When Knight landed at Chicago’s Checkerboard Field he was greeted by a throng of people who had gathered to see if the daring young pilot would finish his remarkable flight. Finally, with daybreak, the fog burned off and Lake Michigan was sighted. When the snow stopped, he encountered fog. Knight quickly refueled and took off again, heading toward Lake Michigan, which would serve as a “landmark” for him to find Chicago. As he got closer to Iowa City, the Smith Field watchman set out railroad flares to help him land. with only a road map to guide him over terrain he had never crossed before. After refueling his plane, Knight took off for Chicago at 2 a.m.
By this time, the snowfall had become a blizzard.
Landing at Omaha by the light of burning gasoline drums placed along the runway, Knight found that his relief pilot had not arrived. Still, the concept of delivering mail by air was proven by these early flights.
These flights were only attempted in daylight hours, however, and provided little advantage over the train-delivered mail. The first full-transcontinental air mail flights began on Septem– with Iowa City being the one stop for fuel between Chicago and Omaha. Shortly thereafter, the Iowa City Airport was renamed “Smith Field” in his honor. Smith was killed in a plane wreck – an all-too-common fate for early airmail pilots. (L-0016) In May 1920, just five months after he flew that first airmail flight in and out of Iowa City, Walter J. Smith, had the privilege of flying a live 10-pound piglet – an Iowa hog – to be served at a banquet at the Congress Hotel in Chicago! This 1953 article from The Press-Citizen covered the 1920 Iowa City pig story – but got the date wrong. mail and a slab of beef needed for a big Omaha banquet honoring General John Pershing (above left). (P-0339c) Ten days later – on Janu– Iowa City became the only stop during the very first air mail flight between Chicago and Omaha – transporting 400 pounds of U.S.
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