mass produced to serve as fighters, bombers, trainers, as well  as reconnaissance platforms.  Aviation advocates continued to look for ways to use  airplanes. Airmail service was a popular idea, but the  war prevented the Postal Service from having access to  airplanes. The War Department and Postal Service reached an  agreement in 1918. The Army would use the mail service to  train its pilots in flying cross-country. The first airmail flight  was conducted on May 15, 1918, between New York and  Washington, DC. The flight was not considered spectacular;  the pilot became lost and landed at the wrong airfield. In  August of 1918, the United States Postal Service took control  of the airmail routes and brought the existing Army airmail  pilots and their planes into the program as postal employees.  Airmail routes continued to expand until the Transcontinental  Mail Route was inaugurated.  [Figure 1-5]  This route spanned  from San Francisco to New York for a total distance of 2,612  miles with 13 intermediate stops along the way.  [Figure 1-6]  On May 20, 1926, Congress passed the Air Commerce Act,  which served as the cornerstone for aviation within the  United States. This legislation was supported by leaders in  the aviation industry who felt that the airplane could not  reach its full potential without assistance from the Federal  Government in improving safety.  The Air Commerce Act charged the Secretary of Commerce  with fostering air commerce, issuing and enforcing air traffic  rules, licensing pilots, certificating aircraft, establishing  airways, and operating and maintaining aids to air navigation.  The Department of Commerce created a new Aeronautics  Branch whose primary mission was to provide oversight for the  aviation industry. In addition, the Aeronautics Branch took over  the construction and operation of the nation’s system of lighted  airways. The Postal Service, as part of the Transcontinental  Air Mail Route system, had initiated this system. The  Transcontinental Air Mail Route  Figure 1-5.  The de Haviland DH-4 on the New York to San  Francisco inaugural route in 1921.  1-4  In 1934, to recognize the tremendous strides made in aviation  and to display the enhanced status within the department,  the Aeronautics Branch was renamed the Bureau of Air  Commerce.  [Figure 1-9]  Within this time frame, the Bureau  of Air Commerce brought together a group of airlines  Equally important for safety was the establishment of a  system of certification for aircraft. On March 29, 1927,  the Aeronautics Branch issued the first airworthiness  type certificate to the Buhl Airster CA-3, a three-place  open biplane.  Built at intervals of approximately 10 miles apart, the  standard beacon tower was 51 feet high, and was topped  with a powerful rotating light. Below the rotating light, two  course lights pointed forward and back along the airway. The  course lights flashed a code to identify the beacon’s number.  The tower usually stood in the center of a concrete arrow  70 feet long. A generator shed, where required, stood at the  “feather” end of the arrow.  [Figure 1-7]  Department of Commerce made significant advances in  aviation communications, including the introduction of radio  beacons as an effective means of navigation.  Figure 1-6.  The transcontinental airmail route ran from New York  to San Francisco.  15  14  13  12  11  10  9  8  7  6  5  4  3  2  1  11  Rock Springs  12  Salt Lake City  13  Elko  14  Reno  15  San Francisco  1  New York  2  Bellefonte  3  Cleveland  4  Bryan  5  Chicago  6  Iowa City  7  Omaha  8  North Platte  9  Cheyenne  10  Rawlins  The Aeronautics Branch of the Department of Commerce  began pilot certification with the first license issued on April  6, 1927. The recipient was the Chief of the Aeronautics  Branch, William P. MacCracken, Jr.  [Figure 1-8]  (Orville  Wright, who was no longer an active flier, had declined the  honor.) MacCracken’s license was the first issued to a pilot  by a civilian agency of the Federal Government. Some 3  months later, the Aeronautics Branch issued the first Federal  aircraft mechanic license.  Federal Certification of Pilots and Mechanics 