Cecil Arthur Butler

Cecil Arthur Butler (1902 - 1980)^[1] was an Australian businessman who established Butler Air Transport Co.

Buttler was born in Warwickshire, England, and migrated to Australia with his family in about 1910.^[1] In 1917 he was apprenticed to become a tool, jig and gauge maker at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory. In 1921 he transferred to the Australian Aircraft & Engineering Co. Ltd at Mascot, Sydney. In 1923 he obtained his ground engineer's licence,^[1] in 1927, his pilot's licence.^[1]

In 1930 he designed, built and tested a small, all-metal, high-winged monoplane.^[1][2] In 1931, he piloted a Comper Swift from England to Australia in the record time of 9 days, 1 hours and 40 minutes.^[3] In 1934 with the financial help of his wife's uncle, P. S. Garling,^[4] he won the tender for the Charleville (Queensland) to Cootamundra (New South Wales) leg of the England-Australia airmail route, servicing the route with DH.84 Dragon aircraft.^[1] Four years later, with the successful completion of the contract, his company, Butler Air Transport Co. continued as a civil airline, serving centres in New South Wales and Queensland.^[1] The airline later became Airlines of New South Wales.^[5]

In 1958 he became an Officer of the Order of the British Empire (OBE)^[5]

• 
  Butler being congratulated by crowd at Lithgow, after his England-Australia record breaking flight
• 
  Butler and the Comper Swift, 1931

• C. Arthur Butler, Flight : memoirs, 1912-1958, Wikidata Q108355035
• C. Arthur Butler (1971), Flying start : the history of the first five decades of civil aviation in Australia, Wikidata Q108354444

Butler Air Transport for the story of the civil airline he founded and managed.