Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1929-01-07
Letter Delivered
Here Written on
Duration Plane
Sent by Quesada TO
Mother, Given to Refuel
Pilot, Put i'm Airmail.

What is thought to be the first let
ter ever mailed from an airplane dur
ing the course of~a record flight was
received today by MRS. Helen A.
Quesada, ATS Ninth street, from her
son, Lieut.. Elwood Quesada, night pilot
on the Army endurance plane Question
Mark, in it's flight over California.
The letter was transferred by Lieut..
Quesada from the Question Mark to
the refueling plane, piloted by Capt.
Ross G. Hoyt, on January 2. the second
day OF the flight. and was sent to this
city by airlnail. It Is written on
stationery specially prepared for the
flyers by residents Of Los Angeles. In
his letter, which is brief, Lieut. Quesada
told his mother that the flight, then
only IL hours old, was proceeding
smoothly.
'We are going strong is what mean >
he wrote. "The first day went over
big. No trouble at all. The people
out here are In our corner. Received
YOUR telegram and undershirts. They
are great, just what needed.
!. 1--WE get wonderful food. The ladies
on the post fix us up right. We have
everything a person could want-good
food, warm clothing, comfortable beds,
etc."
Drawing on Stationery.
The envelope in which the letter was
mailed bears the lettering, ~. s. Army
Air Service. Refueling mission. Tri-
motored Fokker Question Mark" The
letter head shows a drawing OF the
Question Mark in flight and bears at
the top the same lettering as the
envelope. Below the head, on the left
is the list of the planes personnel:
Maj. Carl Spatz, Capt. Ira G. Eaker
Lieut.. H. A. Halverson, Lieut.. Elwood
Ouesada and Sergt. Roy w. Hooe
Below at the right is the date line
"On board the Question Mark over
Southern California, January -, 1929,
- day of flight"
The undershirts referred to by Lieut.
Quesada in his letter were sent TO him
by his mother by parcel post and were
delivered to him aboard the Question
Mark in the air. This Is thought tc
be the first parcel post package ever
delivered to q person aboard an air.
plane in flight.
"I knew it would be cold in the ali
at night and that the men would neec
all the warm clothing they could get,
Mrs. Quesada said, explaining heI
package to the young flyer, who is the
junior member Of the Question Mark:
crew.
Ignorant Of Plans.
Mrs. Quesada said that she had ne
intimation of the part her son was II
play In the Arny'sl spectacular digh'
until the day before the Question MARI
left Boiling Field for the West Coast
last month.
IT knew he was going to California
but did not know for what purpose,
she said. "He had previously mad'
two flights west, once by himself ant
the other time to fly Brig. Gen. j. =
Fechet, assistant chief Of the Army All
Corps, to the aeronautical exposition
Mines Field last September. The Ques
tion Marks flight was planned secret
| ly and I knew nothing about 1t unit
the day before they left"
Lieut.. Quesada has been In the Arm!
Air Corps only two years. He Is as
signed to permanent duty In the oft1c
OF tbs chief of the Army Air Corp
as personal pilot to Gen. Fechet. HI
| flew the general to Greenly Island, OF
the northern Canadian coast last Sum
ner as a part of the expedition sent Il
the relief Of the crew Of the German
| transatlantic monoplane Bremen.