Only one person got it completely right. Harry Frannics. Clyde Pangborne and Hugh Herndon met in New York when Clyde was flying for the Gates Flying Circus. Hugh's mother, Mrs. Russell Boardman was quite wealthy, having a marriage interest in Veedol Oil Company. Clyde and Hugh teamed up and started barnstorming the entire country in 1929. By 1931, the CAB put the kabosh to the stunt flying because it killed so many people. Clyde and Hugh, with the financing from Veedol Oil and his Hugh's socialite mother, ordered a special-built, long-range Bellanca "J" model with a Pratt& Whitney 420-hp engine. The airplane was built in the hopes of breaking the Around-The-World speed record. Wiley Post and Harold Gatty held the record of 8-days 15-hrs, 51-min in a Lockheed, called the "Winnie Mae". They established this record by flying the most northerly route possible. Pangborne & Herndon's airplane was registered under the name of A.T.W Corp., New York, NY. Although the Bellanca was slower than the Lockheed, the pair felt they could beat the record because the Bellanca had a much longer fuel range and therby make fewer stops. The Bellanca held a total of 915 gallons of fuel and 45 gallons of oil when fully loaded. The pair left New York on July 28. Halfway across the Atlantic, they ran into a horrible storm. Their only navigational instrument was a compass that spun like a top in the turbulence. They finally arrived in Wales, 32 hours later. By the time they reached their destination in Russia, they were 27 hours behind the Winnie Mae. There was no hope in beating the Winnie Mae. A telegram arrived from friends in Tokyo suggesting they try for the Trans-Pacific nonstop prize if $25,000. They immediately wired the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo to obtain permission to fly to Tokyo. Unfortunately for them, they failed to wait for an answer and took off. Japan had invaded Manchuria in 1931 and they were at war. Dumb as two geese flying south for the winter, they flew over Japaneese military installations. To make matters worse, they took photos along the way. When they arrived in Tokyo, they were immediately put under house arrest. A trial held a few weeks later fined each of them $1500 or 205 days in jail at hard labor. Once again Mrs Boardman came to the rescue and bailed them out. Now they applied to the Japaneese Air Defense Ministry for permission to attempt the Pacific non-stop flight. The Japanese were still angry, but with the pressure from the U.S. Embassy allowed one attempt. If they turned back to Japan, their airplane would be impounded and they would be sent home on the next boat. The airport at Tokyo was not long enough for the fully-loaded Bellanca to takeoff. The airplane was now flown about 300 miles north to Sabishiro Beach. The hard-packed sand allowed for over a mile of takeoff distance. Clyde Pangborn devised a bold scheme of fashioning dowell pins for the landing gear. Once they were off and sure that the airplane was free of any bugs, Clyde would climb out of the plane, pull the pins and drop the 300-lb landing gear into the ocean. This added an additional 17-mph to their speed and extended their flight capability. They landed in Wenatchee, Washington, the birthplace of Clyde Pangborn, 41 hours later, traveling 4558 miles. When they arrived, they jettisoned all the remaning fuel and shut down the engine and glided in for a safe landing on the belly. Neither one was hurt. The only damage to the airplane was a broken wooden propeller. The Bellanca factory sent out a new landing gear and prop and three weeks later they flew back home. One interesting sidebar to this flight is; One wheel from the landing gear was retrieved by a fisherman off the coast of Washington 14 months later. George Frebert
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