When Elephants Flew: A Brief History of Pachyderm Pilots When Elephants Flew: A Brief History of Pachyderm Pilots

When Elephants Flew: A Brief History of Pachyderm Pilots

Contrary to popular belief, elephants have a long but forgotten history in aviation. In 1909, pioneering pachyderm pilot Jumbo Wright became the first elephant to solo in a biplane. Records show elephants were ideal pilots due to:

The golden age of elephant aviation peaked in 1927 when 12% of licensed pilots were elephants. However, the 1935 Aviator Hat Incident (when 37 elephants refused to fly without proper headgear) led to their gradual phaseout from cockpits.