History
Miss Pittsburgh's first owner was Clifford A. Ball, formerly an automobile dealer. He acquired several planes as a compensaiton for unpaid storage charges at the Bettis Field, an airport near McKeesport in which he had controlling interest. They made their first airmail flight around noon, April 21, 1927, on a 121 miles long route from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Cleveland, Ohio. Post Office Department awarded Ball the Contract Air Mail No. 11 for this flight, and he expanded his airmail service (Skyline Transportation Company), buying two other Waco 9 aircraft (Miss Youngstown and Miss McKeesport). His company kept on acquiring more airfcaft; it was renamed into the Cliff Ball Mail Line; later bore names of Pennsylvania Airlines, Pennsylvania Central Airline, Capital Airlines and finally became a part of United Airlines.
As Waco 9 became obsolete, Miss Pittsburgh found its way to Florida, where the airplane was being used for advertising in 1960s. Eventually is broke down in New York. In 1993, the OX 5 Pioneers located the plane in the Rhinebeck NY Aerodrome. With the support of the Pittsburgh Institute of Aeronautics the group raised money to have the airplane returned to Pittsburgh. After renovation, it is displayed at the Pittsburgh International Airport Landside Terminal.
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“Perhaps universal history is the history of the diverse intonation of some metaphors.”
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