Robert M. Burtt

Robert M. Burtt (born His parents were missionaries, and he was in the interior of China with them from age 10 to age 16. Those years influenced his future because of the time that he spent reading books that the family took with them. He read all of the books, including the complete works of Dumas and Victor Hugo, some two or three times. When he returned to the United States, he was deficient in some areas of education, but he had a solid background in adventure stories. He graduated from prep school in 1917 and enrolled in the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as a cadet in aviation. played quarterback and halfback on the varsity football team, and he was president of an aeronautical society.

Aviation

Military Burtt's initial training in aviation began in September 1917 in Boston. That November During World War I he was a first lieutenant in the 28th pursuit squadron

Commercial After Burtt finished his studies at Columbia, he became a commercial aviator, barnstorming around the United States.In addition to flying he worked at other jobs, including washing dishes and being an oil-field roustabout. The bureau was part of an effort by the city's Chamber of Commerce to have Kansas City established as an aviation center. That effort was backed by an allocation of $2.5 million. A major focus of Burtt's work in the new position was convincing aviation-related companies, including those that manufactured airplanes and parts for airplanes, to locate in Kansas City.

On March 6, 1929, Burtt resigned his position with the Chamber of Commerce to become director of sales in the Kansas City area for the Curtiss Flying Service, Inc. He compared the sales operation at Fairfax Field to a car dealership, with several kinds of Curtiss planes on display at the field. His sales territory included Kansas, Missouri, Nebraska, Iowa, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and southern Illinois. After Curtiss changed its sales operations, with responsibility for sales shifting to distributors, Burtt resigned from that position on November 15, 1929.

In April 1930 Burtt began overseeing advertising, publicity, and sales for the Goebel Flying School at the airport in Kansas City. In December 1930 he became chief pilot for Midland Air Express, a new air service that provided flights between Kansas City and Cheyenne, Wyoming.

Writing

Early writing In the mid-1920s Burtt wrote a column, "This Week in Aviation", for the Kansas City Journal-Post. While he worked for Curtiss-Wright his desire to be a writer increased, even after an executive of the company warned him that he would probably starve if he had to support himself by writing. The 1929 business collapse led to the company's firing him as Burtt received the message, "Now you're a writer; you're fired." After he sold articles to about two dozen pulp magazines, a conversation at a cocktail party prompted him to look into another medium. A woman commented that radio soap operas had no appeal for her sons, who were interesting in flying. The program debuted on February 27, 1933, on radio station WDAF in Kansas City. Other programs for which he wrote included Sky King, Ann of the Airlanes, Captain Midnight, and Hop Harrigan,

Book Burtt's book Curly, published by Exposition Press in 1962, told "the story of a young greyhound and the effect he has on the life of a teenaged boy." The title was the name of a dog destined to be euthanized because of a superstition that if a greyhound's tail curls to the right it will never find success as a racer. The story focused on the dog and the boy's efforts to protect him. Burtt supplemented the fictional narrative with facts about greyhounds and how they were trained to race. A review in the Mansfield News Journal said that the factual material was presented "always in entertaining form" and added, "Boys and girls who love dogs will most certainly love the story of David and Curly." The one-on-one sessions helped writers to overcome difficulties and improve their work. Critiques from Burtt and other experts helped them to see what they had done wrong.

Other activities

Greyhound racing Losing at greyhound races led Burtt to get into the business for himself, saying, "I'll get My own kennel and then maybe I can win." Having many friends in the greyhound-owners community facilitated his doing so. Initially he continued to write for radio while he worked with the dogs,

Little theater Burtt was a key figure in the formation of a little theater group known as the Blackfriars in Kansas City. They had two daughters.