Farnum Fish

Farnum Thayer Fish (5 October 1896 – 30 July 1978) was an early American airplane pilot known as the "Boy Aviator". He was, at the age of 15, the "youngest licensed aviator in the world".

Early flying career He was born in Los Angeles, California, on October 5, 1896, to a wealthy physician. Fish enrolled in the Wright Flying School near Dayton, Ohio, in 1911 at the age of 15. He stated in a 1971 newspaper article that he received four hours of lessons from Orville Wright. The book Orville's Aviators: Outstanding Alumni of the Wright Flying School, 1910-1916 states that he was taught by Arthur L. Welsh, the Wright Brothers' first flight instructor. On January 12, 1912, the Aero Club of America issued him Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Airplane Pilot's Certificate #85. "The young flier ... stated that his machine dropped through a 'hole' in the air, and that he managed by desperate clinging to keep his seat until he encountered another current that bore him up." Race Track, also in California, which lasted from February 17 to 21 of the same year.

On May 17, 1912, Fish was arrested "after landing his Wright Model B (with a woman passenger) in Grant Park" in Chicago. The Milwaukee Journal sponsored his non-stop, flight from Cicero Field, Chicago along Lake Michigan to Milwaukee on May 25, carrying Journal newspapers, mail and of silk consigned to a department store. He made the trip in record time, either 2 hours 18 minutes The Journal stated that he had set a distance record for carrying a passenger, his mechanic Herbert Hazzard, on the return trip to Milwaukee.

On July 9, Fish wrecked his airplane while performing stunts at Revere Beach in Revere, Massachusetts. He lost control after a wing touched the water. Fish and his student Jack McGee were thrown , landing in water deep enough to break their fall.

On July 31, Fish and a student survived a crash at Atwood Park in Saugus, Massachusetts after Fish's aircraft hit an air pocket, dropped , crashed into a pole, turned upside-down and fell to the ground. Fish suffered only minor injuries, while Morris Shoemanhorne had a bruised head and a badly twisted right ankle.

Fred Wagner took photographs of the 1912 American Grand Prize race from Fish's airplane, seen here, on October 5. On October 6, the Milwaukee Journal reported that the "young birdman" had taken aloft photographer Fred Wagner to take aerial pictures of automobile races for "a large part of the six hours that the races lasted." The Boston Evening Transcript noted on November 15, 1912 that the Aero Club of America had suspended Fish's license until July 1, 1913 for "violation of the rule prohibiting flying over sporting events, games and other public assemblies. Both Beachey and Fish have been frequently reported as performing difficult and dangerous feats above crowds of spectators".

Fish was apparently something of a juvenile delinquent. The November 4, 1914 Oakland Tribune reported that he had been charged with trying to steal an automobile as a "Halloween joke", also noting that he had previously been involved "in several bizarre episodes which brought him to the notice of the Los Angeles juvenile court".

Wounded for Pancho Villa On May 15, 1915, Fish was flying reconnaissance for Pancho Villa during the Mexican Revolution. While over a large body of soldiers, he was shot at; one bullet entered his calf, passed through his thigh and ended up in his shoulder. Fortunately, while his airplane was "badly damaged", the pilot escaped with cuts and bruises.

Military service With America's entry into World War I, he enlisted in the United States Army in February 1918 and was commissioned a lieutenant in July. In September, he was sent overseas as a test pilot for the Signal Corps, before being discharged in April 1919. He was a member of the Air Service Officers Reserve Corps from June 1919 to 1934, and returned briefly to active duty in 1942.

Later life After his military service, he became a businessman in Los Angeles. At the age of 74, he and his wife ran a statuary shop and lived in San Pablo, California.

Fish was a member of the Early Birds of Aviation.

He died on July 30, 1978.