First airplane landing in Madera

For The Madera Tribune

Daredevil D.E. Francis thrills the crowd with the first take off and landing of an airplane in Madera in 1913.

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It has been more than 100 years since hundreds of Maderans gathered at the city’s baseball park, where the National Guard Armory now stands, but they weren’t there to watch the Coyotes play ball. In the first place it was too early. No baseball team got up at 6:30 in the morning to play a game. What piqued the interest of this crowd was Madera’s first ever airplane landing and takeoff. D.E. Francis was coming to town.

Francis, a professional barnstormer, was thrilling crowds all over the state with his new-fangled flying machine. At that time, he was the only pilot who had ever taken a passenger across San Francisco Bay by air. His agent was his brother, Roy Francis, who served as an advance man, whipping up enthusiasm for the flying exhibitions among communities up and down the state. Now it was Madera’s turn.

It just so happened that Madera was not without its own showman. Ben Preciado, was the manager of the Coyotes and had an eye for the unusual. He contacted Francis and arranged to combine the aerial exhibition in Madera with the upcoming baseball game with Merced. Francis agreed, and the date was set.