Charles Irving Elliott

Charles Irving "Sam" Elliott (1892–1972) was a pioneer aviator in the Hawaiian Islands. As an airline pilot, he is credited with the first scheduled passenger flight between the Hawaiian Islands, the first scheduled airmail flight between the Hawaiian Islands, and the first scheduled cargo flight in the US/Hawaiian Islands.

Early life Elliott was born on November 13, 1892, in Barnum, West Virginia, to Fredrick and Susan (Blackburn) Elliott. Elliott had three younger sisters (Ruth, Lilly, and Myrtle) and two younger brothers (Francis and Donovan). Elliott joined the US Navy in 1915 and married Christine E. Benton on Sept. 12, 1918 in San Diego, California.

Naval career Elliott was a carpenter's mate stationed at Rockwell Field on the San Diego Harbor. In 1919, Elliott applied for and was accepted into the Navy's flight training program offered to enlisted personnel. hire new pilots, fly the company's Bellanca Pacemaker on sightseeing flights over Oahu, and prepare for the arrival of their Sikorsky S-38 amphibious aircraft from the factory in Connecticut. Governor Poindexter handed the bags of mail up to Elliott and co-pilot James Hogg, then the S-38 "Maui" took off for Hilo introducing airmail service for the residents of Hawaii. petitioned the Civil Aeronautics Board for authorization to fly air cargo flights between the islands. Hawaiian Airlines was rewarded with United States Air Cargo Certificate #1. Elliott died in Burbank, California, on July 5, 1972, from a stroke at the age of 79. On November 11, 2017, Hawaiian Airlines named its 21-acre "Charles I. Elliott Maintenance and Cargo Facility" in his honor