Year No. 5

World's most persistent aviator is a Kansas City optical goods manufacturer named John David Brock. He learned to fly in 1922, has owned a plane ever since. In the autumn of 1929 he observed in his logbook that he had missed only eleven days' flying that year. For fun, he decided to try flying every day. In rain, shine, snow and fog, he went up daily for a 15-minute spin. Even when sub-zero weather grounded the airmail Dr. Brock took off. In dead of winter snowplows cleared runways for him. When he came down ice was chopped from his wings.

Dr. Brock kept up his daily flying, made an air tour of the 48 states to foster better airports. An escort of nine Army planes accompanied him on the flight which rounded out his second straight year of a flight-a-day. In thick weather and thin he carried on, had many a close call, always came through. His health improved, his million-dollar-a-year eyeglass business prospered. Last week he ended his fifth year of daily flying with an aerial tour of Kansas and Missouri accompanied by 20 civilian and military planes.

No garrulous stunter, Dr. Brock is reticent, conservative, not fond of publicity. Wealthy at 45, he pooh-poohs the suggestion that he has demonstrated the safety & dependability of aviation, likes to say: "I've done it because I get a kick out of it. I just got in the habit of flying every day and I haven't quit. When I get tired of it, I'll drop it."

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