Bert Acosta - Bad Boy

Bad Boy

In 1928 Connecticut suspended his pilot license for trying to fly under the Whittemore Memorial Bridge in Naugatuck. According to local Naugatuck tradition, the wing span of his aircraft was much longer than the width of the center arch of the bridge. The flight may have been a publicity stunt, as there was an advertisement for Splitdorf Spark Plugs on the fuselage.

In 1929 he was fined $500 for low flying and stunting. When he failed to pay the fine, the Department of Commerce revoked his pilot license. He was arrested by Connecticut State troopers in 1930 for flying without a license.

A new Terle Sportplane was being tested at Roosevelt Field in New York in 1931, but the CAA did not register it as a licensed aircraft. The aircraft was later test flown by the famous test pilot, Bert Acosta, who found it perfect for his use since he was currently grounded from flying licenced aircraft from a previous infraction. After performing aerobatics with the aircraft to a large crowd, Acosta and Terle planned to produce the aircraft together as the "Acosterle Wild Cet". The aircraft was test flown for two years, but could not meet certification requirements.

In 1931 with Captain Lisandro Garay of the Honduran Air Force he planned to fly from New York to Honduras . They left from Floyd Bennett Field and loaded their Bellanca monoplane with 360 gallons of gasoline to make a test flight, Bert disappeared and never made the flight.