Walter Brookins


Walter Richard Brookins was the first pilot trained by the Wright brothers for their exhibition team.

Biography

Brookins was born in July 1889 in Dayton, Ohio to Clara Belle Spitler and Noah Holsapple Brookins. He had three siblings: Alpharetta Brookins who married Walter P. Hoffman; Noah Orville Brookins ; Earl Brookins. Walter married Mary Lamke.
Walter was taught at school by Katharine Wright, sister of the Wright brothers and that led to his interest in flying. His first solo flight was after just two and a half hours of demonstration. He became the Wrights' first instructor for the Wright Exhibition Team.
He came into prominence at an Indianapolis meet, on June 14, 1910, where he made a new world's record for altitude of 1,335 m.
He later set world records for altitude, transcontinental flight and endurance.
On July 10, 1910 at Atlantic City in New Jersey, he flew to an altitude of 1,882 m in his Wright biplane, becoming the first person to fly at an altitude of one mile. He pioneered corkscrews and other stunt flying.
On 29 October 1910, Brookins flew the new Wright Baby Grand, a clipped wing V-8 powered flyer to compete in the Gordon Bennett Trophy competition at Belmont, New York. In front of the grandstand during the official timing, the aircraft lost half its cylinders and crashed, tossing Brookins out and leaving him with bruised ribs.
On December 20, 1910, Brookins performed his "spiral dip" at Dominguez Field, Los Angeles. He climbed to 500 feet powered by the Wright four-cylinder engine, then spiraled down whirling in a circle about 10 feet in diameter. He did three variations of the feat "... making turns which seemed impossible." To further astonishment the crowd, he did a series of dives at the ground, pulling up then diving.
He died in 1953 in Los Angeles and his ashes were buried at the Valhalla Memorial Park Cemetery in North Hollywood, California.