Missouri Aviation Historical Society Meeting: Who Taught Lindbergh to Fly?

By Carmelo Turdo

The theme for the May meeting of the Missouri Aviation Historical Society was: Who taught Lindbergh to Fly?  Presenter Stan Crader, a pilot, novelist and author of an authoritative article on the topic, introduced Ira Biffle of Bollinger County, MO, a man of great accomplishment in his short flying career.  

Stan Crader

Ira Biffle began his flying career in 1914 in the U.S. Army Signal Corps, reportedly one of the first four pilots, and was a flight instructor throughout World War I.  He later flew the U.S. Mail, flew for the government of the state of Nebraska, and became possibly the first corporate pilot while flying for Walgreens in the late 1920s.  When Charles Lindbergh decided to learn to fly in 1922, he sought out Ira Biffle in Nebraska because if his reputation for soloing a great number of pilots during his time as an Army flight instructor (translated: he was skillful enough to not be killed early in life teaching cadets to fly).  Sadly, Biffle's health and fortune declined after 1930, and he died in 1934.

Please visit stancrader.com for more information about Stan and his books, Paper Boy and The Bridge.  All proceeds from the books support Resurrecting Lives, an organization that assists military members and veterans that have sustained traumatic brain injury.  Learn more at resurrectinglives.org.