King of the Hollywood Pilots
Paul Albert Mantz - 1928
He had severe vertigo, but would fly an airplane anywhere
Paul Mantz grew up in aviation, starting in the days when dare-devil fliers in rickety biplanes entertained yokels at country fairs, and culminating in camera flying for the first Cinerama spectaculars. In between, he won a record number of Bendix Air Trophies. He operated a charter service (christened the Honeymoon Express) for some big names who wanted to get to Nevada in a hurry — and the secret passenger lists read like a Who's Who of the entertainment world. Some of Paul's closest friends were legendary in aviation, among others: Jimmy Doolittle and Amelia Earhart, who enlisted Mantz's technical advice for her round-the-world flight.
Name any spot around the world, including some not usually associated with low-flying aircraft - under the Brooklyn Bridge, over the Matterhorn, right through numerous plane hangars - and barnstorming Paul Mantz was likely to have flown there, either for fun, photographs, or at the request of an eloping Hollywood star.
Mantz with Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan in Hawaii on the first leg of her first around-the-world flight attempt. Mantz had trained Earhart in long range flight and navigation. The flight was aborted after Earhart groundlooped her Lockheed Electra. When it was resumed four months later, she and Noonan disappeared in the Pacific Ocean.
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