Jordanian governorate of Ma'an that is famous for its rock cut architecture and water conduits system. Established sometime around the 6th century BC as the capital city of the Nabataeans, it is a symbol of Jordan as well as its most visited...
in Jordan, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
in Southeast Asia, and Sarawak
Sarawak
Sarawak is one of two Malaysian states on the island of Borneo. Known as Bumi Kenyalang , Sarawak is situated on the north-west of the island. It is the largest state in Malaysia followed by Sabah, the second largest state located to the North- East.The administrative capital is Kuching, which...
in Borneo.
The two men simply shook hands. Moye had no pay, but unlimited expenses.http://www.opencockpit.net/moye.html When Crown Prince Ghazi of Iraq
Ghazi of Iraq
Ghazi bin Faisal was the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq from 1933 to 1939 having been briefly Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Syria in 1920...
was a boy, Stephens and Halliburton flew the lad over a school yard so class mates could see the Prince in an open-cockpit airplane. They performed acrobatics for the Maharajah of Nepal. They were feted by Sylvia Brett
Sylvia Brett
Sylvia Leonora, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak, born The Hon. Sylvia Leonora Brett, , was the consort to Vyner of Sarawak, last of the White Rajahs.-Early life:...
, wife of the White Rajah of Sarawak.
In a 23 January 1932 letter to his parents, Halliburton wrote, "Moye continues to be the world's best pilot. Once we are in the air, no matter where, everything goes like clock-work."
For Halliburton, he piloted a Stearman C-3B biplane, The Flying Carpet, and Halliburton wrote a book of the same name, published in 1932, which became a best seller. They flew to French Foreign Legion
French Foreign Legion
The French Foreign Legion is a unique military service wing of the French Army established in 1831. The foreign legion was exclusively created for foreign nationals willing to serve in the French Armed Forces...
outposts, and across the Sahara
Sahara
The Sahara is the world's second largest desert, after Antarctica. At over , it covers most of Northern Africa, making it almost as large as Europe or the United States. The Sahara stretches from the Red Sea, including parts of the Mediterranean coasts, to the outskirts of the Atlantic Ocean...
to Timbuktu
Timbuktu
Timbuktu , formerly also spelled Timbuctoo, is a town in the West African nation of Mali situated north of the River Niger on the southern edge of the Sahara Desert. The town is the capital of the Timbuktu Region, one of the eight administrative regions of Mali...
. Their flight took them to Asia, including India, Persia, Malaysia, and other countries. In Iran, they met young German aviatrix Elly Beinhorn
Elly Beinhorn
Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer was a German pilot.-Early life:She was born in Hannover, Germany on 30 May 1907....
, famous in her day, who had also flown to Timbuktu in a Klemm
Klemm
The Klemm Leichtflugzeugbau GmbH was a German aircraft manufacturer noteworthy for sports and touring planes of the 1930s.The company was founded in Böblingen in 1926 by Dr...
, although her plane had been forced down because of mechanical failure.
In 1931, Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton
Richard Halliburton was an American traveler, adventurer, and author. Best known today for having swum the length of the Panama Canal and paying the lowest toll in its history—thirty-six cents—Halliburton was headline news for most of his brief career...
, a famous travel-adventure writer of the time, asked Stephens to pilot and mechanic for him in an around the world flight. The purpose was to gather material for Halliburton's next book, The Flying Carpet, which became a best seller. The trip in a biplane called The Flying Carpet, a Stearman C-3B, took eighteen months, covered 33,660 miles, visited 34 countries, and included France, the Sahara, Persia, Singapore, and the Philippines. In that global flight, Stephens performed aerobatics for the first air meet in Oran, Algeria, aerobatics for the first air meet in Fez, Morroco, rescued Elly Beinhorn
Elly Beinhorn
Elly Beinhorn-Rosemeyer was a German pilot.-Early life:She was born in Hannover, Germany on 30 May 1907....
a famous German aviatrix, and flew aerobatics for the Maharajah of Nepal.
Among the highlights of his trip was the first aerial photograph of Mount Everest
Mount Everest
Mount Everest is the world's highest mountain, with a peak at above sea level. It is located in the Mahalangur section of the Himalayas. The international boundary runs across the precise summit point...
. He and Halliburton were the first Americans to fly to the Philippines. He flew Crown Prince Ghazi of Iraq
Ghazi of Iraq
Ghazi bin Faisal was the King of the Hashemite Kingdom of Iraq from 1933 to 1939 having been briefly Crown Prince of the Kingdom of Syria in 1920...
. In Persia, Princess Mahin Banu climbed into the front cockpit for a ride with him. In Borneo, he took Sylvia Brett
Sylvia Brett
Sylvia Leonora, Lady Brooke, Ranee of Sarawak, born The Hon. Sylvia Leonora Brett, , was the consort to Vyner of Sarawak, last of the White Rajahs.-Early life:...
, known as Ranee Sylvia of Sarawak, for a ride, the first woman to fly in that country. At the Rajang River there, he took the chief of the Dyak
Dyak
Dyak may refer to one of the following.*Dayak people, also called "Dyak", a native tribe of Borneo*Dyak a historical position of head of office in Russia...
head-hunters for a flight.
Northrop Corporation
In the Northrop News, March 27, 1981, Stephens is described as "one of the founders of Northrop CorporationNorthrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
." Stephens said, "Tom Ellsworth was talking to my brother-in-law Wesley LeFevre. He said, 'It's a shame for that fellow Northrop to be working for other people. He should head his own company.'" In 1939, Stephens used his lawyerly skills to scout the countryside for a site to erect Northrop
Northrop Corporation
Northrop Corporation was a leading United States aircraft manufacturer from its formation in 1939 until its merger with Grumman to form Northrop Grumman in 1994. The company is known for its development of the flying wing design, although only a few of these have entered service.-History:Jack...
Aviation's first buildings. He was one of the men who brought John K. "Jack" Northrop
John Knudsen Northrop
John Knudsen "Jack" Northrop was an American aircraft industrialist and designer, who founded the Northrop Corporation in 1939.-Entering aviation:...
together with Gage H. Irving and La Motte Cohu. Stephens was appointed to the board as secretary and was chief of the flight division. As chief test pilot, he flew the first Flying Wing
Flying wing
A flying wing is a tailless fixed-wing aircraft which has no definite fuselage, with most of the crew, payload and equipment being housed inside the main wing structure....
, the Northrop N-1M
Northrop N-1M
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Coleman, Ted. Jack Northrop and the Flying Wing: The Real Story Behind the Stealth Bomber. New York: Paragon House, 1988. ISBN 1-55778-079-X....
, prototype of today's B-2
B-2 Spirit
The Northrop Grumman B-2 Spirit is an American heavy bomber with low observable stealth technology designed to penetrate dense anti-aircraft defenses and deploy both conventional and nuclear weapons. The bomber has a crew of two and can drop up to eighty -class JDAM GPS-guided bombs, or sixteen ...
bomber.
In 1939 he was instrumental in the promotion and organization of Northrop Aircraft, Inc., in consideration of which he was awarded stock interest in the company and was made Assistant Corporate Secretary. Following the departure of the original secretary, he was moved into that position by the board of electors.
The Northrop N-1M
Northrop N-1M
|-See also:-References:NotesCitationsBibliography* Coleman, Ted. Jack Northrop and the Flying Wing: The Real Story Behind the Stealth Bomber. New York: Paragon House, 1988. ISBN 1-55778-079-X....
http://www.americanheritage.com/articles/magazine/it/1994/3/1994_3_54.shtml, was the first aircraft Northrop produced. The "M" stood for "mock-up", as the craft was intended to explore the controllability and stability of the all-wing aircraft concept. Stephens did most of the experimental test flying in the two year test program. The ship was vastly overweight, severely underpowered, and was plagued with constant engine problems. Still, it fulfilled its design purpose. The test program produced the general configuration for the subsequent Northrop Flying Wings.
Stephens also tested other experimental Northrop aircraft: the N-3PB float plane patrol bomber, the A-31 Vengeance dive bomber, and the P-61 Black Widow
P-61 Black Widow
The Northrop P-61 Black Widow was the first operational U.S. military aircraft designed specifically for night interception of aircraft, and was the first aircraft specifically designed to use radar. It was an all-metal, twin-engine, twin-boom design developed during World War II...
night fighter.
In the 1920s he had given Jack Northrop flying lessons. (He also taught Jerry Vultee, of Vultee Aircraft, maker of jets such as the F-102, F-106 and B-58
B-58 Hustler
The Convair B-58 Hustler was the first operational supersonic jet bomber capable of Mach 2 flight. The aircraft was designed by Convair engineer Robert H. Widmer and developed for the United States Air Force for service in the Strategic Air Command during the 1960s...
.)
Further career and recognition
In 1932, shortly after the return of the Flying Carpet, he was invited to become an inaugural member of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Aero Squadron. In 1937 he became a founder and board member of the Aviation Country Club of California, Inc. That same year he took leave of absence from Pacific Aircraft Sales, and enjoyed his honeymoon on a lengthy business trip: LockheedLockheed Corporation
The Lockheed Corporation was an American aerospace company. Lockheed was founded in 1912 and later merged with Martin Marietta to form Lockheed Martin in 1995.-Origins:...
sent him to New Zealand
New Zealand
New Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
to promote sales and to check out the pilots of Union Airways
Union Airways
Union Airways of South Africa was the first South African commercial airline. It operated as an independent company for five years, from 1929 to 1934, before being taken over by the government as South African Airways.-History:...
and Ansett Airways in their new Lockheed Model 10 Electra
Lockheed Model 10 Electra
The Lockheed Model 10 Electra was a twin-engine, all-metal monoplane airliner developed by the Lockheed Aircraft Corporation in the 1930s to compete with the Boeing 247 and Douglas DC-2...
airplanes. In 1942, he was presented an award of Distinguished Service by the Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
Los Angeles Chamber of Commerce
The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce is southern California's largest not-for-profit business federation, representing the interests of more than 235,000 businesses in L.A...
in recognition of this work.
At the close of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, Stephens and Ted Coleman, Northrop sales manager, left Northrop to start an air cargo business in the interior of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. They obtained a franchise from the Brazilian government, but the climate severely affected his young son's health so Stephens returned to the United States.
In 1948, John K. Northrop awarded him a lifetime membership in the Flying Wing Club as "one of a small group of distinguished pilots who have participated in the historical development and pioneered in the public acceptance of this revolutionary and highly efficient type of aircraft."
In 1982, he was made a member of the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers. In 1989, he was elected to the OX-5 Aviation Pioneers Hall of Fame
Hall of Fame
A hall of fame, wall of fame, walk of fame, walk of stars or avenue of stars is a type of attraction established for any field of endeavor to honor individuals of noteworthy achievement in that field...
; he was chosen to join Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
, Jimmy Doolittle
Jimmy Doolittle
General James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
and some 50 other "carefully selected...eminent individuals in the aerospace field" "Moye Stephens: Aviation Pioneer and Adventurer" by Ronald Gilliam, originally published in the July 1999 issue of Aviation History. In 1983, he was elected an Honorary Fellow of The Society of Experimental Test Pilots
Society of Experimental Test Pilots
The Society of Experimental Test Pilots is an international organization that seeks to promote air safety and contributes to aeronautical advancement by promoting sound aeronautical design and development; interchanging ideas, thoughts and suggestions of the members, assisting in the professional...
in the San Diego Aerospace Museum
San Diego Aerospace Museum
San Diego Air & Space Museum is an aviation and space exploration museum in San Diego, California, USA...
. In 1990, his interview as a pioneer aviator appeared on a PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
television series, The American Experience, on the life of Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
, produced by Ken Burns
Ken Burns
Kenneth Lauren "Ken" Burns is an American director and producer of documentary films, known for his style of using archival footage and photographs...
.
Further reading
- Gilliam, Ronald, "Moye Stephens Piloted More Than 100 Types of Aircraft and Flew Around the World in the Flying Carpet." Aviation History, vol. 9, issue 6 (July 1999).
- Max, Gerry, Horizon Chasers - The Lives and Adventures of Richard Halliburton and Paul Mooney. Jefferson, NC: McFarland Publishers, 2007.
- Root, Jonathan, Halliburton - The Magnificent Myth. New York: Coward-McCann, 1965.
- Schultz, Barbara H., Flying Carpets, Flying Wings - The Biography of Moye Stephens (PlaneMercantile, c2011)
External links
- History Net (About Moye Stephens)