John G. Montijo
| John G. Montijo | |
|---|---|
| Born |
John Gregory Montijo 25 May 1891 |
| Died | 1 May 1935 Walsenburg, Colorado |
| Cause of death | Aircraft crash |
| Resting place | Abbey Mausoleum, Long Beach California |
| Residence | Los Angeles, California |
| Other names | Monte |
| Employer | California Polytechnic State University |
| Spouse(s) | Alta Margrete |
| Children | Jim and John Montijo |
| Parent(s) | Monte Montijo |
John G. Montijo (1891–1929) was an American aircraft engineer and instructor.
Montijo taught at the California Polytechnic State University. Montijo taught flight instruction to Amelia Earhart in a Kinner Airster after crashing with her first instructor Neta Snook.
Montijo was an experienced flight instructor for the U.S. Army Air Corps in World War I. After being discharged he moved to Lima, Peru to oversee an American airport project. Shortly afterward, he moved to Long Beach, California, and became one of the earliest licensed Hispanic pilots in the United States.
In February 1921 Montijo competed in the Southern California Aero Club air races in a Bluebird Airplanes Inc. biplane named "The Desert Rat". Afterward, Montijo and pilot D.D. France flew a 2200 mile flight over the Mojave and Imperial desert.
In 1922 Montijo was working with Bert Kinner, maker of aircraft and aircraft engines as a test pilot and instructor. Three women had purchased Kinner aircraft that year, and Montijo was recommended for instruction. One was an Osage Indian, the others were Alosia McClintock, and Amelia Earhart who needed a new instructor after Neta Snook. As a condition, basic aerobatics were taught before Earhart was allowed to solo.
Montijo worked as a flying stuntman for Goldwyn Pictures. He was the first to perform a stunt of picking a man out of a moving automobile with an airplane. During the same period, he worked briefly as William Randolph Hearst's personal pilot.
In 1923 Montijo collaborated with Lloyd Royer on a four passenger aircraft, the California Coupe, that would become the first cabin biplane on the United States West coast. The aircraft was built in a rented hangar owned by Kinner. During a 1925 filming of "Partners Again"[1] one of the 'Potash and Perlmutter' series of films, A vehicle performing a stunt ran headlong into the California Coupe ripping off the main gear, and one wing, sending it into a brick wall.
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