FLIGHT LOG
Was San Francisco’s John Morrell a stockswindling grifter or a deluded visionary? In 1906, Morrell, president of a business venture he called the National Airship Company, announced plans to build a fleet of airships to link America’s cities. It was an enticing dream: dirigibles, nearly a quarter of a mile long, that could cross the country in a day or reach London in 24 hours. A San Francisco businessman could fly to New York for lunch and be back home in time for bed. The railroads were dead, Morrell promised. Air travel was the future.
Although Morrell’s vision outpaced early 20th-century technology, aloft in October 1903; Baldwin had flown his the following August. Perhaps Morrell could build on their success.
