File:Errold Bahl Special Collection Image - Flickr - San Diego Air ^ Space Museum Archives.jpg

History Errold G. Bahl (EGB, October 26, 1894 – October 26, 1930) was one of the early birds of aviation, aircraft pilot, mechanic, barnstormer, and entrepreneur. He attended the School of Military Aeronautics, Waco, Texas, in 1917 and was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant for the US Army in 1918. After World War I, he received an honorable discharge. In the first half of the 1920s, he spent time in Honduras as pilot during a turbulent political period in the nation’s history. He went on to form the Harding, Zoo and Bahl Airplane Corporation in Lincoln, Nebraska. There they developed an aircraft called “the Lark,” the price of which was “about the same as that of the average good automobile” of the era. Bahl was a highly respected pilot and ran Goodwill flights to Mexico. He was a member of the Quiet Birdmen and the Freemasons. He also served as an instructor and barnstorming partner and mentor to Charles Lindbergh in 1922, who spoke of him prominently in his autobiography, “We.” Bahl received his commercial license in 1928 and patented many designs for aircraft improvements, particularly regarding fuselage form, building processes, and elevator systems. He was married with two children when he died suddenly on his 36th birthday in an automobile accident.