1897-1968 AKA Pop Enderton |
By HERB SCHAEFFER and HAROLD NICHOLS Former Marine Pilot To Have Reunion With Brother |
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OTTO Enderton, one of the flyingest fellows hereabouts these last 30 years, is taking a big step forward in
Uncle Sams Civil Aeronautics Administration ranks. Otto, who shares the complementary title. Rochester's Mr. Aviation, with sky veteran Russ Holderman, is going to Berlin this month as CAA chief of safety regulations and flight operations In the American zone of occupation. It's a big job and as we aay at the testlmonlal dinners, "It couldn't have happened to a nicer guy." When Otto arrives In Berlin he will have a reunion with hla brother, Col. Herbert Enderton, who has been stationed there since war's end with the American forces. When summer comes his wife expects to join Otto in Herr Hitler's shambled city. Otto, who stepped up from a Rochester CAA Inspector's job to tha bigger one of supervisor of Inspectors in 13 states, has been traveling around plenty in the last six months. But that's nothing new for Mr. E. He has been a cloud hopper since aviation's 1917 diaper days. Enderton entered tha U. 8. Marine Corps Oct. 11, 1917. He transferred to tha Marine Aviation Base at Miami, Fla., a little later. There's where he learned to fly. Then he joined the aerial coast patrol out of Dinner Key, Fla. This patrol was organised for coastal defense against hostile submarines or other attacks at sea. Otto's patrol equipment consisted of the old HA 1L flying boats, powered with Liberty motors and equipped to carry two TNT depth bombs. The planes often went out 134 miles at sea, a daring feat in those days and the pilot's navigation aids were his brains, instead of the present scientific instruments After the World War I armistice was signed, Enderton transferred back to the original Fourth Squadron at the Marine Flying Base and was mustered out of the service Mar. 28, 1919 From April to December of that year, he was pilot for the Kokomo Aviation Company of Kokomo, Ind. He barnstormed "by the seat of his pants" in Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Missouri. Ths year 1920 found him as manager of the Municipal Airport st Tucson, Ariz., and |
chief pilot of the Arizona Aviation Company, which used the old Curtiss Orioles and Standards. Both these types of
aircraft are obsolete now, but they were the "last word" in aircraft in those days. Enderton. while working for Apache Transportation Company of Phoenix, Ariz., barnstormed through the West and Southwest and in 1921 clslmed the distinction of being the first pilot to fly over the Grand Cunyon of Arizona with passengers. He operated from an open field with an elevation of 4,000 feet, which of course was considered a daring stunt In the summer of 1923, he operated a flying boat on Lake Washington near Seattle for passenger service. While there he fles the first photographs of the Japanese earthquake disaster from Victoria, B. C, to Seattle—after nightfall—for a news servlce. That fall he joined a flying circus from Minnesota. When the circus disbanded, Otto was sought by the rebel faction of the De La Huerta Revolution to fly their equipment In Mexico. Ha was chief pilot for the Mexican faction until the end of the revolution. His duties consisted mainly of observing enemy movements and as might be expected he was shot at several times. De La Huerta lost the revolution through lack of funds and all his followers evacuated after four months' strife. Enderton returned to New Orleans and flew airmail in its early days. Then he came to Rochester to take charge of the McDermott-Talaska Aircraft Company for two seasons. In 1927 he left Rochester to fly the tri-motored Fokker, "The Voice of the Sky," throughout the country. He was back in Rochester the following apring at the request of Donald Woodward, the Jello King of Le Roy. He became chief pilot and vicepresident of the Donald Woodward Flying Service when the Le Royan was credited with owning the finest private field in the nation. Resigning from Woodward's employ in 1930, Enderton became one of the first government-approved flying instructors in the United States. He organized the Rochester Flying School and Service at Rochester Airport. For the last 15 to 17 years, he has been around Rochester as a private operator and CAA inspector. Now, it's off to Berlinfor Mr. Aviation. |
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by Gordon Stoppelbein excerpts courtesy of Don McLane, 6-13-11 Otto Enderton was born in the small California village of Eureka in the county of Humboldt. It is located on the Pacific Ocean about one-hundred miles south of the Oregon-California state line and is the county seat with a population of 30,000 now. It was a small seaport village when Otto Enderton was born on April 21, 1897. His father was a mining engineer in the gold fields of California and it was in thast environment that he received one of his first jobs, which was a helper in the cooking department of this mining company Pop often related in later years that the first thing he learned to cook or make was "flapjacks." Pop's interest in aviation became apparent when he and his brother, now Col. Herbert Bronson Enderton of San jose, California, witnessed their first air show at a Los Angeles airfield in 1910. Little did he know at that early age that this would be the start of an aviaiton career that would last for fifty years and take him to all parts of the United states, also to many foreign contries around the world; also from the fragile wood and fabric airplanes with undependable small engines right into the jet Age of aviation, serving his country in both world wars and at least one uprising in Mexico--these seemd a never-ending experience in excitement and intrigue all through his coloful career in the world of aviation and flying. It was about this time, 1917, that Pop left the mining fields of California and joined the United states Marine COrps to learn the art of flying. Otto soloed in a jN 4 HS airplane which wqas the training aircraft used by the Marines and was usually called the jenny. It was in early 1918 that Pop soloed in Miami, Florida. By the end of World War I he was pretty well embedded in his new world of aviaiton and flying. After the war Pop went to Chicago and joined a flying circus and flew in many air shows all over the country. Pop left the flying circus in Tucson, Arizona, to manage an airport and teach flying. About a year later, it was "go again" for Otto. This time he went back to California--that is Hollywood, where he did stunt flying for the motion picture companies. After about a year in Hollywood he had to move on, always going ahead in his flying endeavor. Editor's Note: The author devoted eleven pages of his book to his memories of Otto. It includes details of his varied and fascinating career including some post WW II assignments. The book is out of print and may be difficult to find. |
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(6-14-11), you will find about 46 links. |
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from The Endertons, A Family Tree If you have any information on this pioneer aviator please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper |
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