Aviation History - July 22, 1933 - Wiley Post completes solo flight around the world

CW3 Private RallyPoint Member — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 08:04:56 -0400

American 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 to accomplish the feat.

Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye, began the journey on July 15, 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.

Two years earlier, Post had won fame when he successfully flew around the northern part of the earth with aviator Harold Gatty. For his solo around-the-world flight in 1933, he flew a slightly greater distance–15,596 miles–in less time. For both flights, he used the Winnie Mae, a Lockheed Vega monoplane that was equipped with a Sperry automatic pilot and a direction radio for Post’s solo journey. In August 1935, he was attempting to fly across the North Pole to the USSR with American humorist Will Rogers when both men were killed in a crash near Point Barrow, Alaska.

Article compliments of History.com
http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/wiley-post-flies-solo-around-the-world

Wiley Post flies solo around the world - Jul 22, 1933 - HISTORY.com

On this day in History, Wiley Post flies solo around the world on Jul 22, 1933. Learn more about what happened today on History.

Response by MSgt Robert Pellam made Jul 22 at 2015 10:28 AM

MSgt Robert Pellam — Wed, 22 Jul 2015 10:28:49 -0400

Early Aviators seemed to fly on pure Guts and determination. When the frontier vanished and exploration seemed disappear, these early Aviators took their place and propelled us into a new frontier of exploration.