The inaugural flight of the transcontinental airmail system took place on Sept. 8, 1920. A pilot took off from Hazelhurst Field, N.J., on the morning of that day, and after a series of relays, the mail reached Salt Lake City by 5:03 that evening. It took three more days before the first airmail reached San Francisco, but enthusiasm for the new system was widespread. "September 8, 1920, will go down in history as the great day when the epoch-making event, the first trip of the transcontinental aerial mail, took place," touted Aerial Age Weekly.

But even bigger and better things were in the wings, so to speak. And Salt Lake City would again have a starring role.

In 1925, when the government was ready to turn mail service from military to private contractors, a company called Western Air Express came into being. After being awarded the mail contract between Salt Lake City and Los Angeles, the company, looking for other ways to generate revenue, hit upon the idea of passengers. Two folding chairs were installed in the mail compartment in front of the pilot's cockpit, and on May 23, 1926, Western inaugurated passenger service on both its north- and southbound planes.

Four passengers made that first trip, but prominent Salt Lake businessman and aviation enthusiast Ben F. Redman was first with his down payment on the $90 one-way ticket, and thus claimed the privilege of being the first passenger. Maude Campbell became the first woman passenger a couple of weeks later.

By the close of 1926, the airline had carried 209 passengers, and, according to a company history, "established a perfect safety record despite 38 forced landings along the rugged route, and made a net profit of $1,029.21."

Western Air Express evolved into Western Airlines and continued to use Salt Lake City as a hub of operations. In 1987, it merged with Delta Air Lines.

The 1920s offered a fair share of aviation heroes. It seemed there were always new records to set, and one of those record-setters was Utah's own Russell Maughan. On June 23, 1924, the Deseret News noted that he "wrote a new chapter in the history of man's conquest of the air Monday when he spanned the North American continent in less than a day. The hazardous and gruelling flight was his third attempt." After arriving at Crissy Field in San Francisco, "worn and nervous, the trail blazer was engulfed in a cheering mass of humanity which extended to him an almost unparalleled ovation."

But that event would soon be eclipsed by the exploits of Charles Lindbergh, who flew solo over the Atlantic to land in Paris on May 21, 1927. Salt Lakers cheered with the rest of the world. And when Lucky Lindy flew his Spirit of St. Louis to Woodward Field just four months later, some 35,000 gathered to see this latest conquering hero.