Charles H. Daudt, 90, airline pioneer

Charles H. Daudt of Essex, a retired American Airlines captain who was a pioneer in many fields of commercial and military aviation, died on Wednesday, Dec. 11, at Middlesex Hospital in Middletown. He was 90 years old and the husband of Marie Myers Daudt.
Mr. Daudt was born in St. Louis, Mo., on June 18, 1912. His parents died when he was a young child, and he was brought up by his aunt and uncle in St. Charles, Mo.
He graduated from Purdue University in 1935, Harvard Business School in 1937 and became a professor of aviation at Indiana University in Bloomington.
In 1940 he joined American Airlines. During World War II he was a captain the United States Air Transport Command, serving in the military while still working for American Airlines. He and the crews of Project 7-A pioneered an all-weather airline route via Labrador and Greenland over the North Atlantic. He was involved in establishing new routes around the world to aid the war effort. In 1943 he flew the transport known as the C-87 over the Hump from India to China.
During his career with American Airlines, Captain Daudt served on many committees for the airline industry, specializing in engineering and air safety. He was an acceptance test pilot for the Boeing 707 airliner for American and also worked on the design of the instrument panel for the 707 before it reached the flight line.
He designed and developed the flight attitude system for commercial aircraft.
Captain Daudt retired from American in 1972. He and his wife lived on West Lane in Ridgefield from 1960 to 1974. Their home was Windover, the former house of John Ames Mitchell, publisher of the original Life magazine.
He maintained a lifelong love of sailing, cruising and racing, which began when he was a member of the Manhasset Bay Yacht Club on Long Island, and was for many years a member of the Essex Yacht Club.
During his retirement years, his favorite sailboat was the Flying Eagle, a 47-foot ketch. He sailed the Flying Eagle from England with his son and crew to Essex in 1985.
Captain Daudt was a member of the International Order of Characters, an organization for aviators, the Wings Club of New York City, the Gray Eagle Association with American, and the Allied Pilots Association.
He was also a member of the Society of Automotive Engineers, the American Air Transport Command group, The Hump Pilots Association, and had also been a member of the National Guard in the state of Indiana. He was also a member of Sigma Phi Epsilon fraternity.
Besides his wife, he is survived by a son, Charles H. Daudt Jr. of Wolcott; a daughter, Diane Daudt of Old Saybrook; two grandchildren, Deidre and Calin of Old Saybrook; a sister, Marian McBride of St. Louis; a cousin, Louis Daudt of Seaford, Del.; and two nieces and a nephew.
A private family service took place in Essex.
Contributions in his memory may be made to the Gray Eagle Foundation, American Airlines, 14600 Trinity Boulevard, Suite 500, Fort Worth, TX 76155-2512, or the Essex Ambulance Association, P.O. Box 233, Ivoryton, CT 06442, or the Essex Meadows Employees Association Fund, 30 Bokum Road, Essex, CT 06426.