Robinson was born in Redfield, South Dakota, and moved to Grinnell, Iowa in 1896 at age 12. He was a handyman, tinkerer, and bicycle repairman who designed and built his own flying machine. In 1911, with the help of Charles Hink, Robinson constructed a 60 horsepower radial motor for his monoplane. His innovations for the radial motor were revolutionary. In 1914 he set a record for non-stop flight, carrying mail from Des Moines to Kentland, Indiana. Later he founded the Grinnell Aeroplane Company.
Robinson perished while flying his biplane, attempting to set an altitude record on March 11, 1916. His aircraft was witnessed climbing to altitude, before drifting down like a falling leaf, and gliding to a landing, which was controlled enough to leave skid marks, but rough enough to rupture the fuel tank and ignite the aircraft. Hypoxia was suspected among other reasons for the crash, but the fire made it impossible to verify the exact cause.[2]
On June 18, 1988, the Grinnell Regional Airport was dedicated and named Billy Robinson Field.
Referencesedit
^Cavanagh, Lynn (2014). "Billy Robinson: Birdman of the Prairie" (PDF). Iowa Heritage Illustrated. Summer 2014: 75–79.
^Bill Menner. Grinnell in Vintage Postcards. p. 110.
Archivesedit
Additional photos of Robinson and his planes can be found in Digital Grinnell, a digital archive of Grinnell local history materials maintained by Grinnell College.
External linksedit
Billy's entry in the Earlyaviators.com
Photographic history of Robinson's aviation accomplishments included in the Iowa Heritage Digital Collection.
Billy Robinson: Birdman of the Prairie by Lynn Cavanagh, in Iowa Heritage Illustrated, Summer 2014.
The Story of Billy Robinson, from Grinnell- A Century of Progress, a centennial publication published by the Grinnell Herald-Register, July, 1954.
Birdman of the Prairie: The life and death of Iowa Aviator Billy Robinson 10 minute documentary created for the National History Day Documentary contest
January 01, 1970
billy, robinson, aviator, william, robinson, september, 1884, march, 1916, early, american, inventor, aviator, william, robinsonborn, 1884, september, 1884redfield, south, dakota, diedmarch, 1916, 1916, aged, grinnell, iowa, cause, deathaircraft, crashresting,. William C Robinson September 24 1884 March 11 1916 was an early American inventor and aviator 1 William C RobinsonBorn 1884 09 24 September 24 1884Redfield South Dakota U S DiedMarch 11 1916 1916 03 11 aged 31 Grinnell Iowa U S Cause of deathAircraft crashResting placeHazelwood Cemetery Grinnell Iowa Gravestone of William C Robinson in Hazelwood Cemetery in Grinnell IA Contents 1 Biography 2 References 3 Archives 4 External linksBiography editRobinson was born in Redfield South Dakota and moved to Grinnell Iowa in 1896 at age 12 He was a handyman tinkerer and bicycle repairman who designed and built his own flying machine In 1911 with the help of Charles Hink Robinson constructed a 60 horsepower radial motor for his monoplane His innovations for the radial motor were revolutionary In 1914 he set a record for non stop flight carrying mail from Des Moines to Kentland Indiana Later he founded the Grinnell Aeroplane Company Robinson perished while flying his biplane attempting to set an altitude record on March 11 1916 His aircraft was witnessed climbing to altitude before drifting down like a falling leaf and gliding to a landing which was controlled enough to leave skid marks but rough enough to rupture the fuel tank and ignite the aircraft Hypoxia was suspected among other reasons for the crash but the fire made it impossible to verify the exact cause 2 On June 18 1988 the Grinnell Regional Airport was dedicated and named Billy Robinson Field References edit Cavanagh Lynn 2014 Billy Robinson Birdman of the Prairie PDF Iowa Heritage Illustrated Summer 2014 75 79 Bill Menner Grinnell in Vintage Postcards p 110 Archives editAdditional photos of Robinson and his planes can be found in Digital Grinnell a digital archive of Grinnell local history materials maintained by Grinnell College External links editBilly s entry in the Earlyaviators com Photographic history of Robinson s aviation accomplishments included in the Iowa Heritage Digital Collection Billy Robinson Birdman of the Prairie by Lynn Cavanagh in Iowa Heritage Illustrated Summer 2014 The Story of Billy Robinson from Grinnell A Century of Progress a centennial publication published by the Grinnell Herald Register July 1954 Birdman of the Prairie The life and death of Iowa Aviator Billy Robinson 10 minute documentary created for the National History Day Documentary contest Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Billy Robinson aviator amp oldid 1164892952, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
