View source for Charles W. "Speed" Holman

{{Infobox person
| name                      = Charles W. Holman
| image                     = Charles_W._"Speed"_Holman_(1898-1931).jpg
| caption                   =
| birth_name                = Charles Willis Holman
| birth_date                = December 27, 1898
| birth_place               = [[Minneapolis, Minnesota]], US
| death_date                = {{Death date and age|1931|5|17|1898|12|27}}
| death_place               = [[Omaha, Nebraska]], US
| death_cause               =
| resting_place             = Acacia Park Cemetery [[Mendota Heights, Minnesota]]<ref>{{cite book|title=Six Feet Under: A Graveyard Guide to Minnesota|author=Stew Thornley|page=19}}</ref>
| resting_place_coordinates = <!--Latitude: 44.87890, Longitude: -93.17110-->
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}}

'''Charles Willis "Speed" Holman''' (December 27, 1898 &ndash; May 17, 1931) was an American [[stunt pilot]], [[barnstorming|barnstormer]], [[wing walker]], [[parachutist]], [[airmail]] pilot, record-holding aviator, and airline pilot. Born in [[Bloomington, Minnesota|Bloomington]], Minnesota, in 1926 he became the first pilot hired by [[Northwest Airlines|Northwest Airways]] and later its first operations manager.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.rnpa.org/images/Contrails-210-Feb-2020.pdf |title=He Belonged to the Heights and the Heights Claimed Him |magazine=Contrails |issue=210 |date=February 2020 |publisher=Retired Northwest Airlines Pilots' Association |page=11}}</ref> In 1928, Holman set a world record of 1,433 consecutive loops in an airplane in five hours over the St. Paul Airport.<ref>(nd) [http://www.rchs.com/Ask%20The%20Historian/ask_the_historianarchive.htm Ask A Historian] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120603104841/http://www.rchs.com/Ask%20The%20Historian/ask_the_historianarchive.htm |date=2012-06-03 }}. Ramsey County Historical Society. Retrieved 5/31/07.</ref>

==Biography==
He was born in [[Bloomington, Minnesota]], on December 27, 1898.

In 1917, Holman raced motorcycles at the Minnesota State Fair, earning the nickname "Slim", and later, "Speed". In 1918, Holman offered to work as a mechanic in exchange for flying lessons with Walter Bullock. To earn money, he quickly added parachute jumps and wingwalking to his skills. In 1924, Holman won second place in the "on to Dayton" race. In 1926, he became an airmail pilot on the CAM-9 route from Minneapolis to Chicago, along with Matty Laird. In 1927, he won the New York to Spokane cross country air derby in a Laird commercial biplane.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Popular Aviation|date=November 1927|title=The National Air Races|page=7}}</ref> CAM-9 was reorganized by [[William Bushnell Stout]] with several financiers to form [[Northwest Airlines]], hiring Holman as its first pilot, later becoming its chief pilot.<ref>{{cite book|title=American Aviation|author1=Joe Christy |author2=LeRoy Cook |page=110}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|journal=Popular Aviation|date=July 1931|title=A tribute to Speed Holman|author=George Smedal}}</ref> Holman's first pilot's license, issued in 1927, was signed by [[Orville Wright]].<ref>{{cite web|title=Sporting license, Fédération Aéronautique Internationale, 1927. Charles W. Holman papers.|url=http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/01002/pdfa/01002-00006.pdf|website=Minnesota Historical Society|accessdate=25 October 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Charles W. Holman Collection Returns to Minnesota|last1=Williamson|first1=Lori|url=http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/2011/04/charles-w-holman-collection-returns-to-minnesota/|website=Minnesota Historical Society|accessdate=25 October 2016|date=April 15, 2011|archive-date=16 August 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160816175220/http://discussions.mnhs.org/collections/2011/04/charles-w-holman-collection-returns-to-minnesota/|url-status=dead}}</ref>

By 1929, Holman was a leading pilot for Northwest airlines, gaining more notoriety becoming the fourth person in the world to perform the outside loop, and first to do so in a commercial aircraft.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Popular Aviation|date=July 1929|page=8}}</ref> Holman became a major investor in the airline, buying $2,000 worth of stock.<ref>{{cite book|title=Top Entrepreneurs and Their Businesses|author=Robert B. Pile|page=20}}</ref>

In 1930 [[Emil Matthew Laird|Matty Laird]] was commissioned to build a racing plane based on the [[Laird Speedwing]] by [[Goodrich Corporation|B.F. Goodrich's]] Lee Schoenhair for the 1930 [[Thompson Trophy]] race. Schoenhair backed out of the project, believing the aircraft would not be tested in time. Laird entered the [[Laird Solution]] with Holman as the pilot only a few minutes after Holman flew the aircraft on its maiden flight. He won the race at average speed of 201.91&nbsp;mph.<ref>{{cite journal|journal=Flying Magazine|date=September 1977|title=The Solution |author=Ted West}}</ref>

Holman died at age 32 when his upside-down aircraft crashed on May 17, 1931, at the opening of an airport in [[Omaha, Nebraska]], in front of 20,000 spectators. His funeral was one of the largest yet held in St. Paul.

==Legacy==
[[Image:Holman Control tower.jpg|right|thumb|The [[Holman Field Administration Building]] is listed on the National Register of Historic Places]]
[[St. Paul Downtown Airport|Holman Field, St. Paul Downtown Airport]] is named in honor of Speed Holman, as was Holman street in [[St. Paul, Minnesota]].<ref>{{cite book|title=The Street Where You Live: A Guide to the Place Names of St. Paul|author1=Donald Empson |author2=Don Boxmeyer |author3=Kathleen M. Vadnais |page=130}}</ref> [https://www.holmanstable.com/ Holman's Table], located at Holman Field, is also named in honor of the famed pilot. Holman is also inducted in the [[Minnesota Aviation Hall of Fame]].

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Holman, Charles}}
[[Category:1898 births]]
[[Category:1931 deaths]]
[[Category:American aviation record holders]]
[[Category:Aerobatic record holders]]
[[Category:Aviators killed in aviation accidents or incidents in the United States]]
[[Category:American commercial aviators]]
[[Category:Stunt pilots]]
[[Category:United States airmail pilots]]
[[Category:Wing walkers]]
[[Category:People from Minneapolis]]
[[Category:Victims of aviation accidents or incidents in 1931]]