Flying the Main at Night

To speed up air mail service, the Post Office turned to flying the mail throughout the night-a dangerous undertaking for air mail pilots.

Night flying presented special hazards, especially getting lost. Initially, bonfires set along air routes were used to help guide pilots through the darkness. In the 1920s, the Post Office established a system of lighted airways marked by powerful rotating beacons.

Airplanes making the night runs were equipped with flares, lighted instruments, and navigation and landing lights.

Hollywood later capitalized on the daring pilots who flew the mail with the movie Air Mail. Beacons posted at intervals along air routes helped keep flyers from getting lost in the dark. But flying into fog or a storm could prove more hair-raising than any fictional drama.