AMOUS FLIGHTS IRVIN LHOLCOMBE

Transcription

1 AMOUS FLIGHTS IRVIN LHOLCOMBE '

2 I,.

3 ouspl amri FAMOUS FLIGHTS By JOHN WINSLOW Illustratio11s by IRVIN L. HOLCO~IBE

4 Copyright, MCMXL, By The Platt & Munk Co., Inc. Made in U. S. A.

5 This book is dedicated to the men and women, both living and dead, who have devoted their lives to the advancement of aviation.

6 A NOTE TO THE READER In the preparation of this book information has been sought from many sources, including the following: The Bureau of Aeronautical Science, New York; The Aircraft Year Book; The World Almanac, ; Jane's All the World's Aircraft; Who's Who in American Aviation; The New York Times; The New York Herald-Tribune; The New International Year Book; Arnold, This Flying Game and Airmen and Aircraft; Davy, Interpretive History of Flight; Goldstrom, Narrative History of Aviation; Miller, Navy Wi11gs and TheW orld i11 the Air; Magoun, History of Aircraft; Fraser, Heroes of the Air; Harper, Evo}utio11 of the Flying Machine; Maitland, Knights of the Air; McJ1ahon, The Wright Brothers; Wead, Wings for Men; Williams, Conquering the Air; Winter and Degner, Mimtte E pies of Flight. In statistics of distance, speed and dates, a good deal of diversity is found in printed matter, especially in events of the early days of aviation. Every care has been taken to make the information in the following pages accurate, but where authorities differ it has been necessary to select from among them. In such cases the dates, distances and speeds on which several authorities agree have been given. THE AtTHOR.

7 LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS In the order in which they appear in the book. Illus. No. The Wright Brothers Plane Bleriot Monoplane Sopwith Camel Curtiss JN4D (Jenny)... I.. 4 NC 4 Flying Boat Douglas DWC I I I Ryan Monoplane (Spirit of St. Louis).. 7 I Junkers (The Bremen) I Lockheed Monoplane (Winnie Mae). 9 I Ford Tri Motor I 10 Curtiss Condor I Sikorsky S 42 (Bermuda Clipper) I Northrop Gamma. I I I I 1 I 13 Lockheed Electra. I I. I I Boeing 247D.. '. I Douglas DC 3. '.. I. 16 Grumman Fighter Boeing 314 (Yankee Clipper) Douglas DC Boeing Stratoliner I

8

9 FAMOUS PLANES AND FAMOUS FLIGHTS THE WRIGHT BROTHERS PLANE (Illustration No. 1) When the present century began, most people believed that flying was beyond the power of human beings. There had always been a few men who tried to imitate the birds, and people had been lifted by balloons inflated with gas or hot air; but until the winter of 1903 no one had ever made a successful flight in a heavier than air. machine., Now that planes of many types are covering thousands of miles at enormous speeds, it is hard for us to realize how difficult the first flight was-and how short. During the nineteenth century, methods of travel had been speeded up wonderfully. From the slow moving covered wagons that took months to cross the United States to the swift engines that drew express trains was a truly marvelous advance. But the progress that has been made in travel since man learned to fly is even more remarkable. Lying face downward on the lower wing of his biplane-to lessen air resistance-orville Wright rose from the ground at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, at 10:30 in the morning of December 17, The brothers had drawn lots to decide which one should be first to try out their Flyer, as they called their plane. The chance had fallen to Wilbur, the elder, on December 14. But in trying to get off the ground he had climbed too steeply so that the engine stalled and the plane fell to the ground. Now, after three days spent in repairing the damage, it was Orville's turn to fly. Wilbur ran beside him, holding one wing of the plane while he taxied for the take off. At length the machine came up off the ground and the first successful flight was under way. It was very bumpy. The plane would rise suddenly to about ten feet and then as suddenly dart toward the ground. After only twelve seconds, during which it had traveled about 120 feet from the place where it rose, the plane made a sudden dive which brought the flight to an end. "It was, nevertheless," Orville Wright himself has written, "the first in the history of the world in which a machine carrying a man had raised itself by its own power into the air in free flight, had sailed forward on a level course without reduction of speed, and had finally landed without being wrecked." That same day three more flights were made. The fourth, with Wilbur at the controls, lasted 59

10 seconds, during which the machine flew a little more than a half mile through the air and 852 feet over the ground. A few minutes later a sudden gust of wind struck the plane where it was standing unattended, and the buffeting injured it so that it wa,s useless for further experiments. But fortunately the Wrights were not easily discouraged. Back in their shop in Dayton, Ohio, they built other larger planes, improving the structure in many ways and learning more and more about the control of the mechanism. By September 20, 1904, Wilbur Wright was able to fly a full circle of 4,080 feet in 2 minutes 15 seconds. This flight, like those that had been made before, was not officially recorded; but on September 26, 1905, Orville Wright, in the presence of official witnesses, made a flight that covered a little more than 11 miles and lasted for 18 minutes 9 seconds. While the Wrights in this country were experimenting with their Flyer, men in other countries were building and learning to fly heavier than air machines of their own design. It seems quite cer tain that most of these men were stimulated by the glider experiments of the Lilienthal brothers. I It was soon realized that there should be some way of checking flights so that they might be accepted as official, and the Federation Aeronautique Internationale was formed by representatives of eight nations, with headquarters in Paris. Each country had its own local organi~ation. That in the United States is the National Aeronautical Association. These associations send to races and test flights official observers who must approve all reports of distance, speed, altitude, and so forth, before the figures are accepted as authentic. During 1906 and 1907 the Wrights did little or no flying, but on September 13, 1906, Alberto Santos Dumont, a Brazilian living in France, made the first officially recorded Europeon flight in a heavier than air machine. It covered only 36 feet, but on November 12, he managed to stay in the air for 21 seconds, during which he traveled about 700 feet. For this he received the Grand Prize of the French Aero Club, offered for the first flight of 100 meters. It was October 26, 1907, before Henry Farman, in a biplane, succeeded in flying a half circle in Europe, and January 13, 1908, when he won a prize of $10,000 by covering a kilometer in a circle. Many Europeans did not even know that in 1904 the Wrights had been able to do this maneuver easily.

11 THE WRIGHT BROTHERS PLANE \

12 The first recorded flight of more than a mile in Europe was made by Leon Delagrange, on Aprilll, 1908, when he flew 2~ miles in 6~ minutes, at Issy, France. Delagrange was a famous French flier who is credited with being the first aviator in the world to carry a passenger into the air, the first to take up a woman passenger and the first to fly more than 50 miles an hour. During 1908 many aviation meets took place, and prizes were offered for records in speed, distance and altitude. During the summer Wilbur Wright took a plane to France and won the world's record for distance and duration, at Auvours, where, on December 31, he flew 77 miles at 34 miles per hour. In this country the Aeronautic Society of New York leased an old race track on Long Island and sent out a general invitation to all inventors of "aeroplanes, monoplanes, helicopters, gliders, wind wagon.s, all heavier than air machines," to attend a meet. As far back as 1905 the Wrights had offered their plane to the United States War Department, but nothing was done about it until1908. Then Army officers drew up a set of conditions that a plane must meet before they would consider using it. The requirements were that it must carry two persons, that it must have a speed of at least 40 miles per hour and that it must be able to carry fuel enough for a flight of 125 miles. On July 30, 1909, the Wright Flyer, having met the conditions, was accepted by the War Department, and a contract was signed for the purchase of "one (1) heavier-than air flying machine." BLERIOT MONOPLANE (Illustration No. 2) Early planes, like early automobiles, were subject to frequent accidents, and forced landings were expected whenever an aviator took to the air, so flying over water was a very dangerous pastime. Louis Bleriot, a Frenchman who had been experimenting with heavier than-air machines for a long time, succeeded in 1909 in making a very famous flight. The Daily Mail, a London newspaper, had offered a thousand pounds to the first aviator who should fly across the English Channel, and Bleriot had made up his mind to enter the competition. He was ready on the French coast at Baraques, near Calais, but could not start because of a severe storm. He was suffering from a burned foot and could not,sleep soundly, so very early on the morning of July 25,

13 BLERIOT MONOPLANE

14 1909, he went out and found that the wind had dropped. Immediately he began to prepare for his take off, and at 4:35 a.m. he gave his mechanics the order to let go. He had no instruments for navigation-not even a compass, and the only safeguard he had against a forced landing on the water was an inflated air bag fitted into the frame of the monoplane. 1 Below in ~he water he saw the French destroyer Escopette, which he knew was headed for Dover, England, so he set his course in the same direction. Good fortune was with the daring aviator and he landed unhurt at 5:12a.m., though the plane was damaged by striking the ground too heavily. Because it was so early in the morning and he had left without giving advance notification, there were few on hand to greet him. However, the news soon spread and before long he was surrounded by a welcoming throng. A stone monument was afterward put up on the sp'ot where he landed. Back in the United States a young man named Glenn Curtiss was becoming known in aeronautics... He was experimenting on the shores of Lake Keuka, at Hammondsport, New York, and there he. designed and built a plane which he named the June Bug. \ On July 4, 1908, at a meet held at Hammondsport, New York, he won a trophy offered by the Scientific American to the first aviator who could make a public flight of one kilometer. With the same plane he won the same trophy on July 24, In August, 1909, he took the June Bug to France 1 to enter a competition for the Gordon Bennett Cup. He won first place by flying at an average speed of 46 miles per hour over a 20 kilometer course. In May, 1910, he flew from Albany to New York, over water; and in June made a successful landing on the water at Hammondsport. Curtiss was a great inventor as well as a great flier, and interested himself in the use of radio trans mission to and from planes. With the help of H. M. Horton, an electrical expert, he sent J. A. D. McCurdy up in a plane with a radio transmitter and set up a receiving set in a hangar. After much fading and interference the listeners on the ground heard the voice of the flier saying: "Another chapter in aerial achievement is recorded in the sending of this wireless message from an aeroplane in flight." Early planes were of all sorts and appearances. Almost any mechanically inclined man could design and build one and any man could fly, or try to fly, one. The World Almanac for 1912 says: "The aero plane of today ranges through the monoplane, biplane, triplane and even quadraplane, and more than two hundred types of these machines are in use."

15 SOPWITH CAMEL

16 As interest in aviation spread, the aero clubs of the world realized that pilots must be licensed and rules made to govern the flying of aircraft. One result of this was that schools were started in various places. On September 23, 1911, the first airmail delivery in the United States was made. For a week dur ing September a plane piloted by Earle Ovington carried a bag of mail from an aviation meet at Nassau Boulevard, New York, and dropped it for the postmaster at Mineola, a few miles away. Many new records were made in speed and distance. On January 30, 1911, J. A. D. McCurdy flew from Key West, Florida, to a point about ten miles from Havana, Cuba, where a leak in his oil reservoir forced him down on the water. He and his plane were picked up by the de~troyer Paulding and taken to Havana. He lost the prize of $10,000 for which he was competing but he had come so close to making the complete flight that he received $8,000. ~ September 17, 1911, saw the start of the first flight across the United States, when Calbraith P. Rodgers left Sheepshead Bay, New York, on his way to California. He had to land so often and suf fered so many accidents to his plane that he was on the way for forty nine days. This disqualified him for a prize of $50,000 that had been offered for the first flight across the cemntry made within thirty days, but Brigadier General H. H. Arnold, in his book Airmen and Aircraft, says: "At that time it was a truly remarkable feat. Airplanes and engines were very unreliable, airways were unheard of, landing fields were entirely lacking everywhere, and little was known of the ability of an airplane to withstand constant exposure to the elements." Armies were slowly waking up to the fact that airplanes might be of great use in time of war. The Scientific American estimated that on October 15, 1911, military airplanes owned by various nations were as follows: France, 150; Russia, 30; Italy, 25; Germany, 20; England, 16; Turkey, 6; and the United States, 5. SOPWITH CAMEL (Illustration No.3) At a meet held in London during March, 1913, a tractor biplane designed and produced by T. 0. M. Sopwith was able to fly 80 miles per hour, and a British altitude record of 13,000 feet was made with a Sopwith machine in June, 1913.

17 CURTISS JN4D (JENNY)

18 When the World War of started, airplanes were in use as fighting units. Already they were being divided into classes-bombers, scout planes and pursuit or fighter machines. The Sopwith Camel made its first appearance on December 22, It was one of the best pur suit planes used during the war. It could turn shorter than any other plane in use, under 12,000 feet altitude. Its top speed was 118 miles per hour; it had a landing speed of 35 miles per hour, and it could climb 10,000 feet in 9.2 minutes. CURTISS JN4D "Jenny" (Illustration No.4) As the first novelty of airplanes wore off, spectators were no longer satisfied with simple flights. They wanted thrills, and flying circuses or "barnstormers" traveled around giving exhibitions of aerobatics. During the World War, planes of the Curtiss JN4D type-which was generally referred to as the "Jenny"-were used in the training of fliers for our Army. When peace came, the United States Gov ernment had great numbers of the planes on hand. These were sold at a low price, and many of them were bought by men who had served in our flying services. Now, demobilized, they turned to their planes as a means of earning a living.. Swarms of "Jennies" flew around the country, and, since there were few flying fields, the aviators were in the habit of landing in any empty pasture that was at hand. From this custom the planes came to be known as "Cow Pasture Jennies." It was the "Jenny" that was called into service when the United States Post Office and War De partments started the first experimental airmail service between New York and Washington, on May 15, This ship was powered with an 8 cylinder V type OX5 engine, and was so sturdily built that it lasted for years. NC 4 FLYING BOAT (Illustration No.5) After Bleriot had made his flight over the English Channel attention was directed more and more to the development of planes that could land on water and rise from it. On March 28, 1910, the first

19 NC 4 FLYING BOAT lavln HmtulliU

20 hydro airplane rose from the water at Martiques, F ranee. It was constructed by Henri Fabre and was mounted on three pontoons. After coming back from his triumphs in Europe, Glenn Curtiss began experimenting with seaplanes. He mounted his faithful June Bug on floats and renamed it the Loon, but he could not make it leave the water of Lake Keuka. He refused to be discouraged, however, and in Captain Washington Irving Chambers of the United States Navy he found a helpful co operator. In order to have warm weather the year around for his seaplane experiments, he started a flying school at San Diego, California, and here, on San Diego Bay, on January 26, 1911, he succeeded in rising from the surface. Even before seaplanes were available, the Navy became interested in adding airplanes to its equipment, but it was felt that a plane should be able to take off from and land on the deck of a ship. Eugene Ely, a great exhibition flier, proved that this could be done. On November 14, 1910, he flew a plane from the deck of the U.S.S. Birmingham, at Norfolk, Virginia, and on January 18, 1911, he landed a plane safely on the deck of the Pennsylvania, in San Fran cisco Harbor. The first flight across the Atlantic Ocean was made in a seaplane. It began on May 16, 1919, when the NC 4, a Naval biplane, powered with three tractor Liberty engines and a pusher, took off from Rock away, New York, with Lieutenant Commander Albert Cushing Read in command. The plane made landings at Halifax, Nova Scotia, and at Trepassey, Newfoundland, and then flew across to the Azores. From the Azores the NC 4 went to Lisbon, Portugal, and then on to Plymouth, England. On June 14, 1919, Captain John Alcock and Lieutenant Arthur Whitten Brown, of the British Army, made the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic, when they flew in a Vickers Vimy biplane from St. John's, Newfoundland, to Clifden, Ireland. They covered 1,960 miles in 16 hours 12 minutes and won a prize of $50,000 offered by the London Daily Mail. Between September 11 and 13, 1919, the first cabin transport plane, constructed by A. W. Lawson, flew from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to New { ork, carrying a number of passengers. A flight from London, England, to Port Darwin, Australia, was accomplished between November 12 and December 10, 1919, when Captain Ross Smith flew the 11,060 miles. He made numerous stops but won a prize of $50,000 offered by the Australian Government.

21 v, DOUGLAS DWC

22 Airmail service across the United States between New York and San Francisco was started Sep tember 8, Regular night and day service was established July 1, In August, 1923, Lieutenants Lowell Smith and Paul Richter proved that it was possible to transfer fuel and supplies from one plane to another in flight. Lieutenant AI Williams made a record of miles per hour, on November 4, This stood as the American speed record for eight years. DOUGLAS DWC (Illustration No.6) To travel entirely around the world has been the desire of adventurous people ever since they realized that the earth is a globe. Not long after airplanes came into use, aviators began to think of making this flight. It was first accomplished by a party of United States Army aviators who left Seattle, Washington, in four Douglas biplanes on April 6, Under the direction of Captain LQ_well H. Smith, Flight Commander, they flew by way of Alaska, Japan, Indi~Turkey, Austria, England; fceland, Greenland and Labrador, making frequent stops. Two of the planes Were- uooble to finish, but the other two, the New Orleans and the Chicago, completed the flight of 27,553 miles within 175 days. Their actual flying time was 371 hours, 11 minutes. Another important event in aviation during 1924 was the "Dawn to Dusk" flight from New York to San Fran cisco made on June 23 by Lieutenant Russell Maughan, of the United States Army Air Corps. The next year Commander John Rodgers of the Navy commanded a flight in a seaplane from San Pablo Bay, California, to the vicinity of Honolulu, Hawaii. He was forced to land on the water when his gasoline gave out and for nearly a week he and his companions drifted, with little food and water, while warships e rched in vain for them. They finally reached the island of Kauai, under sail. With Floy ennett as pilot, on May 9, 1926, Commander Richard E. Byrd, in the three engined Fokker monopla e Josephine Ford, flew from King's Bay, Spitzbergen, to the North Pole and back. The J flying time was 15 hours 51 minutes. (' Between December 21, 1926 and May 2, 1927, United States Army planes made a goodwill flight around the countries of Central and South America, covering a distance of 20,000 miles.

23 RYAN MONOPLANE (SPIRIT OF ST. LOUIS)

24 RYAN MONOPLANE (The Spirit of St. Louis) (Illustration No.7) You have seen how, from the earliest days, aviation was encouraged by offers of prizes. In 1927 a young man whose name was known only to his friends sprang into world wide fame when he entered and won a competition for a prize of $25,000 offered for the first nonstop flight from New York to Paris. The flier was Charles A. Lindbergh and the plane in which he made his flight, on May 20, was a Ryan monoplane. The distance, 3,610 miles, was covered in 33Y2 hours. This famous plane, The Spirit of St. Louis, is on exhibition at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D. C. Soon after the Lindbergh flight, on June 5, 1927, Colonel Clarence D. Chamberlin flew in a single motored Bellanca monoplane, the Columbia, from Roosevelt Field, New York, to Eisleben, Germany, carrying a passenger. He covered 3,905 miles in 42 hours 45 minutes. Between June 28 and 29, 1927, Lieutenants Lester J. Maitland and Albert F. Hegenberger, of the Army, made a nonstop flight from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii. They covered 2,400 miles in 25 hours 50 minutes and received the Distinguished Flying Cross for this record over water flight. Charles A. Lindbergh, who had received the title Colonel in recognition of his New York to Paris flight, made a tour of the United States, between July and September, 1927, to stimulate interest in corn mercia! aviation. He covered 22,350 miles. Later in the year he started on a goodwill tour of Latin America. This lasted from December 18, 1927 to February 13, Leaving on August 27, 1927, William Brock and Edward F. Schlee flew from Harbor Grace, New foundland, to Kasaminguara, Japan, 12,300 miles. They made several stops and completed the flight on September 14, JUNKERS (The Bremen) (lll~stration No. 8) After the Atlantic had been crossed in flights from West to East, it was only natural that fliers should attempt the flight from East to West. This is considered the more difficult direction, because of the pre vailing winds. On April12, 1928, Captain Herman Koehl and Baron Guenther von Huenefeld, of Germany, and Major Fitzmaurice, of Ireland, flew from Dublin to Newfoundland in the Junkers plane Bremen.

25 JUNKERS

26 Polar exploration again attracted attention, and on April15 16, 1928, Captain George H. Wilkinsafterward Sir Hubert Wilkins-made a nonstop flight from Point Barrow, Alaska, across the Arctic Ocean. His pilot was Lieutenant C. B. Eielson, the first pilot to fly an airmail plane in Alaska. Lieutenant Colonel Charles E. Kingsford Smith, with three companions, flew from Oakland, Cali fornia, to Sydney, Australia, May 31 June 9, They covered 7,400 miles in 83 hours 15 minutes, actual flying time, with stops at Honolulu, the Fiji Islands and Brisbane, Australia. Amelia Earhart won renown as the first woman to fly across the Atlantic when she crossed in the three engined monoplane Friendship with Wilmer Stultz and Louis Gordon, June 17 18, The flight was from Trepassey, Newfoundland, to Burry Port, Wales. Arthur Goebel and Harry Tucker made a nonstop flight from Los Angeles to New York in 18 hours 58 minutes, on August 20, Their plane was the Yankee Doodle. Back in 1921, an endurance record had been made by Lloyd Bertaud and Edward A. Stinson, at Roosevelt Field, New York, when they stayed aloft for 26 hours 19 minutes 35 seconds, December In 1929, five United States Army officers, commanded by Major C. Spatz, set an endurance record of 150 hours 40 minutes, remaining in the air by refueling in flight. This was done to test the possibility of increasing the range of flights without reducing the load of munitions that a military plane on war duty must carry, but the idea was soon taken up by civilian fliers and endurance flights filled the newspapers for several years. In a single motored commercial plane, Dale Jackson and Forest O'Brine stayed aloft for 420 hours, in the St. Louis Robin, in the summer of The next year the Hunt.er brothers, of Chicago, increased the time to 553 hours. This set Jackson and O'Brine at the task again, and they managed a continuous flight of 647 hours. In 1936, the Key brothers, of Meridian, Mississippi, stayed on the wing for almost a month in their plane Ole Miss. A world's record for seaplanes was made, June 4, 1929, by Lieutenant Apollo Soucek, of the United States Navy, when he attained a height of 38,560 feet. A year later, in a land plane, he made another world's record by reaching an altitude of 43,166 feet. The first trial of blind flying was made during 1929, when Lieutenant James A. Doolittle took off from Mitchel Field, New York, and landed again without vision.

27 LOCKHEED MONOPLANE (WINNIE MAE)

28 On July 21, 1930, Lieutenant Arthur H. Page, of the United States Marine Corps, made a blind flight from Omaha, Nebraska, to Washington, D. C.; about 1,000 miles. He was completely enclosed in the cockpit and flew entirely by instruments and the radio beacon. Rear Admiral Richard E. Byrd, with three companions, flew over the South Pole on November 28, The flight was made in the tri-motored Ford plane the Floyd Bennett. WilliamS. Brock and Edward F. Schlee flew from Jacksonville, Florida, to San Diego, California, in 13 hours 55 minutes. Captain Frank Hawks, in a Whirlwind Travelair racer, made the flight from New York to Havana, Cuba, about 1,400 miles, in 9 hours 21 minutes, on November 7, Amy Johnson, of England, completed a 9,900 mile flight to Australia on May 24, On July 6, Amelia Earhart made an average speed of more than 181 miles per hour over a measured 64-mile course. Between June 23 and 25, Major Charles Kingsford Smith flew the tri-motored monoplane Southern Cross from Ireland to Newfoundland, then on to New York. The first nonstop flight from Paris to New York was made September 1 2, 1930, by Captain Dieudonne Coste and Maurice Bellonte, of France. They flew 4,100 miles in 37 hours 18 minutes 30 seconds, in their singlewengined plane the Question Mark. LOCKHEED MONOPLANE (The Winnie Mae) (Illustration No.9) Around the world flights were brought very much into the news in 1931, when Wiley Post, in his Lockheed monoplane, Winnie Mae, with Harold Gatty as navigator, encircled the globe in 8 days 15 hours 51 minutes, covering 15,474 miles. Two years later, on July 15 22, 1933, in the same plane, Post alone made the circle in 7 days 18 hours 49~ minutes, flying 15,596 miles. On September 29, 1931, Lieutenant G. H. Stainforth, of England, set a seaplane speed record of more than 406 miles per hour at Calshot, England. October 4.5 of the same year the first nonstop Pacific flight was made by Hugh Herndon, Jr. and Clyde Pangborn. They flew from Tokyo, Japan, to Wenat chee, Washington, in 41 hours 13 minutes. The distance covered was 4,558 miles.

29 FORD TRI MOTOR

30 The first westward solo flight across the Atlantic Ocean was made by Captain James A. Mollison, of England. He landed near St. John, New Brunswick, on August 21, His machine was a Puss. Moth monoplane, the smallest plane that had ever been used in making an Atlantic crossing. A seventeen year old American boy, Robert Buck, established a junior speed distance record by fly. ing from Newark, New Jersey, to Mexico City in 24 hours 5 minutes, August 12 13, During this year Amelia Earhart made two important flights. The first, solo, was from Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, to Ireland. The time was 15 hours 18 minutes. The second flight was from Los Angeles to Newark 2,448 miles in 19 hours 5 minutes. FORD TRI MOTOR (Illustration No. lol Early planes were small. Most of them had room for only one person. Few of them could carry more than four or five. As flying became safer and swifter, a demand arose for large transport planes in which a number of passengers could be carried. One of the earliest and most popular of these com mercia! planes was the Ford Tri Motor, an all metal plane with room for 15 passengers. On February 8, 1933, Squadron Leader Oswald R. Gayford and Flight Lieutenant G. E. Nicholetts of the Britsh Royal Air Force completed a record breaking nonstop flight from Cranwell, England, to Walfish Bay, South Africa-5,341 miles in 57 hours 25 minutes. Paul Codos and Maurice Rossi, of F ranee, broke the nonstop distance record, August 5 6, 1933, by a 5,657 mile flight from New York to.rayak, Syria, in 55 hours 49 minutes. Six United States Navy flying boats started from Norfolk, Virginia, on September 7, 1933, on a flight to Coco Solo, Canal Zone. One was delayed, but five arrived at their destination, having flown 2,059 miles. This set a nonstop distance record for formation flight. Colonel Roscoe Turner, flying from Burbank, California, to Bennett Field, New York~ in 10 hours 5 minutes 30 seconds, set a new west -east record. Another record was made in 1933 by Sir Charles Kingsford Smith when he flew from Lympne, England, to Wyndham, Australia, in 7 days 4 hours 50 minutes. In December Colonel and Mrs. Lindbergh completed a survey flight for Pan American Airways.

31 CURTISS CONDOR

32 They covered 29,081 miles, flying over Greenland, Iceland, Northwestern Europe, the Azores, West Africa and South America. CURTISS CONDOR (Illustration No. Ill You remember the name of Glenn Curtiss in connection with the "Jennies" and with the first American seaplane. From the early days of aviation he has been known as a foremost flier, designer and producer of aircraft. The Curtiss Condor was originally built for use as a bomber. Later it was redesigned and rebuilt as an air transport. It is famous for its durability as well as for its varied uses. Because of its size I and slow, smooth landing, it made an ideal barnstorming plane. It was often used by Clarence Cham berlin as a demonstration plane and has probably made more people gain faith in flying than any other type of airplane. SIKORSKY S-42 (Bermuda Clipper) (Illustration No. 12) By the time 1934 arrived, popular interest in aviation was turning to some extent from individual speed and endurance records to consideration of the plane as a comfortable and safe carrier of passengers. Igor Sikorsky, a native of Russia, was known during the war of as the builder for Russia of the largest bombers employed in that conflict. After the war he settled in the United States and turned his attention to designing and manufacturing large passenger planes. The Sikorsky S 12, transocean flying boat, was completed early in It has four engines, producing about 2,800 horsepower. The wing spread is 114 feet. It is about 69 feet long and 24 feet high and weighs 19 tons. It can carry 32 passengers and a crew of 4 in addition to a ton of mail and cargo. In spite of growing interest in passenger and cargo transportation, the interest in individual records continued. At the beginning of 1934-January a nonstop flight was made from San Francisco to Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, by six United States Navy flying boats, under Lieutenant Commander Knefler

33 SIKORSKY S-42 (BERMUDA CLIPPER)

34 McGinnis. This established a seaplane distance record of 2,399 miles in 24 hours 56 minutes, a new non. stop record for over water formation flying. Between February 18 and 19, 1934, Colonel Edward V. Rickenbacker and Jack Frye of the T.W.A. flew from Los Angeles to Newark in 13 hours 3 minutes. This was a new record for passenger trans port. On May Jack Frye flew from Los Angeles to Newark in 11 hours 31 minutes, setting a new airmail record. Laura Ingalls, an American woman, made a 17,000 mile solo flight around South America, February 25 to April25, October 9 to 23, the greatest international Aerial Derby ever held took place. Twenty planes took part, competing for prizes that totaled $75,000. The flight was from London, England, to Melbourne, Australia. High lights of events in aviation during 1935 include the solo flight of Amelia Earhart from Hawaii to California, January It was made in 18 hours 16 minutes and was the first time the flight had been made by a woman. On May 1, 1935, using a robot pilot to do a large part of his work, D. W. Tomlinson, of the T.W.A., aided by a navigator and a radio operator, reduced the transcontinental transport record to 11 hours 5 minutes. Between May 16 and H, 1935, Mr. Tomlinson, with Joseph E. Bartles, flew a Douglas airliner in a nonstop flight of 3,100 miles over a triangular course covering Washington, Norfolk and New York. They set 5 world records and 9 American records, with and without pay load. Lincoln Ellsworth, American, and Herbert Hollick Kenyon, Canadian, flew across a large part of Antarctica, in November and December, In a solo flight from London to Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Jean Batten, a French woman, bettered the nearest men's record by 17 minutes. The flight, lasting 13 hours 15 minutes, was made November 11 20, NORTHROP GAMMA (Illustration No. 13) As aviation passed out of its infancy, the element of safety came more and more to the front and many trophies to encourage it were offered.

35 NORTHROP GAMMA

36 When he made a speed record in 1930, Captain Frank Hawks was 'flying a Northrop Gamma, and in a machine of the same type, on January 15, 1936, Howard Hughes broke all existing West East records for transcontinental flight, with a time of 9 hours 26 minutes 10 seconds. The Schiff Memorial Trophy for was given to Lieutenant Phil L. Haynes, Commander of Training Squadron 2, stationed at Pensacola, Florida. The Harmon Trophy for 1935 went to Captain Edwin C. Musick for his pioneering work as pilot of the Pan American Airways clipper ships in the transpacific service. He was also named the outstanding, flier of the year. Amelia Earhart received the Harmon Trophy as the leading American woman flier and shared with Jean Batten, of France, the world award. The Collier Air Trophy for outstanding achievement in aviation for 1935 was presented to Donald W. Douglas for development of the twin engined commercial transport plane. In 1936, the Bendix Trophy Race was won, September 4, by Mrs. Louise Thaden, of Bentonville, Arkansas. She made a one stop dash from New York to Los Angeles in 14 hours 54 minutes 49 seconds and won in competition with some of the best men fliers of the country. On January 19, 1937, Howard Hughes set a new transcontinental speed record of 7 hours 28 min utes between Los Angeles, California, and Newark, New Jersey. The Pan American Clipper arrived at Hong Kong, China, on April 28, 1937, completing the first commercial transpacific flight. Between May 9 and 14, 1937, H. T. Merrill and John S. Lambie flew from New York to Southport, England, to bring back photographs of the Coronation of King George VI. On July 5 and 6, 1937, the Pan American Airways and the Imperial Airways made survey passen ger and mail flights across the North Atlantic. LOCKHEED ELECTRA (Illustration No. 14) This ship is powered with two Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engines of 400 horsepower each and has a speed of 212 miles per hour at 9,600 feet, with a cruising range of 713 miles, using 75 percent of its power.

37 LOCKHEED ELECTRA

38 It is the type of ship that Amelia Earhart used on her last flight. It was used also by Dick Merrill on his round trip flight to England. A South American, Commander Armando R. Iglesias, of the Peruvian Air Force, set a new nonstop solo flight record of 13 hours 51 minutes for 2,000 miles between Lima, Peru, and Buenos Aires, Argentina. The first nonstop flight of a hydroplane type across the United States was made when Richard Archbold, with a crew of three, took a flying boat from San Diego to New York, in 17 hours 3 minutes 30 seconds, on J qne 26, Howard Hughes continued to break records. At 7:26 p.m., July 10, 1938, with four companions, he left New York for a flight around the world. He went by way of France, Russia, and Alaska and returned in 3 days 19 hours 8 minutes 10 seconds, after flying 14,824 miles. The first recorded trip around the world was made by Magellan who, in a sailing ship, took from September 20, 1519, to September 8, The plane he used was a Lockheed twin motored cabin monoplane, outfitted with every up to date flying gadget. The equipment included a Sperry giro pilot, which does most of the steering, and a robot navigator which computes longitude and latitude automatically, without the use of books, tables or star positions. Jacqueline Cochran broke the International women's three kilometer record, September 21, 1938, when she averaged over 293 miles per hour at Detroit, Michigan. She made six flights, with the fast est at miles per hour. On July 17, 1938, Douglas Corrigan, in a nine year old one engine plane, flew from Floyd Bennett Field, New York, and landed on Baldonnel Airfield, Dublin, Ireland, 28 hours 13 minutes later. Corrigan had been refused a permit to make the flight, and he explained that he had intended to go to Los Angeles but lost his way. He broke American flying regulations by taking off on a long distance flight without permission and broke Irish regulations by landing without a permit, and his license was suspended-but only for five days. He was given a great reception when he came back to New York by steamer. Four "flying fortresses" of the United States Army made a flight from Miami, Florida, to Buenos Aires, Argentina, during February They covered 5,225 miles in flying time of 28 hours 4 minutes. Returning, they crossed the Andes at 20,000 feet. The Flight Commander was Colonel Robert M. Olds, who received a special citation and a gold medal for commanding the tour.

39 BOEING 2470 I R\'1 Houo,..u

40 BOEING 247 D (Illustration No. 15) This transport ship appeared in the modern era of bi motored transport airplanes. It has a capacity of 10 passengers with a crew of 2. Its length is 51 feet 7 inches and its wing span is 74 feet. It is powered with 2 Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines and has a range of 745 miles. It is used by United Airlines for short hauls and as an experimental flying laboratory. Several well known aviators received International Harmon Trophies for 1938, as follows: Aerial champion of champions, Howard Hughes for his around the world trip; Jacqueline Cochran, winner of the Bendix Transcontinental Race; Colonel Roscoe Turner, outstanding American aviator. The Wake field Trophy went to Richard Korda, of Cleveland, Ohio, for sending his model airplane on a record breaking flight of 43 minutes 39 seconds, at Bendix, New Jersey, and winning the trophy for the United States. DOUGLAS DC.3 (Illustration No. l6) This airplane is the most widely used transport airplane in the world. Until recently it has been used almost exclusively by every large airline in the United States. There are three types of this model in use-the Wright DC 3, powered with two Wright Cyclone engines of 1,000 horsepower; the Pratt & Whitney DC 3, using two Pratt & Whitney engines of 1,050 horsepower; and the Wright DST, which has provision for 14 berths. The wing span of the DC 3 is 95 feet, its length is 64 feet and its height 17 feet. It carrie~ 21 passengers comfortably in addition to the crew. When empty, the Douglas transp9rt weighs 16,398 pounds. GRUMMAN FIGHTER (Illustration No.17) This grim looking metal aircraft is a pursuit plane, or fighter. It is equipped with a Pratt & Whitney Twin Wasp Junior engine, rated at 650 horsepower. It has a top speed of 280 miles per hour, and can climb at the rate of 2,000 feet per minute with a ceiling of 28,000 feet. The landing gear is retractable, which makes the plane well adapted for landing on shipboard. This is a very capable plane and helps to make the United States Navy one of the best in the world.

41 I ~IN tlllf IIIII DOUGLAS DC 3

42 At Barksdale Field, Shreveport, Louisiana, on February 8, 1939, Lieutenant Troy Keith, of the Army Air Corps, made a full throttle dive at an estimated speed of 625 miles per hour. The indicator lodged at 500 miles per hour. A flying boat owned by Richard Archbold landed at the naval flying base at Floyd Bennett Field, Brooklyn, New York, at 9:45 a.m., Thursday, July 11, This completed a record nonstop flight from San Diego, California. The flying time was 15 hours 49 minutes, which reduced the former record by 1 hour 14 minutes. Mr. Archbold is an explorer and research associate of the American Museum of Natural History, New York. He named the flying boat the Guba, which in a dialect spoken by natives of New Guinea means "Sudden Storm." Russell B. Rogers, who was Mr. Archbold's co pilot on a trip around the world in , was pilot on this transcontinental flight. With him were Douglas Kelly, co pilot, Harold Ramm, radio opera tor, Stephen Barrinka, flight engineer, and one passenger, Mr. H. G. Nicholson. The flight was of great interest to naval officers who were present at the landing, because the Guba, except for the fact that it carried no armament, is a duplicate of the long range PBY bombers used by the United States Navy. Lieutenant Commander Donald F. Smith, in command of the naval base at Floyd Bennett Field, said that the flight proved the possibility of bombers being flown practically over night from coast to coast if an emergency demanded it. He said also that large numbers of similar planes had been flown nonstop from San Diego to Honolulu and from San Diego to Coco Solo, Panama. Mr. Rogers said that the Guba took oft with a capacity load of 1,700 gallons of gasoline and had about 500 gallons left when it landed. He estimated that this amount would have carried the big plane to Florida if that had been set as its destination. Mr. Rogers carried a letter of greeting from Mayor P. J. Benbough of San Diego to Mayor F. H. LaGuardia of New York. BOEING 314 (Yankee Clipper ) (Illustration No. 18) This giant plane has accommodations for 74 passengers and a crew of 15. It can be turned into a sleeper carrying 40 passengers. It weighs 48,545 pounds when empty; it is 106 feet long, 20 feet 5 inches high, and has a wing span of 152 feet. It is powered with four Wright Cyclone Double Row engines of

43 GRUMMAN FIGHTER

44 1,500 horsepower each. The maximum speed is 190 miles per hour and the cruising range is 3,100 miles with a load of 40 passengers. On March 26, 1939, Captain Harold E. Gray, with a crew of 12 and 8 observers, flew the Yankee Clipper on her first transatlantic flight from Baltimore harbor to the harbor of Horta in the Azores. This was the largest group up to that time to fly the Atlantic in a heavier than air machine. The flight was made in 17 hours 32 minutes 30 seconds and the distance covered was 2,786 miles, at an average speed of miles per hour. A four-engine Pan American Airways flying boat took off from Port Washington, New York, on May 20, 1939, on the first regularly scheduled airplane flight from the United States across the North Atlantic to Europe. It landed at Horta, in the Azores, after a flight of 13 hours 22 minutes, and was delayed there for 6 hours 19 minutes while the post office officials stamped 23,000 pieces of mail for stamp collectors. It went to Lisbon, Portugal, where it arrived on May 21, and then flew to Marseilles, France, landing May 22. Captain Arthur E. La Porte said that an average speed of 164 miles per hour was made. On the return trip the average speed was 144 miles per hour. On June 20, the Dixie Clipper landed in Marseilles. The total time of the passage, including a stop at Horta, was 31 hours 52 minutes. Coming back, July 2 4, the time was 34 hours 27 minutes. DOUGLAS DC-4 (Illustration No. 19) The Douglas DC-4 is a modern transport plane. It h~s four engines, a length of 92 feet 3 inches, height of 27 feet 10 inches and wing span of 118 feet. Its cruising range is 2,600 miles and its top speed is 257 miles per hour. Its engines generate 4,400 horsepower. The Tri-Safety retractable landing gear keeps it on an even keel and level position while it is on the ground. A large number of planes of this model have been purchased by the airlines for commercial use. It can carry 42 passengers and offers them many conveniences, including automatic steam heat, dicta phones, electric toasters, a library and a bridal suite. During 1939 commercial aviation went ahead steadily. The scheduled airline operators of the United

45 BOEING 314 (YANKEE CLIPPER)

46 States carried, in the fiscal year ending June 30, 1939, 1,377,792 fare paying passengers. This was 329, 371 more than the total number of passengers wlw paid fares during the previous year. On June 30, 1939, the lines furnished employment to 644 pilots, 609 co pilots, 2,713 mechanics and riggers, 967 other field personnel, 3,577 office personnel, 400 stewardesses and 61 stewards. On September 1, 1939, The United States could boast the possession of 2,272 airports and landing fields. Of these, 666 were municipal, 452 commercial, 260 civil Aeronautics Authority, 644 Auxiliary, 21 naval, 58 army, and 171 classified as miscellaneous- comprising Government, State and private. Air passengers paid an average of 5.67 cents per mile, and the average number of passengers carried per plane was about BOEING STRATOLINER (Illustration No. 20) High up at the top of the atmosphere that surrounds the earth is a layer called the stratosphere. Here the air is light and there are no strong winds and no rain clouds. It is an ideal place for a plane to fly, but the air is too rare for human lungs to breathe with comfort. So aviation designers turned their attention to making a plane that could be flown through this calm layer and still not cause the pas sengers any discomfort. The Boeing Stratoliner is the answer. It is the first four engine transport plane designed for "upper level" flying, and has an airtight cabin which automatically keeps the air pressure as it is at sea level. Who knows but the planes of the future will be flying almost entirely in the stratosphere. During 1939 the New York Municipal Airport, La Guardia Field, was placed on an operating basis. It is rated the largest project of the kind in the world. There are four great runways for landplanes, the. largest being 6,000 feet long and 200 feet wide. The western part of the field is occupied by the Marine Terminal. At night the buildings are marked out by red lights and the runways are bordered by contact lights 200 feet apart. The ends of the four runways are marked by green range lights and at the end of each runway are two narrow beam floodlights each of seven and a half million candlepower. Everything is being done to make flying safe as well as comfortable. On March 26, 1940, official

47 DOUGLAS DC 4

48 announcements from Washington reported that the airlines of the United States had completed a year of service without a single accident resulting in the death or serious injury of a passenger or any other person. This safety record is beyond anything ever attained by other transportation systems, and it was made at a time when the airlines were operating more schedules, carrying more passengers, mail and express, at greater speeds, than in any previous twelve month period. According to Colonel Edgar S. Gorrell, President of the Air Transport Association of the Civil Aeronautics Authority at Washington, the airlines carried 2,128,817 people and flew 814,906,259 passen ger miles during this time. A passenger mile is the travel of one passenger for one mile. If all the people living in the States of Arizona, Idaho, Nevada, Vermont, Wyoming and New Mexico were flown from Washington, D. C., to Detroit, Michigan, the passenger miles would equal the figures given. Who could have foreseen, on that winter day at Kitty Hawk, in 1903, that the little plane which was broken by a gust of wind was setting in motion such giant forces? Looking back at the progress that has been made in thirty seven years, it would be a rash prophet who would dare say that anything in aviation is impossible.

49 BOEING STRATOLINER

50

51

52

53

54