A Museum Tour Through Aviation History

Pioneers of Flight (Gallery 208)

The first flight across the United States, the first non-stop transcontinental flight, the first around-the-world flight -- these are just some of the historic achievements accomplished mainly during the period between the World Wars. And the aircraft in which these flights were made are the subject of the "Pioneers of Flight" gallery.

Wright EX "Vin Fiz"
(1911)

On September 17, 1911, a young pilot named Calbraith Perry Rodgers took off from Sheepshead Bay, Long Islands in the Wright EX "Vin Fiz" in an attempt to win a $50,000 prize offerred by William Randolph Hearst to the first person to fly across the United States in 30 days or less. Although Rodgers did, in fact, become the first person to fly across the country, he was way off the deadline set by Hearst. The "Vin Fiz" didn't reach Pasedena, California until November 5, 1911, after a flight of 49 days that was more of an adventure than an aviation achievement. Enroute, mostly following railroad tracks, Rodgers had to make many stops (including a few crashes) and had to replace virtually every part of his airplane. But the achievement was no less remarkable, given the primitive nature of aviation technology at the time.

Fokker T-2
(1923)

In 1922, the U.S. Air Service purchased two Fokker F.IV transport planes and outfitted one (designated the A-2) as an ambulance plane and the other (designated T-2) as a transport plane. Within a short time, Lt. Oakley Kelly proposed that the Fokker T-2 be modified for an attempt to fly across the country non-stop. Lt. John Macready was chosen as Kelly's copilot and they set out from San Diego headed towards the East Coast. After two unsuccessful attempts, the second ending with mechanical failure near Indianapolis, the Fokker T-2 was flown to Long Island and, on May 2, 1923, the two pilots took off on a westward cross-country attempt. Exchanging positions -- one in the outside main cockpit and the other in an enclosed secondary cockpit -- several times during the flight and making repairs in mid-air, they landed at San Diego some 26 hours, 50 minutes later, having traveled the 2,470 mile flight at an average speed of 92 mph.

Douglas World Cruiser "Chicago"
(1924)

The next major aviation record to fall was that of an around-the-world flight. On April 6, 1924, four identical Douglas World Cruisers took off from Seattle, Washington, headed towards Alaska. One of the World Cruisers, the "Seattle," crashed on that leg of the flight and the three remaining planes continued across the Pacific toward Japan. The three planes continued safely eastward as far as London, after which the "Boston" had to land at sea due to mechanical problems. The two remaining World Cruisers, the "New Orleans" and the "Chicago" (joined by the prototype plane, now named the "Boston II") finally arrived back in Seattle on September 28, 1924. The 27,553 mile flight was accomplished, with many repair, refueling, and rest stops, in 175 days, 371 hours, 11 minutes.

Curtiss R3C-2 Floatplane Racer
(1925)

During the 1920s, airplane races were growing in popularity, with two highly acclaimed races -- the Schneider Cup for seaplanes and the Pulitzer Trophy for land planes -- being held each year. In 1925, the U.S. Army and U.S. Navy ordered basically the same plane from the Curtiss company to compete in these races. The land version was the Curtiss R3C-1 and the sea version was the Curtiss R3C-2 Floatplane. In October 1925, the R3C-1, piloted by Lt. Cyrus Bettis, won the Pulitzer Trophy and the R3C-2, piloted by Army Lt. James "Jimmy" Doolittle, won the Schneider Cup. The R3C-2 also placed second in the 1926 Schenider Cup, piloted by Lt. Christian Schilt, USMC.

Lockheed 8 Sirius "Tingmissartoq"
(1931)

After his acclaimed solo, nonstop flight across the Atlantic in May 1927, Charles Lindbergh became interested in furthering the cause of commercial aviation. In 1931, Lindbergh, accompanied by his wife, Anne Morrow Lindbergh, set out in their Lockheed 8 Sirius "Tingmissartoq" to fly from Maine to China via the Great Circle Route over much of Canada, Alaska, the eastern tip of Siberia, and Japan. In 1933, the Linbergh's flew the Sirius from New York to Europe via the Great Circle Route over Newfoundland and Greenland to survey that route for Pan American Airways. They took off in July 1933 and, after successfully arriving in Europe, continued on, visiting several European cities as far east as Moscow, down the west coast of Africa, across the Atlantic to South America, up the Caribbean island chain, and eventually back to the United States. Upon arriving back at New York in December 1933, they had visited 21 countries on four continents and flown a total of more than 30,000 miles.

Lockheed 5B Vega
(1932)

On May 20, 1932, another Lockheed airplane, this one a Lockheed 5B Vega was flown across the Atlantic from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland nonstop in 14 hours, 54 minutes. Although a solo, nonstop trans-Atlantic flight had been made five years earlier, this flight was significant because it was made for the first time by a female pilot -- Amelia Earhart. In August 1932, Earhart flew the same Lockheed Vega nonstop from Los Angeles, California to Newark, New Jersey in 19 hours, 5 minutes, becoming the first female pilot to accomplish a nonstop transcontinental flight. Earhart was lost in the Pacific in July 1937, while nearing the end of an around-the-world flight in a twin-engined Lockheed Electra. To this day, a mystery still surrounds the exact fate of Amelia Earhart and her navigator, Fred Noonan.

The 1920s and 1930s are considered to have been the Golden Age of Flight, and that's the topic of the next stop in our tour through aviation history.

| Home | Intro | Ventures | Sea | Air | Space | SciFi | Racing | Movies | Art | Travel | Exit |

| Intro | Aerobatic Teams | Blue Angels | Thunderbirds | National Air & Space Museum | Aviation History |

Last Updated: January 1, 2003