Sydney “Syd” Chaplin was an all-around man: Actor, aviation pioneer, and business manager to his younger half brother, Charlie. (Yes, that Charlie Chaplin) But it was in aviation where he made history in 1919 when he bought a plane and hired pilot Emery Rogers and thus begun the first privately owned domestic American airline.
Things were looking good for Chaplin, but when the pesky government began requiring things like pilot licenses, he got out of the business. The aircraft is, of course, a Curtiss Jenny.
The Jive Bomber 