Eugene Ely, Daredevil Aviator: First Shipboard Landing and Takeoff

by William M. Miller

Eugene Burton Ely was buried the day after his 25th birthday, less than a half-mile from where he was born. No sooner had he captured the world's eye and gained the fame he sought, than he crashed into the earth. Until 1911, the last year of his life, hardly anyone knew his name - a century later, nothing has changed. If he is known at all it's because he - an Iowa farm boy afraid of heights - was the first to land an airplane on the deck of a ship. The threads of Ely's life have been left dangling for too long. To some, he is the father of naval aviation, the inspiration behind today's nuclear aircraft carriers - but many details of his life have been lost until now.

Ely’s story is also the story of the woman he fell in love with—his wife, Mabel. She was the adoring engine that pushed Eugene high into the sky and into the fame he sought.

He knew each flight brought him closer to the same death that had taken so many of his aviator friends, and yet, he masked his fear with a smile and a joke.

344 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2014

About the author

Former historian with the Southern Oregon Historical Society.
Former reporter and history columnist with the Medford, Oregon Mail Tribune newspaper.

Reviews

[William Miller]

As a retired airline director and someone who has spent a considerable portion of their lifetime flying around the world, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book. It brought back some of the excitement of aviation from a time that really was not that long ago. When you consider how far aviation has come from the early 1900's, Boeing 747's the Concorde, the Airbus 380, and a man on the moon, it is hard to believe so much has been accomplished in less than 120 years. We owe much to Eugene Ely and those daring young men in their flying machines. The world would be a very different place had they not had the nerve and spirit to go for it! A must read for aviation and military enthusiasts, history buffs, or those who enjoy reading stories of our early brave pioneers who had that "can do" attitude. Thank you Bill for bringing Eugene's story and accomplishments to print and giving him the long overdue recognition he so richly deserves. Dirk J. Siedlecki

[Kevin Keating · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this book. Ely was an early flyer who I first heard about when researching a book on Medford, Oregon. Turns out he married a girl from my hometown and was dead by 25. I have to admire Mr. Miller's ability to find so much info about a guy who died in 1911 and who most of the public is unaware of, but he was truly the first naval aviator. I think it would have been great to have had more pictures, especially of the planes and other pilots mentioned. Some might too many stories of aviation meets, but I enjoyed them. And it's great to have biography printed of this guy, who I think deserves one.