Updated:
September
6,
2005
 arl
Ovington
was
the
first
pilot
to
successfully
make
a
U.S.
Air
Mail
flight.
There
is
scrapbook
at
the
Mission
Inn
with
many
photographs
of
Ovington
and
other
early
pilots,
including
one
photograph
taken
the
day
of
the
first
airmail
flight.
The
three-mile
historic
flight
took
place
in
New
York
on
September
23,
1911.
Ovington
carried
in
his
plane
he
named
the
“Dragon
Fly”
a
75-pound
sack
of
mail
tucked
between
his
legs.
In
the
sack
were
640
letters
and
1,280
postcards.
He
was
to
drop
the
sack
from
the
plane
while
flying
over
a
pre-selected
spot.
The
mail
sack
landed
in
the
correct
spot,
but
broke
open
when
in
hit
the
ground.
The
people
on
the
ground
had
to
chase
after
the
mail.
All
the
mail
was
found
and
successfully
delivered.
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