J. HECTOR WORDEN AKA Héctor Worden & John Hector Worden

J. Hector Worden Collection of Pablo Larumbe, 9-21-08

 

INSTRUCTOR AT MOISANT SCHOOL      Early in 1911, Alfred Moisant opened an aviation school at Hempstead Plains, near Garden City, Long Island, where a vast acreage was admirably adaptable to practice flying. Alfred had the assistance of Harold Kantner, an early exhibition flyer, as well as of George H. Arnold, Mortimer F.. Bates, J. Hector Worden, and Chief Pilot Shakir S. Jerwan---"all licensed aviators," as the prospectus put it From Henry Villard's CONTACT The Story of the Early Birds Thomas Y. Crowell Co.

 

Extract from Revolución Mexicana / Contrarrevolución en Yucatan" Vol 61, October 1967 Courtesy of Gerardo Garcia de León

The government of President Francisco I Madero made arrangements with the Moissant International School, long established in the United States of America, for the acquisition of an aeroplane and the training of pilots. In the month of September of 1912, Francisco Alvarez.and Hector Worden arrived in the city of Torreon, with two Moissant-Blériot aeroplanes, being at the disposal of General Victoriano Huerta of the Northern Division. However, their skills as pilots were not utilized, not being considered to be worthwhile.

 

"Dallas Enters World Aviation Race" Knoxville Journal and Tribune, Knoxville, Tennessee: May 26, 1914, Transcribed by Bob Davis - 3-2-07 "San Francisco, May 25. - The first city to enter as a contestant in the Panama-Pacific exposition around the world aviation race in 1915 is Dallas, Tex. The exposition bureau of aeronautics announced today that Dallas chamber of commerce had sent word that the city would be represented by Capt. J. H. Worden, with a monoplane. The city will build his machine and finance his flight, the letter stated. Capt. Worden is attached to the Mexican federal army. He is a Cherokee Indian and a former student at Carlisle. He was graduated from a French school of aviation."

 

ONLINE RESOURCES - 1      If you search for "Héctor Worden" +aviation, using the Google search engine, (9-21-08), you will find about 71 links. Perhaps the most helpful are the following.

Aviation in the Mexican Revolution      This article on the War and Game website, posted by Mitch Williamson, offers a very complete and interesting revue of the beginnings of military aviation. The role of John Hector Worden is mentioned several time. Included are two photographs of the TNCA Series H two-seat parasol monoplane light bomber. You will also find several references to other aviatiors such as: Dean Ivan Lamb, Phil Rader, Charles F. Niles, W. Leonard Bonney, and Lawrence Brown, all of whom were Americans. In addition, the group of aviators consisted of Didier Masson who was of French parentage and a Romanian aviator, George Pufflea.      In the case of Pufflea, the only reference I have at this time, (9-21-08), is in the text of the article, EL CUERPO DE AVIADORES DE PANCHO VILLA, by Dr. Lawrence D. Taylor. The article is in Spanish and there is only one mention of his name.      You can access the site by clicking on the title.

 

FUERZA AEREA MEXICANA. Historia. Inicios      This page on the Fuerza Aérea Mexicana - Sitio Extra Oficial website, offers, in Spanish, a summary of the beginnings of aviation in Mexico. It has a brief reference to Hector Worden which I have translated below.        "During the rebellion of General Pascual Orozco (1912), two Moisant Bleriot 2 airplanes of the Federal Army participated, flown by the North American Héctor Worden and the Mexican Francisco Alvarez. During this year the first instance of the contraband of arms by air by the English pilot John L. Longstaff. Flying a Farman biplane, he established a sort of mail service and he also transported arms to the rebels from Laredo (Texas) during the night."

 

The dates of his birth and his death is unknown to me at this time.   Editor's Note: If you have any information on this Early Flier, please contact me. E-mail to Ralph Cooper   Back