Airplane mail cover Experimental flights between New York and
Chicago took place in December 1918, most troubled with
mechanical problems or accidents. The air mail rate was six
cents per ounce, the new rate having gone into effect on
December 15. Ordinary postal cancellations from the various
cities on the route were used. Pilot Leon D. Smith left New York
on December 18 with 226 pounds of mail. When forced down in
State College, Pennsylvania, Smith turned the mail over for
dispatch by train. The two planes leaving Cleveland on December
18 crashed, although one eventually made it to Chicago. Pilot M.
Ebersole took-off during the afternoon of December 18 from Grant
Park Station in Chicago, but he cracked a propeller while
landing at Ashburn Flying Field. Officials forwarded the mail by
train. On December 19, two aircraft left New York for Chicago,
but neither reached Cleveland by sunset. Attempts made the
following day failed, and the two mail planes returned to
Belmont Park, Long Island. On December 21, one