Eleanor Hoyt

Eleanor Hoyt acted as Charles Lindbergh’s pilot on October 8, 1928.  Barely sixteen and unlicensed, Lindbergh held a great deal of confidence in her abilities. 

Aviation Heritage

Eleanor Hoyt’s father, Richard Farnsworth Hoyt, maintained a reputation as a powerful air financier. He claimed four aviation concerns. These included Wright Aeronautical, Keystone-Loening, Travel Air, and the Aviation Corporation of the Americas (Pan-American).   He and his partner, United’s Frederick Brant Rentschlermade, planned to synchronize thousands of air miles in 1929.  Primary companies consisted of United Aircraft & Transport and Aviation Corp. of the Americas. Clearly, the cooperation consummated the deal.

Eleanor Learns to Fly

Eleanor learned to fly in a Loening seven-passenger amphibian.  Her father purchased the craft while under construction.  To demonstrate his new seaplane, Grover Loening flew to New York and picked up Lindbergh.   The flight took them to Hoyt’s yacht anchored in Manhasset Bay.  Eleanor, attending school in New York, flew their Loening amphibian down from New York.  She wanted to meet the Lone Eagle.

With the seaplane securely tethered to the yacht’s stern, Lindbergh asked about the craft.  He wanted to know if “he could give the machine a test of his own. Next, he asked whether he could ride as a passenger with Miss Hoyt as pilot.” In response, Lindbergh climbed into the cabin. According to a newspaper article, “When they landed, Colonel Lindbergh commended her warmly upon her handling of the plane. ‘She certainly has it for flying,’ Lindbergh said.” No better praise existed for Eleanor!

In 1929, Eleanor’s father gave her a Tiger Moth in which she finally received her pilot license.  This seemed superfluous considering she could already fly the tail off the 525-hp seaplane. In 1932, she married Felix du Pont Jr., both heirs to the nation’s greatest fortunes and prominent aviation enthusiasts. 

Quotes Grover Loening’s Amphibian:  The Story of the Loening Biplane