On April 7, 1920 the James Heddon’s Sons Company issued a press release announcing the purchase of two Canadian built Curtiss biplanes to be powered by the famous Curtiss OX-5 eight cylinder 90 horsepower motor. In that same press release it was noted that the planes would be used “…as an advertising adjunct to their manufacturing business” and that “the fuselages of the two machines will be decorated to represent a fish and the wings will be lettered with advertising matter.”
Shortly after this announcement, a landing field and hanger were constructed on 40 acres of leased land just to the northwest of the Heddon factory in Dowagiac. A pilot, Mr. Henry F. Fawcett and a mechanic,
Mr. R. Nelson Hensler, were hired to fly and maintain the soon to be delivered “flying fish”.
Leaving Dowagiac by train at 8:04 P.M. Thursday, April 29, 1920, Charles Heddon, Henry Fawcett and Nelson Hensler arrived in Toronto, Ontario, Canada over 12 hours later at 8:30 the next morning. They went immediately to the Curtiss factory to familiarize themselves with their new purchase and to prepare the plane for its return flight to Dowagiac. The Canadian version of the Curtiss “Jenny” was designed to be somewhat lighter than the U.S. built version and was known as a “Canuck”.
Departure from Toronto was scheduled for first thing Saturday morning, but in the fashion that seems consistent to all who travel, departure from Toronto wasn’t accomplished until 2:30 that afternoon. With Charles Heddon as the distinguished passenger and Henry Fawcett at the controls, the plane was full, leaving the mechanic, Nelson Hensler, to take the train back to Dowagiac. With a couple of stops along the way for fuel and to clear customs in Detroit, the flight ended in Dowagiac on the following Monday with a total elapsed flying time of just over seven hours.
The famous “flying fish” paint scheme was applied within a few days by local artist Frank Freeland and rides were given on the following Saturday and Sunday, many to Heddon employees.
The second plane was picked up in Toronto by Henry Fawcett and his mechanic and returned to Dowagiac the following week. It too was immediately painted with the well-known “flying fish” paint scheme.
The first delivery of Heddon’s product by air was made on Saturday, May 15, 1920 with a flight to Buchanan, Michigan, a distance by air of about 15 miles with Henry Fawcett at the controls.
Captain Frank Hawkes of St. Joseph, Michigan, a former WWI pilot, was hired to pilot the second “flying fish”.
Photograph of Heddon's “Flying Fish” from right to left: Captain Frank M. Hawkes, Henry Fawcett and an unidentified Heddon dealer.
