John H. Livingston

He first soloed an aircraft in 1920 and started work with The Iowa Airplane Company, later purchasing and managing it as Midwest Airways Corporation.

[1][2] In 1928 Livingston won first place in the Transcontinental Air Derby, flying a Waco 10T from New York to Los Angeles.

[3] The rebuilt airplane returned to America, killing its next owner Ruth Barron in a 1936 Omaha, Nebraska crash.

After the season, he went to work for WACO as a test pilot, and was also sponsored in the Baby Ruth Aerobatic Team featuring aircraft tied together with ropes.

Livingston suffered a heart attack and died shortly after test flying a Pitts Special at the age of 76. he was inducted into the Iowa aviation Hall of Fame in 1995.