Jacksonville’s Laurie Yonge is area legend
Early credentials and aviation roots
With Transport License No. 77 and Mechanic License No. 60, Laurie Yonge was among the first licensed pilots in the State of Florida. He even carried a card signed by Orville Wright, certifying him as an official in flying contests.
Beach takeoffs and joy hops only the beginning
In 1920, Yonge bought a surplus aircraft and with just two hours of instruction, learned to fly it. Before Jacksonville built its municipal airport, he took off from the region’s hard-packed beaches and launched a commercial aviation business, offering airplane rides. Rates were $5 for short hops, $10 for long rides, and $25 for aerobatics. When the municipal airport (later to become known as Imeson Field) was opened, in 1928, Yonge was its first tenant, and his Laurie Yonge Flying Service remained a fixture there for the next 40 years.
A daring salute to Lindbergh
One of Yonge’s boldest stunts? In June 1927, when Charles Lindbergh was returning to America on the USS Memphis following his solo flight to Paris, Yonge painted “The Spirit of Jacksonville” on his plane and flew out to meet the famous aviator, dropping a message on the ship’s deck, inviting him to visit. Lindbergh waved back—and Jacksonville became his only Florida stop on his subsequent nationwide tour.
Record-breaking endurance flight
In May 1929, Yonge made national headlines after setting a world endurance record in a lightweight plane — a 90 hp Curtiss Robin — staying airborne for 25 hours and 10 minutes. The record stood for another decade.
High stakes flight to bail out Tampa
That same year, in July, when Tampa was threatened with a banking crisis following the collapse of one of the city’s oldest financial institutions, Young was tasked by the federal reserve to transport $1 million in small bills to the city. He strapped on a .38 caliber pistol for the trip from Jacksonville. Bucking head winds and thunderstorms, in a 90 hp Travelair with nearly 400 lbs of currency, and evading a mysterious plane that shadowed him on the first part of the journey, he landed successfully at stump-strewn Drew Field, Tampa’s municipal airport. When the first edition of the evening newspaper, the Tampa Daily Times, appeared on the street at 1 p.m., its lead headline trumpeted “FEDERAL RESERVE BACKS TAMPA,” in big, black letters.
Flying Santa and final years
For decades, Yonge’s Flying Service provided flying instruction to countless Jacksonville residents and visitors. Jacksonville also knew him as its beloved “Flying Santa,” arriving by amphibious aircraft for the annual downtown Christmas parade. He continued to fly a small private plane well into his retirement years. Yonge passed away at the age of 89 in 1985.
