First airplane flight across U.S.In 1911, "Cal" (Calbraith Perry) Rogers (1879-1912) took off from Long Island, NY, on the first coast to coast airplane flight. When William Randolph Hearst offered a $50,000 prize for the first 30-day transcontinental flight, Cal Rodgers took up the challenge. He was a slender motorcycle racer with only limited flying experience (some of it gained at the Wright School,) using a 35 h.p.Wright EX biplane, named the Vin Fiz after his commercial sponsor's soft drink. He made thirty stops, including nineteen crashes, virtually rebuilding the Vin Fiz by the time he reached Pasadena, California, on Nov 5. During 49 days, he flew for 82 hours, becoming the first person to complete a transcontinental flight (though 19 days too late to win the prize). |
