John Henry Livingston

John H. Livingston (1897–1974) was an American aviator and air race pilot of the 1920s and 1930s. He placed first in 80 national air races. Life John Livingston was born in 1897 in Cedar Falls, Iowa. His first profession was as an automobile and motorcycle mechanic. He first soloed an aircraft in 1920 and started work with The Iowa Airplane Company, later purchasing and managing it as Midwest Airways Corporation. Iowa's first airline with service starting in 1928. In 1928 Livingston won first place in the Transcontinental Air Derby, flying a Waco 10T from New York to Los Angeles. In 1930, Livingston purchased a Monocoupe 110 (NC-501W) to use in air racing. He modified the landing gear, engine cowling, engine output, streamlined struts. In 1932 the aircraft went back to the factory to have the wings clipped from 32 feet to 22 feet in length becoming a Monocoupe 110 Special. Livingston would fly the aircraft through rain storms with whitewash paint to find areas of drag. His modifications increased the speed of the monocoupe from 160 to 200 mph. Out of 65 races entered, he placed first 41 times in this aircraft. He sold his aircraft in 1933, and it was entered in the MacRobertson Race flying from England to India where it dropped out. The rebuilt airplane returned to America, killing its next owner Ruth Barron in a 1936 Omaha, Nebraska crash. Livingston's first Monocoupe racer was restored over ten years between 1996 and 2006 and is still flying.