From an audio tape by Acee M. Acee

Clark Mills native, Jack Wright, stands in front of his Monocoupe sometime during the early 1930's.

    Imagine a hot summer day on the Cricket Field in Clark Mills during the annual “Old Home Days”. The crowd is tense with anticipation waiting for the arrival of native son, Jack Wright, in his Fleet Bi-plane. Jack, an accomplished pilot and barnstormer, would finally arrive and thrill all with an air show complete with a variety of acrobatics. Remember now, the Wright brothers had only made their first flight in 1903 and this event would only be some twenty years later. An event similar to us watching someone go to the moon. Wright would often land on the Zumbrun farm now owned by Emile Novak, in Kirkland. A car appointed to fetch him would deliver him so he could join in the festivities of the day with his feet firmly on the ground.
    John Henry Wright was the son of Arthur and Catherine Mary Wright who lived on White Street. The 18 year old Arthur came to Clark Mills with Arthur Hind in 1891 as an office boy and worked his way up to a supervisory position in the Hind and Harrison Plush Company.
    Jack Wright grew up to be an effective promoter of aviation throughout the United States. Also, partly through his efforts, the Utica area became one of the early hubs of aviation in the nation. An Ace pilot, he entered and won many air races. In the early thirties he won fame by setting a worlds record in his light cabin plane over a 100 kilometer course at 167.482 miles per hour. Later in the day, using the same plane, Wright won a race for planes with 150 cubic inches or less of engine displacement over a 15 mile triangular course, averaging 162.123 miles per hour.
    Air shows and races brought public attention to aviation and were instrumental in changing the attitude of the public. These were the “baby steps” that eventually resulted in the huge aviation industry of today. At this particular event the closing air show was provided by none other than millionaire Howard Hughes, Lee Miles, Los Angeles speed flier and ace pilot Jim Wedell of Paterson, New Jersey.
    Jack Wright’s travels introduced him to many people throughout the country. When he founded the state sponsored New York State Aviation School on Chancellor Square in Utica he made use of one of these contacts, opera singer Grace Moore, by persuading her to present the school with the gift of an airplane. Miss Moore selected, as her gift, the famous Wedell-Williams 92 which was one of only three of these aircraft ever built. Among the eager students who used the airplane to practice their mechanical skills by disassembling it piece by piece then putting it back together was a young Acee M. Acee. It was here that Ace learned the skill of rigging an airplane, a skill he is fond of to this very day. Rigging consists of the adjustment of all the control surfaces of an aircraft to the proper angle which causes the aircraft to maintain stability in flight.
    Amazingly, in a day when women had just been given the right to vote, Mr. Wright opened his school to girls from the former girls school on Chaminade Road in Marcy. Many of these girls learned to be skillful mechanics, but it is not known how many carved out a career in a field then dominated by men.
    Another activity in which Wright was involved was Colonial-Botsford Flying School, located at Utica Airport in Marcy, of which he was appointed general manager by the owners.
    A project which captured much attention in the aviation community in the Mohawk Valley was the effort to raise money for the race from London, England to Melbourne, Australia. Jack was entered to fly in this race and funds were needed to help him attain his goal. Acee remembers selling metal pilot wings for twenty-five cents a pair to aid in this effort.
    The fund raising was a success and allowed Jack to enter the race. The departure point was London and the participants were to head southeast over a prescribed route to Melbourne. Jack got as far as Persia, present day Iran, when he was forced to land with engine problems. The ill fated journey ended with Wright being thrown into a Persian prison and only a concerted effort by the U. S. Embassy was able to free him.
    Acee, already a pilot when he entered Wrights school, wished to increase his knowledge of aviation by becoming an aircraft and engine (A&E) mechanic. He was so successful at the school that Wright took him under his wing (no pun intended) and gave him the opportunity of joining the faculty. Acee served in this position until the outbreak of World War II.
    Always an avid supporter of aviation Acee spent much of his time at the Marcy Airport on River Road in the town of Marcy. As mentioned before, he had his pilots license prior to attending the New York State Aviation School. He earned it at Marcy where he soloed in a two cylinder 26 horse powered Aeronca C-3. It was here, also, that Ace earned his commercial and instructor pilot ratings.
    Armed with his pilot certificates and mechanics license, he picked up many odd jobs where he acquired volumes of information about a vast variety of early aircraft, one of which was the World War I British Gypsy Moth. Marcys Gypsy Moth was found to be incorrectly rigged so Acee, with his skill in that area, set to work to correct the deficiency. To test the efficiency of his work, he waited for the rest of the crew to go home for the day before he test flew the plane. He barely became airborne, at which time he released hold of the controls. The machine flew straight and level, followed by an immediate landing by Acee before they left the confines of the runway. It was at Marcy that he also worked on Wright’s racing Mono-plane which boasted a speed of 230 to 250 miles per hour. Remember, this was in the mid thirties!
    On the strength of his qualifications as a commercial pilot and aircraft mechanic, he was hired as a test pilot for the Franklin Aircraft Engine Company of Liverpool, NY. Flights for the testing of the engines were flown from Amboy Airport in Syracuse.
    As World War II was escalating Ace was offered a commission in the Army to train pilots for the military. He jumped at the opportunity and quit his lucrative job at the Aviation School to do so. His initial assignment was at Colgate University where he taught primary flight training to U.S. Navy Midshipmen. (Ed. Note: Amos (Ted) Bramley and Adolph (Odd) Bird both graduated from this school, but not during the time Ace was there.) The midshipmen flew N3N Navy trainer aircraft. His admonition to his students who were not measuring up was, “You’d better buckle down or you’ll soon be wearing bell bottom trousers”.
    Ace’s mechanical background helped keep these ancient “flying machines” in airworthy condition, and his enthusiasm for rigging prompted him to re-rig the entire fleet of aircraft.
    As fate would have it, the Army did not live up to their promise and the commissions were never forthcoming. This oversight is still being fought by our last remaining pioneer aviator and we wish him the greatest of luck in his endeavor.

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