Around the world in 175 days.

[blanston12]

July 13, 1924: They left Bucharest at dawn and headed west to the Danube River, through the Transylvanian Alps to Belgrade Yugoslavia. The weather had been remarkably good and the aircraft well so with plenty of fuel remaining they flew over the airport where the diplomatic officials were waiting and continued to Budapest Hungary (Smith later sent an apology). They landed at Maryasfold aerodrome after nearly 7 hours of flying where a small crowd was waiting to greet them, there had been a large crowd but a rumor went around saying the flyers were not coming. But they were welcomed by the diplomats who were there, a few speeches were given and they were invited to a nearby hanger where lunch was provided.


September 16, 2017: The aircraft I will use next is the Antonov An-2, aka "Annushka". The AN-2 is a Soviet built single-engine biplane utility/agricultural aircraft that first flew in 1946. Its remarkable durability, high lifting power, and ability to take off and land from poor runways have given it a long service life. Produced up to 2001 and remains in service operators around the world, over 18000 were built. The model I am using today I was made by SibWings and is very nice but it its not P3Dv4 compatible. Weather started off good, clear with 6 knot winds and a temperature of 22C. I flew west till I intercepted the Danube and followed it through the mountains, then north to Budapest where the weather had turned to thunder storms, but I landed safely at Tököl Airport after 4.1 hours of flying.


Here are the images:

Ready to go.

Climbing out of Bucharest.

Glamour Shots.

Following the Danube.

 

[blanston12]

I'm getting Hungary.

Into Hungary.

Good weather still.

Desination in site.

Landed.

 

[blanston12]

July 13, 1924: After lunch they were back in there planes and on their way to Vienna Austria, arriving two hours later and were greeted by a huge crowd, which was mostly made up of American Tourists, all of which seemed to have new Kodak cameras and wanting to get pictures of the flyers and there craft. It took until almost dusk to finish working on there planes, camera’s snapping the whole time, they were then taking on a quick tour of the city and then to the luxurious Imperial Hotel, which they were told had once been the home of the prince of Wittenberg until he had lost it in a game of cards.


September 16, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the de Havilland DHC-1 Chipmunk. Designed by de Havilland Canada in 1946 to replace the Tiger Moth. It was used as a basic trainer by the RAF and RCAF and many others, the last was retired in 1996, over 1200 were made and many are still used by civilian operators. The aircraft I used was made by JustFlight and is nice. By the time I finished my real world tasks the weather had cleared and was now just broken clouds at 5000 feet with 5 knot winds and a temperature of 16.1C. The flight to Vienna was very easy even thought he clouds get a bit thicker and I had to stay below 2000 feet to keep the ground in site. The 108 mile flight to the Vienna International Airport took 52 minutes.


Here are the images:

Ready to go again.

Climbing out of Budapest.

Glamour shots!

Selfie!

 

[blanston12]

Chipmunk Fun!

Fall colours already.

Lots of fall colors.

Our destination.

Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB

 

[blanston12]

June 14, 1924: The rooms of the Imperial hotel had 20 foot ceilings and beds so soft when you were in then you sank out of sight. For breakfast they were served bowls of raspberries and cream so delicious Arnold said “it was almost worth flying around the world to eat them”. Despite the luxuries they all wanted the holiday in Paris Smith promised them if they could get there ahead of schedule, so before 7am they left the Ancient city of Vienna for Strasbourg France. It was raining heavily when they left, which kept them low over the Danube river as they followed it into Germany, They emerged into bright sunshine as the crossed over the Black Forest and landed in Strasbourg after 6 hours of flying, where despite the festivities planed for them, they hurriedly had lunch and got there planes ready for there next leg.


September 19, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Cessna 195. The 195 was one of Cessna’s first post war aircraft, there last with a radial engine and there first one that was all aluminum. Because of the big radial engine it was larger than other Cessna models and more expensive to buy and operate so was marketed as more of a Business aircraft. First flying in 1945, about 1180 were built before production ended in 1954. The model I am using today was made by FlySimWare and is nice.


Weather for the flight from Vienna started off good, 11 knot winds with a few clouds at 1300 feet and a temperature of 12C/53F, quite a change from the 31C/88F five days ago. It was a bit cloudy so stayed between 2000-3000 feet while I found the Danube and followed it west to hear the city of Linz and then west into Germany. Ran into a fierce thunder storm over Munich but soon emerged from that as I approached the Black Forest, we crossed over the river Rhine and descended into Strasbourg, the 358nm flight had taken 2.4 hours.


Here are the pics:

Ready to go.

Staying low, where is that river.

Following the Danube.

Lightning is very close.

 

[blanston12]

Invading France!

Clear weather again.

Over the Rhine river and into France!

Our destination.

Secured.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

 

[blanston12]

July 14, 1924: Although elaborate arrangements had been made to entertain them, they stayed in Strasbourg only long enough to refuel the aircraft and get a quick lunch before being back in the air bound for Paris. A hundred miles from Paris a flight of planes from the French joined them to escort them to the city. Fifty miles out they could see the Eiffel Tower and the great buildings of the city, as they got nearer they could see thousands of people in the streets celebrating Bastille day, with there French escorts in tow they flew past the Eiffel tower, made a circle around the Arc de Triomphe to pay tribute to the French tomb of the French Unknown Soldier and proceed to Le Bourget Airport where more than five thousand Parisians were crowding the airport. They landed and were quickly mobbed by the throng while diplomats and French officials tried to shake there hands, it took an hour before they could get there aircraft into the hanger to do there post flight servicing. After they were taken to there hotels they accepted an invitation to the famous “Folies Bergere”, as the lights went down for the show they promptly fell asleep.


September 19, 2017: The North American F-86 Sabre, the Sabre is best known as the United States' first swept wing fighter that could counter the Soviet MiG-15 and was considered one of the best and most important fighter aircraft in the Korean war. Although it first flew in 1947 and was outdated by the end of the '50s, the Sabre proved versatile and adaptable. The last was retired by the Bolivian Air Force in 1994. Over 9800 were built in the US, Canada, Japan and Italy.


I tried to use the very nice Milviz model but it proved a bit beyond my skills. I started the flight but part way to Paris noticed the gauges had stopped, I fiddled with the power switches and got them back but then the engine was running at 100% and I could not get it to power back. Fiddling with the switches some more the engine stopped and I could not get it restarted, finally aborting before it crashed into a field. So instead I tried with the Virtavia model, which does not look as nice, especially the VC but it is much easier to fly. Started the flight with light rain, 7 knot winds, a few clouds at 700 feet, overcast at 6000 and a temperature of 10C/50F. I headed northwest toward Paris, at about 5000 feet to get over the first bank of hills and then dropped to about 2300 to stay below the clouds. It cleared up a bit as I approached Paris but I did not see the Eiffel tower as far away as Lt. Smith and the boys did . I finally spotted it and did a few passes by the tower and the Arc de Triomphe before landing at Le Bourget. The F-86 just ate up the 207nm flight in just 35 minutes, often cruising at over 540 knots.


Here are the pics:

Ready to go.

Climbing out of Strasbourg.

Try to stay between the clouds and the hills.

Its clear and I am good on fuel, drop the tanks.

 

[blanston12]

"We will always have Paris!"

There is the Eiffel Tower

Never sean so few cars around the Arc

Another pass by the tower.

Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

 

[blanston12]

July 16, 1924: While in Paris the flyers “met more generals, ambassadors, cabinet ministers and celebrities that we had encountered in the rest of our lives”. They had lunch with General John J. Pershing, american commander during the great war, accompanied the President of France to the Olympic games, who offered to bestow on them the French Legion of Honor but they had to decline as they were forbidden from accepting foreign decorations without the consent of congress. So without having any real time off, by 11am the morning of the 16th they were in the air bound for London. As they flew two airliners joined them, followed by a French fighters, all flying in a loose formation toward the England. They climbed above the clouds to 7000 feet. Through brakes in the clouds they could see the English channel below, the clouds thinned as they got closer to London and they landed at Croydon Airport. It took some time for the London bobbies to control the enthusiastic crowd, but once the welcomes were made and the planes serviced they were taken to the RAF club at Piccadilly, where they were given excellent quarters. Later that evening, at a dinner hosted by the top officials of the British Air Ministry, Lt. Wade fell asleep, snoring at the table sitting between a General and “Lord Somebody”.


September 19, 2017: For the next leg I am going to use the de Havilland Dove. The de Havilland DH.104 Dove was a British short-haul airliner as successor to the Dragon Rapide biplane. The Dove was a popular aircraft and is considered to be one of Britain's most successful postwar civil designs, in excess of 500 aircraft being manufactured between 1946 and 1967. It was also used by the Royal Air Force, Royal Navy and a number of overseas military forces. The model was made by JustFlight.


The weather started off great, no winds or clouds, and a temperature of 6.1C/43F. I headed north at about 4000 feet but soon the clouds started to build as I approached the channel and I dropped to 1500 feet to keep the land/sea in view. After crossing over into England the clouds cleared and I had a nice flight into London. Since Croydon is long closed I landed in London City airport after a quick view of the sites over the center of the city. The 178 nm took 1.1 hours.


Here are a few pics:

Ready for takeoff.

Glamour Shots.

Clouds ahead.

Heading out over the channel.

 

[blanston12]

London Calling...

England!

London!

Sightseeing!

Landed.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

 

[blanston12]

July 17, 1924: The next morning they were back at the airport and in the air. They flew over the Tower of London, Parliament, Buckingham palace and other famous land marks before heading north toward Brough near Hull, 165 miles away. A number of small planes came up and few briefly in formation with them before waving and flying away. Finally they landed at the aerodrome of Blackburn Aeroplane company, where they would replace all the engines, convert them back into seaplanes and prepare there aircraft to cross the Atlantic, what was most certainly going to be the most dangerous part of the entire trip.


July 17, 2017: For the next leg I will be using the Gloster Meteor. The Meteor was the first British fighter jet and only Allied jet to see combat in World War 2. While not as fast or as aerodynamically advanced as the German Me-262, it had much more reliable engines and ended up having a fairly long career, over 3900 were built between 1943 and 1955. The model I am using today is and F8 and was made by JustFlight.


The weather for my next flight was good, 6 knot winds, clear below 20,000 feet, and a temperature of 16.0C/61F. Took off from London city and headed north at about 5000 feet. At times I went up to 7000 feet and descended down to 2500 feet to avoid the clouds, I finally landed at Carlisle Airport, the 231 mile flight took 35 minutes. Only after I was getting the information together to write this post did I realize I had mixed up the GPS code, going to EGNC rather than EGNB and was about 75 miles off course. Oops!

Ready for takeoff.

Heading north.

Interesting clouds.

Trying to keep the ground in view.

 

[blanston12]

Over the green fields of England!

Heading north.

Selfie!

Trying to find the airport.

Secured.


Thanks for reading,
ATB.

 

[BrittMac]

Nice reading, as always. Took me a minute to catch up!

 

[blanston12]

July 30, 1924: At Brough they would overhaul the aircraft to prepare then for the north atlantic. The cowlings, radiators and engines were all removed and replaced, all the metal parts of the planes were covered with rust-resistant oxide, all the fabric that was damaged by the hot and humid climates they had passed through was repaired and the wheels were replaced by floats. The flyers were invited to a formal banquet in London they night after they arrived but as Arnold wrote “we were about as well equipped with clothes as the head-hunters of Borneo”. Eventually Arnold was sent with a shopping list to London to get what they needed. The banquet was held at the Savoy hotel with many with many Lords, Earls and Dukes in attendance. Many speeches were given, Smith said in his that the flight was being made for personal glory but to further aviation progress. They were invited up to meet the Prince of Wales in his suite who said he was going to sail to New York in a few days and bet each of them five dollars he would beat them there. They waited until the 29th when they received word from the U.S. Navy that there ships were in position and the weather was favorable, so they were up at 4am on the 30th to launch there planes into the humber river and fuel up the planes. There was a low fog that hung over the area and they could not get away until 10am as they headed north to the Orkney Islands. They flew over Drunkensberry point and then Scapa Flow and landed near the Village of Kirkwall where the Cruiser U.S.S. Richmond was waiting in the harbor for them.


September 24, 2017: For the next leg we will be using de Havilland Heron. The de Havilland DH.114 Heron was a small propeller-driven British airliner that first flew on 10 May 1950. It was a development of the twin-engine de Havilland Dove, with a stretched fuselage and two more engines. It was designed as a rugged, conventional low-wing monoplane with tricycle undercarriage that could be used on regional and commuter routes. 150 were built, also exported to about 30 countries. They model I am using today is by Flight Replicas and is quite nice.


The weather was reasonable for the flight, we flew north at 3000 feet to stay under the clouds. Flying over the Scottish highlands, I flew past patches of fog, hoping a hill would not appear in front of me, they did appear through the clouds but fortunately stayed below me, heading out over the sea we arrived at Kirkwall, visibility dropped to about 5 miles but managed to find the airport and make a safe landing. Since I few from Carlisle instead of Brough the flight was a little shorter, the 242nm flight took 1.5 hours.
Here are the pics.

Ready for takeoff.

Climbing out of Carlisle.

Glamour shots.

Heading into Scotland.

 

[blanston12]

Flying (over) Scotsmen!

Taking a break in the cabin.

Out over the sea.

Our destination.

Secured.


Thanks for reading
ATB.

 

[blanston12]

August 2, 1924: After arriving on the 30th they had expected to be able to leave for Iceland the next day but heavy fog prevented them from leaving until the 2nd. Five miles out they ran into heavy fog. After 30 minutes of flying Lt. Nelson flying New Orleans, not being able to see the other planes got into the propeller wash of one of the other aircraft and went into a spin, coming out of it just above the water. Now being just under the fog they continued to fly until they were out of the fog, but there was no site of the other planes. After circling for a period waiting for them they continued toward Iceland. They continued to Horna Fjord Iceland where sailors from the Cruiser Raleigh had established a base for them. They radioed that they had arrived and learned that Chicago and Boston had turned around in the Fog and returned to Kirkwall.


September 25, 2017: For the next leg I am using the Douglas A-20C. I know by using this aircraft I am breaking my own rule of not going back in time for the aircraft I am using but Milton Shupe finally released a beta of his new model that I had been waiting for it for a long time and could not pass it up. They A-20 first flew in 1939 and almost 7500 were built before production ended in 1944. It saw service with the USAAF as well as the Soviet, British and French air forces and was used as both a Light Bomber and night fighter. At least I am using the Aeroflot photo mapping livery from 1953 so at least that is not going back in time.


Weather for the flight was foggy with 14 knot winds and 1000m visibility with a temperature was 12C/53F. I tried to stay low but the fog was too thick, after flying past a hill where I could see the windmill was higher than me I climbed to 7000 feet to get above it. Eventually the fog cleared and it was a pretty easy flight into Hornafjörður Airport. The 475nm flight took 1.7 hours. Note to tell the story properly I am breaking this into three parts so I can better tell the story of each aircraft better.

Ready for takeoff.

Its quite foggy.

Finally above the fog.

Observer selfie!

 

[blanston12]

August 3, 1924: The weather the next day was excellent at Kirkwall, anxious to join Nelson and Harding in Iceland, they were in the air by 9:30, with the still tail wind Lt Smith estimated they were going at least 100 mph. At around 11am Lt. Arnold looking back could not see Boston, they circled back looking for them and found them floating in the sea, smothered in oil leaving a oil trail in the water behind them. Wade was waving at them to not try to land as the water was too rough. Smith circled a few more times then headed for the Destroyer Billingsley 100 miles away. Arnold wrote two notes describing Wade and Ogdon’s situation and position and the tried to drop them on the deck of the destroyer, the first missed, the second tied to Arnold's only life preserver also missed the deck but a sailor dived overboard to get it. “Never have I seen a vessel jump to high speed so quickly”. Later they learned they traveled so fast they burned all the paint off there smoke stack. Having did what they could Smith turned toward Iceland. They flew through light rain and fog before sighting the Raleigh off Horna Fjord and they knew they were at there destination.

Finally past the fog.

Glamour Shots.

A little rain.

Please fasten your seatbelt.

 

[blanston12]

August 3, 1924: Although Wade ditched seemingly without difficulty he knew the water was too rough for Smith to take off again so he frantically signaled him not to land. Boston’s oil pump had failed they had no replacement and the left pontoon had been damaged when they landed in the rough water so even if they could repair it they could not take off. So feeling very alone in ocean, they waited for help to arrive. Three long hours later they were spotted by a British fishing boat who took them in tow. Billingsley arrived and took over the tow, followed shortly by Richmond and the line was passed to the larger ship. After emptying everything they could from Boston to make it lighter they prepared to hoist the plane onto the ships deck. When she was 3 feet in the air the ship rolled suddenly and the boom came down on top of the plane with a thunderous crash, damaging the propeller, upper wing and center section of the hull. With the increasing storm they decided the safest course of action was to tow Boston to the Faeroes islands to attempt repairs there. In the night Boston’s front spreader bar had collapsed allowing the pontoons to squeeze together and with the storm Richmond was having difficulty maintaining a safe speed while towing the plane. Wade agreed they should abandon the plane, she was pulled alongside the cruiser where sailors climbed down and chopped holes in the pontoons and she was then set loose. At 5:30 am as the two flyers saluted, Boston capsized and sank.

Iceland in site.

The town of Hofn.

Our destination.

Landed.


Thanks for reading, as always your comments are welcome and appreciated.
ATB.

 

[Portia911]

Wow, Joe - that account of the r/w drama on the high seas was great!
Also pleased to see the new Milton Havoc/Boston model looks great in civvies. I had the impression it was a military-only model with nose and turret guns etc.
Best wishes for the remainder of your adventure.

 

[blanston12]

Wow, Joe - that account of the r/w drama on the high seas was great!
Also pleased to see the new Milton Havoc/Boston model looks great in civvies. I had the impression it was a military-only model with nose and turret guns etc.
Best wishes for the remainder of your adventure.

Thank Portia, I struggled for some time trying to figure the best way to tell this part of the story so I am glad you enjoyed it.

I get so few comments on this thread I sometimes feel I am doing something wrong, but I double checked my plan and as of now am more than 70% complete, I won't bore you all for too much longer.