THE RHODE ISLAND CENTURY: Back to the future

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'I want the glory'

Jack McGee of Pawtucket was a test pilot in the days when just climbing into a plane was an act of faith.

And for McGee, 13 truly was an unlucky number.

McGee was 33 years old and had been flying for seven years when, on the morning of June 11, 1918, he was asked to test a new design for a military seaplane manufactured by the Gallaudet Aircraft Corp. of East Greenwich.

It was a difficult time for McGee. A close friend and fellow pilot, Lt. Phil Rader, had died in a plane crash three days earlier in Buffalo.

On the way to Gallaudet that morning from his Pawtucket home, McGee told Noel Breault, his chauffeur, that he had been unable to sleep that night, thinking of Rader.

McGee had landed the job as head test pilot for Gallaudet after a career as a stunt pilot and star attraction at Newport, Rocky Point, and other area resorts. But his real dream had been to make aviation history by flying across the North Atlantic.

''It's the biggest thing an aviator can do today,'' he told the Journal in May 1913. ''It means a fearful expense, but if I am successful, I'll pay my expenses several times over. However, I'm not in it so much for the money I may get out of it.

''I want the glory.''

His elaborate plan involved refueling stops on supply ships stationed at key points along the route. He planned to stay in contact with the ships by wireless.

''Each ship will be a supply boat,'' he said. ''On each will be gasoline, oil, and food. There will also be a place for me to snatch a few hours of sleep if I feel in need of it.

''As I am supposed to make the trip in 72 consecutive hours, I don't imagine I'll think much about sleeping. The excitement of getting there will put the skids under sleep.''

But the war intervened, and soon McGee was teaching soldiers to fly and testing new aircraft. Gallaudet landed government contracts for seaplanes and other experimental craft; at its peak, the plant employed 800.

The plane McGee was testing had just rolled off the line that June morning. According to witnesses, he had made three successful passes over Greenwich Bay and was skimming low over the surface at 90 mph when the pontoons suddenly caught in the water and the plane plunged forward.

The plane somersaulted and collapsed, trapping McGee's body in the wreckage. He drowned before he could be extricated. It was his 13th accident as an aviator.

In 1927, Charles Lindbergh got the glory.