Around the world in 175 days.

[blanston12]

September 9, 1924: After refueling at Aberdeen, they flyers and there escorts were off again for Bolling field, Washington DC. Eight miles south of Baltimore the engine on New Orleans suddenly quit and Nelson made a smooth forced landing in a pasture. General Patrick and several of the escorts landed while the other two cruisers circled. Knowing the president and cabinet were waiting at Bolling field had Nelson take the escort carrying his brother in the passenger seat while Harding would stay with New Orleans.

The President Coolidge had been waiting with his wife and most of the cabinet in the rain since 11am, when one of them suggested they leave he said “Not on your life, I will wait all day if necessary”. It was still raining when they arrived over Bolling field. The cruisers circled a couple time and landed, followed by there escorts. They were warmly greeted by the President who asked many questions of the flyers. Overnight Harding was able to repair New Orleans and it flown to Bolling field the next day. The flyers would stay in Washington for the next three days to grant interviews, meet with Generals and officials, and participate in the Defense day activities September 12th.

October 10, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Aero Commander 500. The Aero commander is a series of twin engine utility and business aircraft that were introduced in 1952. Over 3100 of all variants were built before production ended in 1986. The model I am using was made by Milton Shupe and is one of my favorites. I was planning on flying to Washington the same day as Aberdeen but decided against it after landing in the fog. The weather the next day was better, Broken clouds at 3500 feet, no wind and a temperature of 20C/68F. The flight was uneventful, I stayed between 1000 and 2000 feet before arriving over the capitol. Bolling field is long gone, but right across the river from its former site is Reagan national airport so thats where I landed. The 55nm flight too 27 minutes.

Here are the pics:


Ready to go.


Heading out over Baltimore.


Just a few clouds.


Chesapeake Bay.


Just afew more clouds.


The capitol ahead.


I probably could not fly here in real life.


Landed.

Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[Paul K]

Good stuff, Joe. This is quite an epic, and great to follow. Keep it going, and I'll try to place bets on which aircraft you use next.

[blanston12]

Good stuff, Joe. This is quite an epic, and great to follow. Keep it going, and I'll try to place bets on which aircraft you use next.

Thanks Paul. So what what are people betting on for my next flight? With the exception for the last flight I already have it planned out and only the release of a certain payware British jetliner could alter it, so I wont be making changes based on prediction here. I only have 15 more legs to go, I know that sounds like a lot but I am over 80% done.

[blanston12]

September 13, 1924: The previous day they had flown over the city and taken part in the parade of troops in the Defense Day activities. “The reception and applause given to us all along the line of march was wonderful.” Arnold wrote. “And to be so received by our own people thrilled us all, it was probably the greatest moment in our lives.” The weather was marginal the day they departed for Dayton Ohio, but they were fatigued by all the attention they had received and were ready to press on. Five escorting planes joined them but they left when they ran into near Harpers Ferry. The flyers continued on, flying low over the telephone poles and tree tops as they followed the rail road through the valley. About 80 miles from Dayton the first planes joined them, there numbers increased to about 20 flying information into McCook Field, then the Air Services major aircraft evaluation center. A crowd of nearly 10,000 waited at the airfield to greet them, Two men quickly emerged from the crowd to extend there congratulations, Major Martin and Sgt Harvey, who had piloted Seattle before they crashed in Alaska. For the next two days in shifts, mechanics went over every part of the aircraft and replaced anything that showed any wear or tear, it was the first time the flyers had allowed anyone to work on the aircraft without them being present since the flight started.

October 13, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Hawker Siddeley HS-748. The HS-748 is a medium size turboprop airliner originally designed by Avro as a replacement for aging DC-3’s. With good STOL performance it found a dedicated market, About 380 aircraft were built between 1961 and 1988. The aircraft is by JustFlight/Aeroplane Heaven. Weather was not the best, cloudy with 6 knot winds a temperature of 17C/63F and clouds from 700 feet extending up to about 6000 feet. Knowing I had to fly over the Appalachian Mountains I climbed up to 8000 feet and headed west over the clouds. McCook field closed in 1927; instead I landed at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, about 7 miles to the east. The 331 nm flight took 1.4 hours.

Here are the pics:


Ready to go.


Climbing out of DC.


Climbing up over the clouds.


Over the Appalachian Mountains


Cruising.


Crossing the Ohio river.


Coming into Dayton.


Secured.

Thanks for reading
ATB.

[Paul K]

I'm putting money on Aeroplane Heaven's DHC Otter making an appearance. Well, 50p anyway.

[FlyTexas]

If you were flying Concorde you'd be home by now.

Brian

[blanston12]

If you were flying Concorde you'd be home by now.

Brian

“The journey, Not the destination matters...”

― T.S. Eliot

[blanston12]

September 15, 1924: The three cruisers left McCook field for Chicago and followed the railroad lines that all seemed to point in the direction of their destination. A huge crowd had seen them off and an even larger crowd was waiting for them at the Maywood Airmail field outside the city. They were taken by limousine with motorcycle escort to the Drake hotel where a large banquet was planned for that evening.

October 14, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Boeing 737-200. Originally planned as a smaller twin engine airliner derived from the 707 and 727, it has become the best selling commercial airliner in history with over 9700 delivered by 2017 with over 4000 still on order. The 737 was one of the first airliners I remember flying on, as a young lad I was very impressed by the air-stairs that came out of the fuselage from under the door. The model I am using was made by Captain Sim and is quite nice.

The weather started off nice, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 26C/79F. Maywood Airmail field closed in 1927, so instead I will fly to Midway, which opened around the time Maywood closed and is the closest airport that can handle the 737. I climbed out of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and headed to Chicago at 9200 feet, trying to stay plausibly VFR. The clouds started to build as I neared Chicago and thunder clouds hung around the city. About 15 miles out I ran into clouds that went to below 2000 feet, I had to use the ILS to find the correct path to the runway and made a respectable landing. The 206nm flight took 54 minutes.

Here are the pics.


Ready for takeoff.


Climbing out of Dayton.


Just a few clouds.


Lots of farmland.


Is that lightning?


Can't see much in these clouds, better get lower.


Airport found, on final! Yes I noticed that I need more flaps.


Secured.

Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 17, 1924: They had hoped to get off early the day but heavy fog lasted all day. The next morning they were off for Omaha Nebraska, landing at Jarvis Offutt field at Fort Crook. Again crowds converged on the flyers, being held off by solders. Again there was a dinner with speeches by local dignitaries, but this time the citizens of Omaha chose a queen and five ladies in waiting who were to be the flyers hostesses for the evening. Instead of shaking hands and expressing thanks for the welcome for hours, they got to hold one hand the whole evening and communicate “in the more eloquent language of eyes”, the idea met with their enthusiastic approval.

October 15, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the BAe Hawk T1. The hawk is a single engine advanced trainer used by the RAF and many other nations. It first flew in 1974 and is still in production with over 1000 being built. The flight to Offutt Air Force Base in Omaha was uneventful. Weather was cloudy with 13 knot winds gusting to 23, overcast at 3900 feet and a temperature of 12C/43F. I climbed up to 3500 feet and headed west. I was cruising along happily at 440 knots when my fuel calculations told me I would not make it the 370 miles (I should have installed the drop tanks) so I slowed down to 240 knots. The weather cleared up as I got to Omaha and I landed after flying 1.5 hours with plenty of fuel remaining.

Here are the pics:


Ready to go.


Climbing out of Chicago.


Heading west.


It all sort of looks the same.


Over a lake some where.


Our destination is in sight.


On final.


Secured.

Thanks for reading.
ATB.

[blanston12]

September 18, 1924: The original plan was to follow the airmail route over the Rocky Mountians through Cheyanne Wyoming and Salt lake city but the lowest point in the continental divide was 6500 feet and the airmail planes often had to fly between 8000 and 9000 feet to safely pass. Lt Smith wanting to avoid the risks of flying at that altitude decided, with General Patricks approval, to fly through Dallas Texas and San Diego California before returning to the 'official' starting point of Seattle Washington. So instead of continuing west from Omaha that morning they headed south following the Missouri river 125 miles to the town of St Joseph Missouri, there they would be treated to a luncheon by the civic leaders and watch an aerobatic show by Lt Rubin Moffatt before heading to there next stop.

October 15, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Cessna 177 Cardinal. The 177 was a “futuristic successor to the Cessna 172 with both fixed and retractable landing gear versions. Although it never really replaced the 172, at least 4295 were built between 1968 and 1979. The model I am using is the 177RG version by Alabeo and it is quite nice. Weather for the flight was clear and calm, temperature of 4C/39F. The flight itself was uneventful, followed the Missouri River south to the Rosecrahs Memorial Airport in St Joseph Missouri. The 93mn flight took 44 minutes.

Here are the pics:


Ready to go.


Everything looks good.


Cruisin.


Following the Missouri River.


Selfie.


Nice view of the river and the fall colors.


On Final.


Landed.

Thanks for reading
ATB.