Okla-homey
7/22/2009, 06:49 AM
July 22, 1933: Wiley Post flies solo around the world
76 years ago today, Okie aviator Wiley Post completes the world's first solo around-the-world flight.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1705/wileypostwithvega8ub.jpg
Oklahoma aviator Wiley Post returns to Floyd Bennett Field in New York, having flown solo around the world in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator evar to accomplish the feat.
Wiley Post was raised in Garvin County Oklahoma and continued to make his home in Oklahoma until his untimely death. He saw his first airplane at an air show in nearby Lawton County (coincidentally, the WW2 ace Robert S. Johnson, grew up in Lawton Co.).
Post's first job was with the US Army. He switched to work in the oil fields in 1919, but whether times were tough, or Post was just wild, he stole a car in 1921. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years, but was paroled after one year.
He lost his left eye in an oil field accident in the mid-1920's, and used the $1800 settlement to buy his first airplane. In 1925, he first met his fellow Oklahoman, Will Rogers; Rogers needed to get to a rodeo, and Post was pleased to fly the famous humorist there. He became the personal pilot of F.C. Hall, a wealthy Oklahoma oilman, and had use of Hall's personal plane, an open cockpit Travel-Air biplane.
Later, Hall bought a Lockheed Vega, largely for Post's use, nicknamed "Winnie Mae" for the oilman's daughter. In 1930 Hall bought a later version of the Lockheed Vega, a model 5-C, again nicknamed "Winnie Mae." This later aircraft is the one most often seen in photographs of Wiley Post.
The Lockheed Vega was one of the most famous record-breaking airplanes of the early 1930s. The beautifully streamlined, high-wing, single-engine monoplane was designed by John Northrop and Gerrard Vultee, two aviation pioneers who later established their own aircraft companies. Although the Vega first flew in July, 1927, it was during the early 1930s that the plane established its reputation for rugged reliability and airworthiness.
It was designed as a small commuter airline aircraft, carrying six passengers and a crew of two. Lockheed built about 130 of them between 1927 and 1934.
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/6351/winnie2179505125bbc2543ln8.jpg
A full-size model of Post's "Winnie Mae" graces the foyer of the Oklahoma History Center.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/8513/vegan965y015mk.jpg
The Lockheed Vega in the livery of Continental Airlines
Specifications and performance data for the "Wasp" powered Lockheed 5-C "Vega":
length 27'8", wing span 41', height 8'6", wing area 275 sq. ft,
empty weight 2361 lbs., useful load 1672, payload 1012, gross wt. 4033 lbs.,
max. speed 170 MPH, cruise 140 MPH, landing 54 MPH, ceiling 20,000 ft.,
gas capacity 96 gal., oil 10 gal., range 725 miles.
Price for 5-C's picked up by customers at the factory in July 1928: $18,500.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7217/wileypost26he.jpg
Post first achieved national prominence in 1930,when he won the National Air Race Derby, from Los Angeles to Chicago. The side of the "Winnie Mae's" fuselage was inscribed: "Los Angeles to Chicago 9 hrs. 9 min. 4 sec. Aug. 27, 1930." The "Winnie Mae" is now on display at The Oklahoma History Center.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/9031/nasm0996jb.jpg
"Winnie Mae" on display at the National Air and Space museum
Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye, began his round the world flight on July 15 1933, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska, Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in New York.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/851/wileypost7uc.jpg
Two years earlier, Post had won fame when he successfully flew around the northern part of the Earth with aviator Harold Gatty. For this solo around-the-world flight in 1933, he flew a slightly greater distance--15,596 miles--in less time. For both flights, he used "Winnie Mae" equipped with a Sperry automatic pilot and a direction radio for Post's solo journey.
Always fascinated by the scientific challenges of flight, in 1934 he focused on high-altitude, long distance flight -- funded by Frank Phillips of the Phillips Petroleum Company.
Since the Winnie Mae's cabin could not be pressurized, he developed, with B.F. Goodrich Company, an early pressure suit. The suit was constructed of double-ply rubberised parachute cloth glued to a frame with pigskin gloves, rubber boots and an aluminium & plastic diver's helmet. It had arm and leg joints that permitted easy operation of the flight controls and also enabled walking to and from the aircraft.
The helmet had a removable faceplate that Post could seal when he reached a height of 17,000 feet, a liquid oxygen source breathing system, and could accommodate earphones and a throat microphone. The liquid oxygen was contained in double-walled vacuum bottles, and as the super-cold gas boiled off, it could be used for breathing and suit pressurization.
In his first flight using the pressure suit, Sept. 5, 1934, above Chicago, he reached 40,000 feet. In the super-charger equipped "Winnie Mae" and his home-made pressure suit, Post set unofficial altitude records (as high as 50,000 ft), discovering the jet stream in the process.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/4856/110gv.jpg
Post in his home-made and self-designed high altitude pressure suit
In March 1935, Post flew from Burbank CA to Cleveland OH in the stratosphere using the jet stream. He took his famous five year-old single-engine Lockheed Vega 2,035 miles in 7 hours and 19 minutes with an average ground speed of 279 mph in a 179 MPH aircraft. At times, his ground speed exceeded 340 MPH. He attempted four more transcontinental stratospheric flights, all ending in mechanical failure, before retiring his beloved aircraft.
Post's pioneering accomplishments were the first major practical advance in pressurized flight. More incredible given the western Oklahoma school drop-out had precious little formal education, and no scientific training at all.
Final Flight
In August 1935, Post was attempting to fly across the North Pole to the USSR with Will Rogers, the greatest American humorist of all time, when both men were killed in a crash near Point Barrow, Alaska. An Inuit named Clare Okpeah saw the plane wreck and ran the fifteen miles to Barrow to report it.
When he described the two men to Army Sergeant Stanley Morgan, Morgan knew that it must be the two famous travellers. Morgan radioed the War Department, and led a recovery party to the site. The remains of both men then began the final journey back to Oklahoma.
Shortly after Post's death his widow sold the famed "Winnie Mae" to the Smithsonian.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6869/v013p246photo5ss.jpg
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5835/insane7zo0fo.jpg
76 years ago today, Okie aviator Wiley Post completes the world's first solo around-the-world flight.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/1705/wileypostwithvega8ub.jpg
Oklahoma aviator Wiley Post returns to Floyd Bennett Field in New York, having flown solo around the world in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator evar to accomplish the feat.
Wiley Post was raised in Garvin County Oklahoma and continued to make his home in Oklahoma until his untimely death. He saw his first airplane at an air show in nearby Lawton County (coincidentally, the WW2 ace Robert S. Johnson, grew up in Lawton Co.).
Post's first job was with the US Army. He switched to work in the oil fields in 1919, but whether times were tough, or Post was just wild, he stole a car in 1921. He was convicted and sentenced to ten years, but was paroled after one year.
He lost his left eye in an oil field accident in the mid-1920's, and used the $1800 settlement to buy his first airplane. In 1925, he first met his fellow Oklahoman, Will Rogers; Rogers needed to get to a rodeo, and Post was pleased to fly the famous humorist there. He became the personal pilot of F.C. Hall, a wealthy Oklahoma oilman, and had use of Hall's personal plane, an open cockpit Travel-Air biplane.
Later, Hall bought a Lockheed Vega, largely for Post's use, nicknamed "Winnie Mae" for the oilman's daughter. In 1930 Hall bought a later version of the Lockheed Vega, a model 5-C, again nicknamed "Winnie Mae." This later aircraft is the one most often seen in photographs of Wiley Post.
The Lockheed Vega was one of the most famous record-breaking airplanes of the early 1930s. The beautifully streamlined, high-wing, single-engine monoplane was designed by John Northrop and Gerrard Vultee, two aviation pioneers who later established their own aircraft companies. Although the Vega first flew in July, 1927, it was during the early 1930s that the plane established its reputation for rugged reliability and airworthiness.
It was designed as a small commuter airline aircraft, carrying six passengers and a crew of two. Lockheed built about 130 of them between 1927 and 1934.
http://img126.imageshack.us/img126/6351/winnie2179505125bbc2543ln8.jpg
A full-size model of Post's "Winnie Mae" graces the foyer of the Oklahoma History Center.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/8513/vegan965y015mk.jpg
The Lockheed Vega in the livery of Continental Airlines
Specifications and performance data for the "Wasp" powered Lockheed 5-C "Vega":
length 27'8", wing span 41', height 8'6", wing area 275 sq. ft,
empty weight 2361 lbs., useful load 1672, payload 1012, gross wt. 4033 lbs.,
max. speed 170 MPH, cruise 140 MPH, landing 54 MPH, ceiling 20,000 ft.,
gas capacity 96 gal., oil 10 gal., range 725 miles.
Price for 5-C's picked up by customers at the factory in July 1928: $18,500.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/7217/wileypost26he.jpg
Post first achieved national prominence in 1930,when he won the National Air Race Derby, from Los Angeles to Chicago. The side of the "Winnie Mae's" fuselage was inscribed: "Los Angeles to Chicago 9 hrs. 9 min. 4 sec. Aug. 27, 1930." The "Winnie Mae" is now on display at The Oklahoma History Center.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/9031/nasm0996jb.jpg
"Winnie Mae" on display at the National Air and Space museum
Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye, began his round the world flight on July 15 1933, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska, Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in New York.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/851/wileypost7uc.jpg
Two years earlier, Post had won fame when he successfully flew around the northern part of the Earth with aviator Harold Gatty. For this solo around-the-world flight in 1933, he flew a slightly greater distance--15,596 miles--in less time. For both flights, he used "Winnie Mae" equipped with a Sperry automatic pilot and a direction radio for Post's solo journey.
Always fascinated by the scientific challenges of flight, in 1934 he focused on high-altitude, long distance flight -- funded by Frank Phillips of the Phillips Petroleum Company.
Since the Winnie Mae's cabin could not be pressurized, he developed, with B.F. Goodrich Company, an early pressure suit. The suit was constructed of double-ply rubberised parachute cloth glued to a frame with pigskin gloves, rubber boots and an aluminium & plastic diver's helmet. It had arm and leg joints that permitted easy operation of the flight controls and also enabled walking to and from the aircraft.
The helmet had a removable faceplate that Post could seal when he reached a height of 17,000 feet, a liquid oxygen source breathing system, and could accommodate earphones and a throat microphone. The liquid oxygen was contained in double-walled vacuum bottles, and as the super-cold gas boiled off, it could be used for breathing and suit pressurization.
In his first flight using the pressure suit, Sept. 5, 1934, above Chicago, he reached 40,000 feet. In the super-charger equipped "Winnie Mae" and his home-made pressure suit, Post set unofficial altitude records (as high as 50,000 ft), discovering the jet stream in the process.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/4856/110gv.jpg
Post in his home-made and self-designed high altitude pressure suit
In March 1935, Post flew from Burbank CA to Cleveland OH in the stratosphere using the jet stream. He took his famous five year-old single-engine Lockheed Vega 2,035 miles in 7 hours and 19 minutes with an average ground speed of 279 mph in a 179 MPH aircraft. At times, his ground speed exceeded 340 MPH. He attempted four more transcontinental stratospheric flights, all ending in mechanical failure, before retiring his beloved aircraft.
Post's pioneering accomplishments were the first major practical advance in pressurized flight. More incredible given the western Oklahoma school drop-out had precious little formal education, and no scientific training at all.
Final Flight
In August 1935, Post was attempting to fly across the North Pole to the USSR with Will Rogers, the greatest American humorist of all time, when both men were killed in a crash near Point Barrow, Alaska. An Inuit named Clare Okpeah saw the plane wreck and ran the fifteen miles to Barrow to report it.
When he described the two men to Army Sergeant Stanley Morgan, Morgan knew that it must be the two famous travellers. Morgan radioed the War Department, and led a recovery party to the site. The remains of both men then began the final journey back to Oklahoma.
Shortly after Post's death his widow sold the famed "Winnie Mae" to the Smithsonian.
http://img295.imageshack.us/img295/6869/v013p246photo5ss.jpg
http://img296.imageshack.us/img296/5835/insane7zo0fo.jpg