Air Museum of Minnesota Oral History Project: Interview with Edwin H. Croft

Titles: Air Museum of Minnesota Oral History Project: Interview with Edwin H. Croft (Supplied title)

Description: BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Edwin H. Croft was an early pilot at Mid-Continent Airlines, which later merged with Braniff [Airways]. He started flying in 1931, in his early twenties. He spent most of his life flying in Minnesota and founded the Gopher Aviation flight school and repair station. SUBJECTS DISCUSSED: Croft's early life on a truck farm in St. Paul. His first flying experiences. His work as an auto mechanic to fund his desire to fly. Early licensing requirements. Anecdotes about early crash landings. Barnstorming in Minnesota towns. Comparisons of the characteristics of various types of aircraft. Being shot at by a hunter in Centerville Minnesota. Looking for work as a pilot during the Depression. Working as a flight instructor during World War II. His work at Mid-Continent Airlines and the merger with Braniff [Airways]. Discussion of man/machine issues of being a commercial pilot. Thoughts on the future of aviation. Croft's starting Gopher Aviation.

Dates

• 08/10/1965 (Creation)

Creation

• interviewee: Croft, Edwin H.
• interviewer: Holey, George
• interviewer: Holey, Anne M.

Identifiers

• Library Call Number: OH 101
• Accession Number: AV1992.88.3

Holding Type: Oral History - Interview

Project

• Oral History - Project, MHS Collection, project: 'Air Museum of Minnesota Oral History Project' <OH 101>

Quantity: 2 hours sound cassette 21 pages transcript

Format

• Content Category: sound recordings
• Content Category: text

Measurements

• 120 minutes length

Subjects

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