Way Back When: An Aviation First for Santa Barbara

(Image: Plane landing at Bonnymede, 1919, courtesy of John Woodward)

by Betsy J. Green

Well, this doesn’t exactly rank with Lindbergh flying across the Atlantic, but it was a first for Santa Barbara. In June of 1919, a visitor from Riverside was the first person to fly here just for a weekend social visit. We still didn’t have an airport yet, so the pilot landed on the lawn at the Bonnymede estate in Montecito.

The flight took 100 minutes. The pilot reported that “the trip was a beautiful one and the air clear and perfect for flying.” 

Betsy’s Way Back When book — 1918 — is now available in local bookstores and at Amazon.com. This is the fifth book in her series of the history of Santa Barbara, one year at a time. Learn more at betsyjgreen.com​