The flying career of legendary pilot Herbert A. Munter (1895-1970) began early as he built his first plane from a bed sheet, wooden struts, wires from market baskets and a 40-horsepower engine. Teaching himself to fly it in 1912, he went on to barnstorming and test piloting for the Boeing Company. He opened Seattle's first passenger carrying service in 1920 and was also the first to fly over Mt. Rainier. Leaving the aviation business for a while, he only occasionally flew mail from Seattle to Victoria, British Columbia, for Eddie Hubbard. He opened and operated a charter service in Ketchikan, Alaska, in 1934 and later served in the Navy during World War II.
In this photo, Herb Munter, with arm raised at right, stands with three other men in front of the Boeing Model C (or Model 2) seaplane, probably at Boeing's Lake Union hangar.
Webster & Stevens number: 71840
Caption information source: "1st Boeing Test Pilot Dies at 73," The Seattle Times, May 26, 1970, p. C20.
Physical Description: 1 negative : glass, b&w ; 5 x 7 in.
Additional Information: Digital copy of this item available thanks to funding from a 2016 Institute for Museum and Library Services grant. Metadata updated as part of a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services administered by the Library Services and Technology Act, through the Washington State Library, a division of the Office of the Secretary of State.
