OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS introduces many of today’s pilots, as well as those who perhaps have forgotten those incredible flights, what these early pilots had accomplished.
This feature is compiled by Vintage Director Emeritus Wes Schmid, VAA 6688, EAA 3113. Wes previously edited our Mystery Airplane feature.
Articles that appeared in aviation magazines such as Popular Aviation(now Flying), Aero Digest, and others, notably from the 1920s and 30s, will be featured.
“Never Forget” June 6, 1944
(Ed. Note: For many years those of us who knew Charlie Harris as a writer would wake up on the morning of June 6th with the following message in our inboxes. Today on the 75th anniversary Charlie's life-long friend, business partner, and dedicated member of our Vintage family Betsey Kersey forwarded Charlie's traditional June 6th message to all of us.) ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: Our Flight to South America
Intro and research by Wes Schmid, VAA Director Emeritus, VAA 6688, EAA 3113 Since World War I, American bombers were open cockpit, tube, wood and fabric biplanes, but in the early 1930s there were two new aircraft that revolutionized U.S. Army Air Corp. bomber designs. The first was Boeing’s all-metal YB-9, (Model 215) a semi-stressed skin fuselage open cockpit monoplane ...
Outstanding Flights: My Glider Trip Across the Continent and We Glider Hopped the Atlantic
Intro and research by Wes Schmid, VAA Director Emeritus, VAA 6688, EAA 3113 Frank Hawks set hundreds of speed records in the 1920s and 30s flying some of that periods fastest, high performance aircraft. One record, however, was not a speed record. It started March 30, 1930 in a glider, towed by an airplane across the United States. At the ...
Outstanding Flights: THE ITALIAN ARMADA
When planning to cross the Atlantic Ocean in the 20s and 30s pilots settled on just one aircraft for the attempt. So when Italy’s Minister of Air, General Italo Balbo, in 1933 announced his plan to lead a squadron of 25 seaplanes across the Atlantic it was looked upon as fool-hardy, dangerous and an impossible stunt sure to fail. However, ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: Flight of the Southern Cross
Intro and research by Wes Schmid, VAA Director Emeritus, VAA 6688, EAA 3113 Conquering the vast Pacific ocean by air was a challenge still facing aviators in the late 1920s. Ready to accept the challenge was Squadron Leader Charles E. Kingsford-Smith who on the morning of May 31, 1928 was prepared to takeoff from Oakland airport in California for an ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: The First Nonstop Coast-To-Coast Flight
Intro and research by Wes Schmid, VAA 6688, EAA 3113 The first trans-continental flight across America was made in 1911, just 8 years after the Wright’s historic 59 second, 852 foot distance flown over the sands at Kitty Hawk January 17, 1903. But it took Calbraith “Cal” Perry Rodgers who took off from Sheepshead Bay, New York on September 17, ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: Columbia Gem of the Ocean!
And what a Gem this Bellanca WB-2 aircraft was… 1926—WB-2 designed and built by Giuseppe Mario Bellanca 1926—Lt. C.C. Champion flying the WB-2 won all efficiency, speed and altitude records at National Air Races for U. S. Army 1927—first non-refueling endurance record of 54 hours 30 minutes Bert Acosta and Clarence Chamberlin 1927—New York across Atlantic to Germany, Charles A ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: Global Joy-Ride
Two Piper PA-12 Super Cruisers made super around-the-world OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS in 1947. It all started in 1946 when two flight instructors at an airport near Washington, D. C. observed a newly certificated PA-12 taxi by and a comment made that with enough gas these aircraft were capable of flying around the world. Light aircraft--liaison aircraft--such as L-4 Piper’s, L-5 Stinson’s, ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: Blazing the Air Mail Path in Alaska
Forward and research by Wes Schmid, VAA 6688 Ed. Note -- Carl Ben Eielson was one of Alaska’s most famous pioneer bush pilots. He had many OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS, one of which was making Alaska’s very first air mail test flight on February 21, 1924. It was a 280 air mile winter flight from Fairbanks to McGrath in a DeHaviland DH-4 ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: I Flew Coast to Coast for $25.70
Ed. Note: While others were establishing speed records for transcontinental flights during the late 1920s and 30s that required one or more refueling stops, Johnny Jones set what was perhaps the most significant OUTSTANDING FLIGHT of all. His solo, non-stop Los Angeles to New York flight in a 50 h.p. Aeronca Chief proved, without a doubt, what extraordinary efficiency and ...
OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS: Ole Miss
Welcome to OUTSTANDING FLIGHTS, a new feature in our Vintage AirMail e-Newsletter. The first two attempts the Key brothers made to break the endurance record in staying aloft ended in failure, but they were determined and their third effort was successful. Read about their amazing achievement in this reprint of their OUTSTANDING FLIGHT by John C. Luck that appeared in ...