Town of Ansted

Your Hometown Mountain Heritage Destination

Paul Peck, Ansted’s own history-making aviator

 West Virginia's trailblazing first pilot remains largely

unrecognized. Until now.

 

By Sandy Wells

STAFF WRITER, Charleston Gazette

 

A storm loomed. Dark, churning clouds encroached rapidly from the northeast. Tree limbs swayed under the force of the rushing gale.

 

Paul Peck climbed into his flying machine, jaw clenched, eyes staring straight ahead, determined to complete the first flight over West Virginia's downtown Capitol. The round-trip journey, starting from the South Charleston ball field, would cover nearly six miles."

 

Just as the plane scooted forward, the storm hit. Lightning shot from the clouds. Thunder deadened the sound of the whirring, sputtering engine. Ferocious wind whipped the wings.

 

A Gazette reporter watched with growing concern: "It looked as though all the elements had combined to defeat the object of this white-winged invention of man and to wreak their vengeance upon the aviator who would dare to pit his skill and daring against their fury."

 

 

Fearlessly, Peck plowed his way through heavy wind toward Charleston, flying as high as 2,000 feet. "The game little flyer had to fight for every inch he gained against the wind," the Gazette reported. Somehow, Peck stayed the course. Just past the dome, he made a sudden, sensational swing to the east and north. A perfect circle. Returning ahead of the gale, traveling at 75 miles an hour, he covered the three miles back to the ball field in 90 seconds. Amazing! He landed deftly in an open space near the ball field. The crowd cheered. His journey took 11 minutes and 30 seconds. "Nature had done her worst," the paper reported. "Man had done his best. And man had won."

 

Read complete article from the Charleston Gazette Mail http://www.earlyaviators.com/epeck.htm

BIRDMAN OF WEST VIRGINIA

Forgotten hero

 

The Wright brothers. Lindbergh. Earhart. Those names we know. Yet 100 years after the Wrights' inaugural flight, and 93 years after the midair catastrophe that killed Paul Peck, who remembers him?

 

Born in Ansted, the son of Lon and Alice Peck of Lewisburg, he grew up mostly in Hinton where his father worked as a railroad agent. He also lived for a time in Philadelphia and in Charleston where two brothers settled.

 

Peck's name pops up in aviation annals, mentioned in the gap between Kitty Hawk and the astounding aeronautical advances forged by two world wars. But in his home state, the achievements of West Virginia's daring, trailblazing birdman remain largely unrecognized.

 

He was the state's first pilot, the 57th licensed by the International Aeronautics Federation. He learned to fly in seven days. Within two weeks, he captured a world flight record.

 

He probably was the first to fly in West Virginia. Historians believe he piloted the first plane to land in Raleigh County and that the flight occurred before 1912.

 

He was the first to fly over the U.S. Capitol, setting a speed record of 24 miles in 25 minutes.

 

He set an endurance record, flying over Boston for four hours, 23 minutes and 15 seconds. He also held a record for landing accuracy.

 

When the nation's first military aviation school opened at College Park, Md., in 1911, he was one of the instructors. Rare postcards coveted by collectors commemorate his role in the first U.S. airmail flights.

 

Peck's record

 

Paul Peck, who was West Virginia's first pilot, had many other flight-related achievements:

 

He learned to fly in seven days. Within two weeks, he captured a world flight record.

 

He was the first to fly over the U.S. Capitol.

 

He set an endurance record, flying over Boston for nearly four and a half hours.

 

When the nation's first military aviation school opened in 1911, he was an instructor.

 

Coveted rare postcards commemorate his role as one of the first U.S. airmail pilots.