Albert Francis Hegenberger Albert Francis Hegenberger ( September 30 , 1895 – August 31 , 1983 ) was a Major General in the United States Air Force and a pioneering aviator who set a flight distance record with Lester J . Maitland , completing the first transpacific flight to Hawaii in 1927 as navigator of the " Bird of Paradise " . Hegenberger was an aeronautical engineer of note , earning both the Mackay Trophy ( 1927 ) and Collier Trophy ( 1934 ) for achievement . Biography . Early years and World War I . Hegenberger was born at Boston , Massachusetts , in 1895 . He entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1913 to undertake the course in civil engineering . When the United States entered World War I , Hegenberger enlisted in the Aviation Section , Signal Enlisted Reserve Corps as a private first class ( flying cadet ) on September 14 , 1917 . He completed ground school training at the school of military aeronautics at M . I . T . in December 1917 , and proceeded to Ellington Field , Texas , where he earned a rating of Reserve Military Aviator . He was appointed a second lieutenant in the Signal Officer Reserve Corps on April 6 , 1918 . He was sent to the pilot pool at the Aviation Concentration Center at Camp John Dick , Dallas , Texas ; then assigned successively to the School of Aerial Observers , Post Field , Fort Sill , Oklahoma ; the School of Aerial Gunnery , Taliaferro Field , Texas , graduating as a gunnery pilot of July 5 , 1918 ; and in October , 1918 back to M . I . T . for a four - month course in aeronautical engineering . Air Service and Air Corps . Upon completing his technical training in February 1919 , Hegenberger became chief of the Instrument Branch at McCook Field , Dayton , Ohio . He was commissioned a first lieutenant , Air Service , in the Regular Army July 1 , 1920 , and subsequently served as assistant engineer of the Equipment Section , Air Service Engineering Division . Hegenberger transferred overseas to the 72nd Bombardment Squadron at Luke Field , Hawaii , in October 1923 , and later served as operations officer of the 5th Composite Group . In March 1925 , he was transferred to the 5th ' s 23rd Bombardment Squadron . Returning to the United States and McCook Field in October 1926 , he became chief of the Equipment Branch , Materiel Division of the Army Air Corps . In July 1927 , he was appointed chief of the Instrument and Navigation Unit at the Materiel Division ' s new facilities at Wright Field . While stationed at McCook , he planned the first transpacific flight to Hawaii , then using his flight plan , flew the " Bird of Paradise " to Hawaii with 1st Lt . Lester J . Maitland on June 28 – 29 , 1927 , for which they won the Mackay Trophy . Resuming his work at Wright Field , Hegenberger developed the first blind flying landing system , and on May 9 , 1932 , made the first complete solo blind flight from take - off to landing , for which he was presented the 1934 Collier Trophy on July 22 , 1935 , by President Franklin D . Roosevelt . He joined the 30th Bombardment Squadron at Rockwell Field , San Diego , California , in August 1935 , and was made squadron commander in October . He later moved with this unit to March Field , California , where he served until August 1937 . Hegenberger was a student at the Air Corps Tactical School at Maxwell Field , Alabama from September 1938 to June 1939 . He then moved on to Fort Leavenworth , Kansas , where he completed the Command and General Staff School in June 1939 . Hegenberger was assigned to Hickam Field , Hawaii , as operations officer of the 5th Bombardment Group in July 1939 , and the following February became operations officer of the 18th Wing at Hickam Field . He moved to Fort Shafter , Hawaii , in November 1940 to become assistant chief of staff for operations of the Hawaiian Air Force , and in April 1941 , was named commanding officer of the 11th Bombardment Group at Hickam Field . World War II . Hegenberger began World War II in command of the l8th Bombardment Wing at Hickam Field , and in January became chief of staff of the VII Bomber Command . From August to October 1942 , he was assistant chief of staff for operations of the Second Air Force , and commanding officer of its II Bomber Command at Fort George Wright , Washington . In October 1942 , he organized the 21st Bombardment Wing , a staging organization for heavy bombardment crews headed overseas , at Smoky Hill Army Air Base , Salina , Kansas , and commanded in until January 1944 . In May 1943 he moved the wing to Topeka Army Air Base , Kansas . In January 1944 , he was re - assigned to Headquarters , Second Air Force , now at Colorado Springs , Colorado , as chief of staff . In January 1945 , he was named chief of staff of the Fourteenth Air Force in the China Theater of Operations , and in August became commander of the Tenth Air Force in the same theater . Postwar and service in the USAF . Returning to the United States in December 1945 , he was assigned to Headquarters , Army Air Forces , for duty with the Officers Selection Committee . In July 1946 , he went to Pacific Air Command ( PACUSA ) headquarters in Tokyo , Japan , and two months later became commanding general of the 1st Air Division on Okinawa . He returned to the United States and the Pentagon in December 1947 , with assignment to the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff — Materiel , Headquarters United States Air Force , for duty with the Special Weapons Group as assistant to Major Gen . William E . Kepner , Deputy Chief for Atomic Energy . On 1 July 1948 , a reorganization moved the organization to the office of the Deputy Chief of Staff — Operations , and Hegenberger succeeded Kepner as chief of Special Weapons Group . In August 1948 , under the Assistant For Atomic Energy , his position was retitled Chief , 1009th Special Weapons Squadron . Hegenberger retired August 31 , 1949 . In 1958 he was recognized for his demonstration of the capability of four - course radio range beacons as a navigational aid by the Professional Group on Aeronautical and Navigational Electronics , a member of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers , receiving its annual " Pioneer Award " , and in 1976 was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame . He died of pneumonia in Goldenrod , Florida on August 31 , 1983 . Awards and decorations . Command pilot World War II Victory Medal Order of Cloud and Banner ( Republic of China ) Order of the Crown of Italy ( Grand Officer ) Combat Observer Technical Observer Hegenberger also received the 1927 Mackay Trophy , the 1934 Collier Trophy , and was a Fellow of the Institute of Aeronautical Engineers . Legacy . Hegenberger Road and Hegenberger Expressway in Oakland , California , near the Oakland International Airport , are named after him .