AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2023 - 36

BRIEFING
AV I AT ION HISTORY /
Over the hills and far away
The first cross-country
BY IAN J. TWOMBLY
THE NEXT TIME you're too nervous to fly over that hill and out into the unknown
beyond your local practice area, think of Cal Rodgers.
On this month 112 years ago, Rodgers landed in Pasadena, California, about
a month after leaving Sheepshead Bay, New York, becoming the first person to
fly across the continent. He had only been a pilot for two months when he began
the journey.
Rodgers was taught to fly by Orville Wright, and he convinced the Wrights to sell
him an airplane, even though everyone was skeptical a true cross-country flight was
possible. Named the Vin Fiz after the soft drink that sponsored the flight, the singleseat
Wright Model EX had a 30-horsepower Wright engine. Rodgers used a train as
a guide and to help carry a support crew, and paid Charlie Taylor $70 a week to help
repair the airplane along the way. The trip required 70 stops for fuel and repairs.
Cal Rodgers
alighting from
his airplane at
the finish of his
transcontinental
flight in Vin Fiz.
Telephoning
his safe arrival
in Pasadena to
friends.
NEWS /
SQUAWKS
Visit aopa.org for
the rest of the story
West Maui GA airlift pilots
get AOPA-championed relief
The FAA granted regulatory relief to
the pilots who formed an impromptu
lifeline for West Maui in the wake of
the devastating fires in Hawaii. An
organizer of the airlift thanked AOPA
for petitioning for the exemption.
Texas courts orders YouTuber
to pay for defamation
A Texas court concluded that online
allegations made by Dan Gryder
against a Texas pilot and airport owner
were false and imposed a $1 million
judgment against him in August.
Charles Cook sued Gryder in 2021
alleging harassment and slander.
Creighton King killed in crash
CassuTT and reuseable GripLockTies
owner Creighton King died in the crash
of his race airplane near West Jordan
Airport in Utah in August.
For many people in the country, it was
their first opportunity to see an airplane, and
newspapers all along the route took note. The
Wellsville Allegany County Reporter in western
New York said, " By a prearranged plan a
fire alarm was sounded at that time to notify
the Wellsville people the aviator was coming.
Within a few minutes after the alarm
had been given many roofs of buildings,
telephone poles, bridges, and nearby hills were dotted with human beings anxiously
watching for the approach of the first aeroplane. There were probably five
thousand pairs of eyes scanning the eastern horizon for the first glimpse of the
birdman. "
The trip took Rodgers so long in part because he had to follow railroad tracks
the entire way, and he often confused the tracks when they split. Charles A.
Lindbergh crossed the Atlantic Ocean-nonstop of course-fewer than 16 years
later. ian.twombly@aopa.org
36
AOPA PILOT / November 2023
NTSB reports on fatal
AirVenture accidents
A preliminary report from the NTSB
shows where a homebuilt helicopter
collided with a gyroplane as both
attempted to land on a turf runway at
EAA AirVenture Oshkosh in Wisconsin
in July. Another report includes the
ADS-B track of the North American
AT-6D Texan that descended " rapidly "
into Lake Winnebago hours before.
FAA administrator nominated
Michael Whitaker, who has spent
more than three decades in aviation
leadership positions, has been
nominated by the White House as the
next administrator of the FAA.
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AOPA Pilot Magazine - November 2023

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