Art Smith

Arthur Roy Smith (February 27, 1890 – February 12, 1926) was an American pilot. After Charles Ames, he was the second overnight mail service pilot to die on duty. Early life and career He was born on February 27, 1890, in Fort Wayne, Indiana, to James F. Smith and Ida Krick. In 1910, his parents mortgaged their home for $1,800 so that he could build a plane, on which he spent six months; however, he crashed it on his first flight, destroying everything but the motor. However, he quickly became a celebrated stunt pilot, notable for flying at night; he was one of the pioneers of skywriting at night using flares attached to his aircraft. Katherine Stinson, one of America's first female stunt pilots, was inspired to compete against him by this feat, and the competition between her, Smith, and other men received widespread press coverage. On May 14, 1915, fellow aviator Lincoln Beachey, who was the official stunt flyer at the Panama–Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, died after crashing into the bay. Art Smith (who was racing his "Baby Cars" at the fair) was hired to take Beachey's place and flew his airplane for spectators for the duration of the exposition.