Cecil Arthur Butler

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Cecil Arthur Butler
Arthur Butler and his monoplane ABA-1, 1931 - 1934.jpg
Born8 June 1902 Edit this on Wikidata
Died13 April 1980 Edit this on Wikidata (aged 77)
OccupationAircraft pilot Edit this on Wikidata
Awards
  • Officer of the Order of the British Empire (1958) Edit this on Wikidata

Cecil Arthur Butler (1902 - 1980)[1] was an Australian businessman who established Butler Air Transport Co.

Buttler was born in Warwickshire, England, and migrated to Australia with his family in about 1910.[1] In 1917 he was apprenticed to become a tool, jig and gauge maker at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. In 1921 he transferred to the Australian Aircraft & Engineering Co. Ltd at Mascot, Sydney. In 1923 he obtained his ground engineer's licence,[1] in 1927, his pilot's licence.[1]

In 1930 he designed, built and tested a small, all-metal, high-winged monoplane.[1][2] In 1931, he piloted a Comper Swift from England to Australia in the record time of 9 days, 1 hours and 40 minutes.[3] In 1934 with the financial help of his wife's uncle, P. S. Garling,[4] he won the tender for the Charleville (Queensland) to Cootamundra (New South Wales) leg of the England-Australia airmail route, servicing the route with DH.84 Dragon aircraft.[1] Four years later, with the successful completion of the contract, his company, Butler Air Transport Co. continued as a civil airline, serving centres in New South Wales and Queensland.[1] The airline later became Airlines of New South Wales.[5]

In 1958 he became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)[5]

Gallery[]

  • Butler being congratulated by crowd at Lithgow, after his England-Australia record breaking flight

  • Butler and the Comper Swift, 1931

Publications[]

  • C. Arthur Butler, Flight : memoirs, 1912-1958, Wikidata Q108355035
  • C. Arthur Butler (1971), Flying start : the history of the first five decades of civil aviation in Australia, Wikidata Q108354444

See also[]

Butler Air Transport for the story of the civil airline he founded and managed.

References[]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Marchant, Sylvia, "Butler, Cecil Arthur (1902-1980)", Australian Dictionary of Biography, Canberra: National Centre of Biography, Australian National University, retrieved 1 September 2021
  2. ^ "ARTHUR BUTLER'S MONOPLANE". Brisbane Courier (Qld. : 1864 - 1933). 14 October 1930. p. 19. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  3. ^ "ARTHUR BUTLER,". Wheatbelt Wheatsheaf and Dampier Advocate (Merredin, WA : 1930 - 1939). 17 November 1931. p. 3. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  4. ^ "MR. P. S. GARLING". Mudgee Guardian and North-Western Representative (NSW : 1890 - 1954). 28 January 1935. p. 3. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
  5. ^ a b Centre, The University of Melbourne eScholarship Research. "Butler, Cecil Arthur - Biographical entry - Encyclopedia of Australian Science". www.eoas.info. Retrieved 1 September 2021.
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