GEORGE M. KEIGHTLEY -1967

George M. Keightley Photo courtesy of Greenville County Historical Society Inc. Greenville, SC., 8-24-06

 

BIOGRAPHICAL NOTES via email from Otha H "Skeet" Vaughan Jr. Lt Col USAFR-Ret, 8-22-06 Ralph:      Came across the Early Bird write-up tonight about George M Keightley. I have found a photo of George that was taken I would guess in the 1929 or somewhat later time frame and also have photo of a Ford Tri Motor, NC7865, that says that it was his. What information do you have on him?      As far as I can determine he worked for the Williams Flying Service in Greenville, SC. around 1929 and he flew the test flights for "Little 372" the aircraft that was built by Clemson students in the woodshop and they flew it later in 1929. Otha H "Skeet" Vaughan Jr Lt Col USAFR-Ret

 

In Ol' Mexico Reports On EB Flights During Revolution by Ernest Jones      Ernest Jones, secretary of the Early Birds, is compiling a history of the activites of American fliers in various and sundry scheduled and non-scheduled Mexican campaigns. To whet our appetite for what is to come, he sends the following tid-bits:      "George M. Keightly was one of those who served with Villa, but his time was short. He traveled by rail and mule to the base at Agua Calientes."      "Here he made a few flights in a Hall-Scott Curtiss or Curtiss-type over Leon where the fight was on between Obregon and Villa. This was the beginning of Villa's rout, and George quickly routed himself back to the United States." from CHIRP, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1935, DETROIT MICHI. courtesy of Steve Remington - CollectAir

 

Ford Trimotor - NC7865 Photo courtesy of Greenville County Historical Society Inc. Greenville, SC., 8-24-06

 

Early Birds Make News Keightley Is Busy by Ernest Jones      George Keightley has just finished ---what with wiping the landing gear off the Ford---flying 63,000 passengers, with a day's record of 1,063 between sunup and sundown. Which might prove that barnstorming is not dead. from CHIRP, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1935, DETROIT MICHI. courtesy of Steve Remington - CollectAir

 

ONLINE RESOURCES - 1      If you search for "George M. Keightley", using the Google search engine, (8-22-06), you will find about 3 of 10 links. Perhaps the most helpful is the following.

EL CUERPO DE AVIADORES DE PANCHO VILLA Los Aviadores Extranjeros de la División Del Norte 1914-1915 DOCTOR LAWRENCE D. TAYLOR      This comprehensive article, in Spanish, offer a complete revue of the activities of the American aviators who fought in Mexico, including Keightley. The reference to him is very brief, but you will recognize the names of many other pioneers who took part in the war. The saga is illustrated with numerous unique and rare photographs. You can access the original article by clicking on the title above.      If you don't read Spanish, you can access a machine-translated version by clicking on: English Version

 

ONLINE RESOURCES - 2      If you search for "Little 372", using the Google search engine, (8-22-06), you will find about 10 of 46 links.Probably the most helpful is the following.

 

Clemson World Winter 1999 -- Little 372      "If you visit the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia, look up as you enter the science and technology section. Hanging from the ceiling as if soaring into the wild blue is Little 372, a single-engine, high-wing airplane built in 1928-29 by seven students at what was then Clemson Agricultural College."      This paragraph, which was extracted from the webpage, serves to introduce what is a very complete and interesting story of this airplane and its builders. You can access the page by clicking on the title above.

 

George M. Keightley died in 1967 From The Early Birds of Aviation Roster of Members January 1, 1993   Editor's Note: If you have any information on this Early Bird, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back