John Armstrong Drexel

With William McArdle, he founded the New Forest Flying School at East Boldre, the second school for pilots in Great Britain and the fifth in the world.^[9]

On June 21, 1910,^[10] Drexel was the 10th aviator to receive his British Royal Aero Club Aviators Certificate, recognized under the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale.^[11][12] He also became only the 8th Aviator to receive an Aero Club of America pilot's licence, taking the test in his Gnôme engined Blériot monoplane.^[13]

On August 12, 1910, he set the world altitude record of 6,595 feet in a Blériot monoplane In competition in Lanark, Scotland.^[14][9][15] In November 1910, in an attempt to fly cross-country, he lost his way and had to land near the Delaware River.^[16]

During World War I, he served as chauffeur to Field Marshal Sir John French,^[17] and later, flew with the French Lafayette Escadrille until 1917.^[18] He was subsequently commissioned Major in the Aviation Section, U.S. Signal Corps, serving until the end of the war in the United States Army Air Service.^[1]

In 1926, Drexel drove the Flying Scotsman train from London to Edinburgh.^[8]

In 1934, Drexel served as a partner in the securities firm of William P. Bonbright & Co.,^[19] along with August Belmont IV. He also served on Bonbright's board and on the board of the Anglo-South American Bank.^[19]

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