UAF-1969-95-464
A small crowd gathered in Fairbanks to witness Carl Ben Eielson’s first airmail flight on February 21, 1924. Eielson stands at the cockpit of his De Havilland biplane, which is mounted on skis, ready for the first experimental mail flight between Fairbanks and McGrath. The de Havilland was powered by a 400-horsepower, 12-cylinder, water-cooled Liberty engine. Archives, University of Alaska Fairbanks.