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Flashback Friday: Early Flying Rules

rwest
Employee
Employee

While looking through our archive for some additional information regarding the Wright Amendment, I found what may have actually been our first Flashback—well before my predecessor had the idea for a weekly feature highlighting the history of our Company and the industry. Buried within a October 1979 LUVLines article about our new 737-200 simulator was a look back at some of the basic rules for Pilots, many years prior to the formal Federal Aviation Regulations (FARs) being published in the late 1950s that govern the operation of aircraft and airlines today. 1 smaller
  1. Don’t attempt to take the machine into the air unless you are satisfied it will fly.
  2. Pilots must carry a handkerchief in an easy-to-reach place to clean off goggles.
  3. If an engine fails on takeoff, land straight ahead regardless of any obstacles in front of you.
  4. Pilots may not wear spurs while flying.
  5. Do not trust altitude instruments.
  6. If you see another aircraft near you, get out of its way.
  7. In the event of an emergency, land as soon as you can.
While many of these guidelines (since there really wasn’t anyone to enforce them initially) seem like common sense, commercial aviation was still in its infancy and lacked any centralized regulation.  In 1926, Congress passed the Air Commerce Act, tasking the Secretary of Commerce with the responsibility to establish formal rules, as well as to license pilots.