BIOGRAPHY

Howard M. Rinehart - 1930 Transport Pilot's License Collection of Rob Grant, 3-5-06

Howard M. Rinehart - 1927 Aircraft Mechanic's ID Collection of Rob Grant, 3-5-06

 

Howard Rinehart & O. L. Harrison - 1909      Here is a family photo of Howard Reinhart flying a Wright Flyer with my grandfather O.L. Harrison taken in Dayton in 1909. Collection of Tim Gardner, 12-19-05

 

Howard Rinehart & Pupil - 1914 Contributed by Rob Grant, 1-11-12 Editor's Note:Please contact me if you can help us to identify "Lulu".

 

FLIGHT INSTRUCTOR, 1916 In Mineola, New York, in 1916, Howard was using the Wright Model B to instruct his students. This original plane is now in the U. S. Air Force Museum at the Wright-Patterson AFB in Dayton Ohio. A beautiful photograph of it, along with some descriptive text, may be seen by clicking on: Wright Model B

 

RINEHART RETURNS, 1938      Howard M. Rinehart is making a visit to the land of the free and the home of the brave after six years of exploration in that area bounded by Para on the east, Iquitos on the west, Matto Grosso on the south and the Orinoco on the north---the land of tree-climbing fish, howling monkeys, the savage piranha, sea cows, water buffalo, tailless rabbits, giant spiders and bushmasters, gold, Indians and rubber.      Seems like the last we saw of Howard on the eastern seaboard was at Mineola in the summer of 1916 teaching for the Wright Company. In the fall he sold Deeds and Kettering the idea of airplane manufacturing and Dayton-Wright was the result. A couple of experimental tractors were built when the w. k. war put the company into the DH business---on what a scale?      After the war the company built a commercialized version of the DH and the OW (Orville Wright) coupe for the civil market. Then came the Rinehart-Baumann Gordon Bennett racer of 1920. Upon his return from Europe after eight months of survey he went with Wright Aeronautical Corporation.. Abroad again, eventually bringing back, among other items, an all-metal Dornier which he demonstrated for the company at Mineola.      He and Bernard L. Whelan then formed the Rinehart-Whelan Company and began work on the everyman's airplane. They completed and flew, 1927-1930, a prototype of an all-metal monoplane, including its own engine, capable of being marketed in the $1,200 class on a production basis. The alleged depression put a crimp in this. Whelan had already joined Pratt & Whitney and Howard departed again for the Amazon to rest up.      However, he was practically an Amazonian to begin with. From 1905 he had been engaged in establishing radio stations between Para and Manaos, and in Rio, for the United Wireless Corporation. When a Frenchman appeared with a Bleriot at Manaos in 1912, Rinehart wired Commodore Benedict his resignation, packed his bag and took the first boat for Para and home to Dayton, where he induced Fatty Barnes to sell him a course. He learned to fly under Oscar Brindley and was finished off by Orville Wright himself.      After a short while with Berger's exhibition team, along with Roy Waite and Arch Freeman, not to mention a sojourn with Villa in Mexico, he took charge of the Wright Brothers' School at Dayton, after the Wright Company had been sold back, and stayed there until the establishment of the second Wright company in New York, later Wright-Martin; and that brings us back to 1916 again. In one of these exhibition tours between flying school terms, Rinehart was catapulted out of the Wright, which then turned over in the air. Rinehart came to on the under camber of the top wing and rode the plane down, helpless, till one wing contacted a convenient monument and the other wing another, in the Lynchburg, Virginia, cemetery. from CHIRP - AUGUST 1, 1938 - DEARBORN MICH. - NUMBER 22 courtesy of Steve Remington - CollectAir

 

Howard Rinehart Here's an interesting photo that turned up recently amongst some family photos from my late mother's estate. This would have been passed down from either Miriam (Rinehart's wife/ my great aunt) or Miriam's father's estate (my great grandfather) through my grandmother to my mother. Collection of Rob Grant, 11-30-07

Howard Rinehart Collection of Mary Anne Whelan Courtesy of Rob Grant, 3-5-06

"TWENTY-FIVE YEARS AGO TODAY"      Early in the month Howard Rinehart established himself at Monterey, Mexico, with two Wright B's and a Wright HS fuselage tractor, to FLY FOR VILLA, along with Eugene "Bill" Heth. A little later Farnum Fish followed Rinehart to Mexico and was shot down by rifle fire. William A. Lamkey, Didier Masson, Dean I. Lamb, Lawrence Brown, Silas Christofferson, George M. Keightley, Floyd Smith, "Mickey" McGuire, Grover Bergdoll, Chas. S. Niles, L. W. Bonney, Alberto Salinas, Gustavo Salinas and J. H. Worden were other American aviators on the various sides during the three years of aerial activity. from CHIRP - JULY 1940- DEARBORN MICH. - NUMBER 27 courtesy of Steve Remington - CollectAir

 

THE LAST GORDON BENNET RACE, 1920 For once, Aero Club members believed, America had the machines as well as the men to ensure victory. Four aircraft of advanced design would be sent to France; one of them would be sure to win. Experience accumulated during the war years and reflected in the aerodynamic skill of the manufacturers, in addition to the necessary financial resources, would make an irresistible combination against any racers Europe could put up --- which would be reworked pursuit planes carried over from the war. The pilots, too, were the very best. Howard M. Rinehart, holder of the club's certificate No. 266, was a top-ranking, seasoned flier for the Wright organization. He had been an instructor in Augusta in 1911 and had flown for the Mexican revolutionary Pancho Villa in 1914. He was in charge of all tests for the deHavilland -- 4s that Dayton--Wright produced in large numbers during World War I and had spent many years in research work, which gave him the title of aeronautical engineer on the company's list of executive officers. Major Schroeder clearly was the army's first choice to handle the powerful Vervill-Packard. And blond, level-headed Roland Rohlfs had a fine reputation as chief experimental pilot for the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company of Garden City, New York. Continued From Blue Ribbon of the Air by Henry Serrano Villard, 1987 Editors Note: I was privileged to know Henry during several years before his death. He was an fascinating companion and a lifetime friend of aviation. I heartily recommend his book to you for more on Rinehart and for the complete story of the Gordon Bennett Race.

 

Howard Rinehart, J. S. Berger & William Conover      "The group photo with Howard, J.S. Beyer (wrong), and William Conover is a gem. This is a group shot, perhaps taken in Mexico with J. S. BERGER in the middle. It seems to me that this should have been corrected at the Library of Congress." Correction by John Edwards Courtesy of Rob Grant, 1-28-08 Library of Congress Collection, 9-25-07

 

Howard Rinehart Hngar "Mr. Cooper,      Going through some of my late Father's pictures, I came across a picture from Moraine Flying Field that has Howard Reinhart Hanger on the front and back of the picture. My guess is that it's from the 40's, which is about when my Father was involved in aviation. Thanks for your time! Beverly Pylman"

 

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