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Your copy of the Davis-Monthan Airfield Register with all the pilots' signatures and helpful cross-references to pilots and their aircraft is available at the link. Or use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author. ISBN 978-0-9843074-0-1.

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There is no biographical file for pilot Hudson in the archives of the National Air & Space Museum (NASM), Washington, DC.

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The Congress of Ghosts is an anniversary celebration for 2010.  It is an historical biography, that celebrates the 5th year online of www.dmairfield.org and the 10th year of effort on the project dedicated to analyze and exhibit the history embodied in the Register of the Davis-Monthan Airfield, Tucson, AZ. This book includes over thirty people, aircraft and events that swirled through Tucson between 1925 and 1936. It includes across 277 pages previously unpublished photographs and texts, and facsimiles of personal letters, diaries and military orders. Order your copy at the link, or use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author.  ISBN 978-0-9843074-4-9.

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WILLIAM N. HUDSON

William Hudson was born August 25, 1898. He landed and signed the Register once, on February 8, 1931 at age 32. Based at Akron, OH, he was westbound from San Antonio, TX to Los Angeles, CA. He was the Chief Pilot for the Goodyear Aircraft Company in Akron.

He flew a Curtiss Robin, NC767M, which was the corporate aircraft for Goodyear, and was painted accordingly with the company logo (see the link). Below is a copy of his spherical balloon rating signed by Orville Wright. This is a reasonable pilot rating to hold if your job is with Goodyear (the company manufactured coating fabrics for balloons and blimps)!

W.N. Hudson Spherical Balloon Certificate (Source: Hudson)
W.N. Hudson Balloon Certificate

Pilot Hudson attended Stanton Military Academy and learned to fly in 1920 at the Philadelphia Aero Service School. He set an unofficial record by soloing after just 132 MINUTES of instruction. This wouldn' t happen today, where the basic requirement is 40 HOURS of instruction.

When he went to work for Goodyear, he had been chief pilot and instructor at McKinley Airport at Canton, OH. He had previously flown commercially in Pittsburgh, PA. Image, below, of Hudson with an unidentified Waco Taperwing.

W.N. Hudson & Waco Taperwing (Source: Hudson)
W.N. Hudson

Hudson's son shares the following two aerial images with us, products of the Goodyear Aircraft Company. The image below shows the Goodyear blimp hangar at Akron during construction. Note the cars parked at right, and the hundreds of people at the open end of the hangar.

Goodyear Blimp Hangar (Source: Hudson)
Goodyear Blimp Hangar

Image below is a later view of the blimp hangar, after construction was complete and the roof was painted. Note six blimps aloft, all of which can fit in the hangar.

Goodyear Blimp Hangar (Source: Hudson)
Goofyear Blimp Hangar

The interesting image below illustrates how close the lives of the airplanes and people of the Davis-Monthan Register can be. The image was taken in Los Angeles on February 8, 1931, with NC767M in the foreground probably just hours from the time it was on the ground in Tucson. Just behind it is a de Havilland Moth NC372H. The Moth landed on June 26, 1929 at Tucson. It is rare you find two Davis-Monthan aircraft captured in the same image!

NC767M, Los Angeles, CA, February 8, 1931 (Source: Hudson)
W.N. Hudson, Los Angeles, CA, February 8, 1931

After Goodyear, Hudson had a flying career in the U.S. Navy, then with the FAA. William Hudson passed away in 1975.

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Dossier 2.1.171

UPLOADED: 02/05/07 REVISED: 08/29/08
 
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These images and information are sent to us courtesy of Bill Hudson, son of the pilot. Thanks, Bill!

OTHER BOOKS FOR YOU

Military Aircraft of the Davis Monthan Register, 1925-1936 is available at the link. This book describes and illustrates with black & white photographs the majority of military aircraft that landed at the Davis-Monthan Airfield between 1925 and 1936. The book includes biographies of some of the pilots who flew the aircraft to Tucson as well as extensive listings of all the pilots and airplanes. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author. ISBN 978-0-9843074-2-5.

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Art Goebel's Own Story by Art Goebel (edited by G.W. Hyatt) is written in language that expands for us his life as a Golden Age aviation entrepreneur, who used his aviation exploits to build a business around his passion.  Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author. ISBN 978-0-9843074-1-8.

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Winners' Viewpoints: The Great 1927 Trans-Pacific Dole Race is available at the link. Use this FORM to order a copy signed by the author. What was it like to fly from Oakland to Honolulu in a single-engine plane during August 1927? Was the 25,000 dollar prize worth it? Did the resulting fame balance the risk? For the first time ever, this book presents the pilot and navigator's stories written by them within days of their record-setting adventure. Pilot Art Goebel and navigator William V. Davis, Jr. take us with them on the Woolaroc, their orange and blue Travel Air monoplane (NX869) as they enter the hazardous world of Golden Age trans-oceanic air racing. ISBN 978-0-9843074-3-2.

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