Eddie August Schneider

Eddie August Schneider
Schneider on September 10, 1930, in Detroit, Michigan, for the National Air Races
Personal details
Born
Eddie August Henry Schneider

(1911-10-20)October 20, 1911
New York City, U.S.
DiedDecember 23, 1940(1940-12-23) (aged 29)
New York City, U.S.
Cause of deathMid-air collision
Resting placeFairview Cemetery
Spouse
Gretchen Hahnen
(m. 1934)
Parent(s)Emil August Schneider (1886–1955)
Inga Karoline Pedersen (1882–1927)
EducationWilliam L. Dickinson High School
OccupationAviator
Known for
Signature
Military career
AllegianceSpanish Republic
BranchYankee Squadron
Years of service1935–1936
RankAviator
Battles / warsSpanish Civil War

Eddie August Henry Schneider (October 20, 1911 – December 23, 1940) was an American aviator who set three transcontinental airspeed records for pilots under the age of twenty-one in 1930. His plane was a Cessna Model AW with a Warner-Scarab engine, one of only 48 built, that he called "The Kangaroo". He set the east-to-west, then the west-to-east, and the combined round trip record. He was the youngest certificated pilot in the United States, and the youngest certified airplane mechanic. He was a pilot in the Spanish Civil War in the Yankee Squadron. He died in an airplane crash in 1940, while training another pilot, when a Boeing-Stearman Model 75 belonging to the United States Navy Reserve overtook him and clipped his plane's tail at Floyd Bennett Field.