HOWARD MASON SHAFER 1893-1973

MUNICIPAL AIRPORT - ROCHESTER, N.Y. Collection of John Stewart, 11-25-06

 

Fledgling EBs Introduced to Society Old-Timers      From the Secretary of the Early Birds there comes to Chirp a series of thumbnail sketches of some of the new members, taken into the organization since the last issue of this infamous sheet.      Howard M. Shafer is manager of the Rochester, N. Y., airport. He dates back to 1912, but Phil Rader officially soloed him in a JN4 at Buffalo, June 17, 1916. A distant cousin of Charles B. Niles, Pioneer loop and upside-down flier, Shafer got an idea on how things worked from Bleriots, Curtisses and Elbridge two-cycle engines. He helped Glenn Curtiss revise the Langley tandem, and wound up flying tricky wartime ships at Langley Field and Dayton. from CHIRP, SATURDAY, AUGUST 17, 1935, DETROIT MICH. courtesy of Steve Remington - CollectAir

 
;

RECOMMENDED READING

Aviation in Rochester   by Howard Mason Shafer   Product Details pdf file: 26 pages Publisher: Rochester Historical Society, 1936

Description:      This article was published by The Rochester Historical Society in their Publication Fund Series, Vol. XIV. It was compiled by the late Edward R. Foreman, Chairman of the Publication Committee, and edited under the authority of the Board of Managers, John Arthur Jennings, President. It was published by the Society in MCMXXXVI.      This pdf file was provided to us by John Stewart, to whom we are very grateful. You can read the entire 26 page article by clicking on: Aviation in Rochester      You will need to have a copy of the free Adobe Reader installed on your computer to read the file. If you don't already have one, you can obtain it by clicking on: Adobe Reader

 

In March 1974 we received a letter from Mrs. Ruth S. Fleisher of Homestead, Florida saying that her Father, Howard M. Shafer died December 29, 1973 after a brief illness at the age of 80.      His birth date was August 30, 1893 at Williamson, N.Y. From 1912 to about 1916 he was with Glenn Curtiss at Hammondsport and Buffalo, N.Y. His solo date was June 17, 1916.      He was developer and manager of the airport in Rochester, N.Y. until 1941, when he was appointed Director of Airports for the City of Philadelphia. In 1946 he went to Avoca Airport to build and manage that airport which serves the Wilkes- Barre and Scranton, Pennsylvania area. He remained there until his retirement in 1964 when he move to Homestead, Florida.      His wife Florence C. Shafer died a few months prior to his death, leaving Mrs. Fleisher as his only survivor. From The Early Birds of Aviation CHIRP January 1974, Number 81

 

Back