A Veteran Birdman Looks Back on a Daring Era of Aviation

H. Roy Waite — Norwood aviation pioneer

In 1964, H. Roy Waite, an 80‑year‑old pioneer aviator residing at 226 East Cross Street, Norwood, reflected on a flying career that began in the earliest years of American aviation. Waite had once trained for a life at sea, attending the Massachusetts Nautical School and spending several years before the mast. But an air show in Squantum changed his direction, turning his attention toward the new and uncertain world of flight.

Waite became associated with early aviator Harry Atwood, serving as Atwood’s mechanic. In the grey dawn of May 19, 1912, Waite sat in the passenger seat of a Wright biplane as it flew over Boston Harbor at 45 miles per hour. The flight completed what was regarded as the first successful bombing test in aviation history. With his feet braced on a thin bar, Waite acted as the bombardier, dropping flour‑filled bags on Fort Heath, Fort Banks, and the battleships New Jersey and Rhode Island, which were anchored off the Charlestown Navy Yard. His “eyeball bombsight” produced direct hits.

Waite recalled that early airplanes were known as “contraptions” or “machines,” and their pilots were called birdmen. Instruments were minimal. One was a piece of string tied to the foot rail, used to determine whether the plane was sideslipping or nosing up or down. Another was a cork float protruding through a vent in the gasoline tank, serving as a fuel gauge. A revolution counter and a stopwatch, carried in the pilot’s pocket, completed the “instrument panel.”

Waite later purchased the Wright Model “F” from Atwood and taught himself to fly it. The aircraft was powered by a 35‑horsepower gasoline engine and had the appearance of a double‑winged bat, something reminiscent of a Leonardo da Vinci sketch. He flew at fairs in the South, often taking off and landing between two fences on a race track in a crosswind. He walked away from several crashes, suffering only a broken collarbone.

One incident occurred over the Lynn marshes when the engine quit. Waite selected what appeared to be a green field for landing, only to discover it was a muddy pond covered with algae. The impact threw both him and his passenger into the slime. Neither was injured, though the passenger had to ride home on the rear platform of a trolley.

Waite also built and flew a tailless airplane with Chauncy Redding, constructed in the MIT woodworking shop. The aircraft flew but was not successful. He later worked as a test pilot and mechanic for an aircraft company in Marblehead headed by W. Starling Burgess, the yacht designer.

During his flying years, Waite achieved several firsts. He became the first pilot certified by the U.S. Department of Commerce after it began registering pilots, receiving Certificate Number One. He was also the first person to serve as Massachusetts Inspector of Airplanes. During World War I, he became the first civilian hired by the Navy Department as an aircraft inspector. He expected the assignment to last only a few days and packed only a toothbrush and comb, but he remained in Washington for more than 35 years, eventually becoming a senior administrative assistant in the Bureau of Aeronautics. He retired in 1952.

Waite’s flying career lasted only the few years he owned the Wright biplane. The aircraft was eventually loaned out and later crashed, killing its two occupants. Despite the dangers and the uncertain income of early aviators, Waite remained connected to aviation throughout his life. In retirement, he continued to fly frequently as a passenger out of Norwood Airport. His home was filled with mementos, including a photograph of the Wright Brothers’ first flight at Kitty Hawk, personally autographed to him by Orville Wright.

Waite was also a member of the Early Birds, an association of pilots active before December 17, 1917. The group was described as aviators who “built or procured various contraptions known as aeroplanes, gliders, or balloons and dared the damn things to take them off the ground.”

Archival Note: This article has been dynamically reconstructed from the original public record print archives of the Patriot Ledger