Thursday March 8, 1923. Air to Air, almost.
Inventor Lawrence Sperry, inventor of the autopilot and artificial horizon, demonstrated that air-to-air refueling was a theoretical possibility by intentionally touching a Sperry Messenger to a deHavilland flown by Lt. Clyde Finter. He did it eight times.
Sperry Messenger.
Both plans maintained a speed of 65 mph during the demonstration.
Sperry would go down over the English Channel that December, losing his life at age 30. He was flying a Sperry Messenger at the time. His company lives on.
