In July 1933, Wiley Post flying the Lockheed Model 5B Vega Winnie Mae (A/C No. NR105W) became the first person to fly solo around the world. Lieutenant J. F. Gillon worked at the US Navy Hydrographic Office and "voluntarily assisted many of the prominent fliers in plotting their courses," including Wiley Post. After his successful around the world solo flight, Post returned the map section in this collection to Gillon as a memento.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of a linen-backed map section of the Buffalo, New York region with route and degrees marked in red ink. The section measures approximately 7 by 7 inches and is marked on the reverse with the inscription, "Lt. J. F. Gillon, Hydrographic Office, 1933" and the number "310,728."
Arrangement:
Collection is a single item.
Biographical / Historical:
In June 1931, Wiley Post flying the Lockheed Model 5B Vega Winnie Mae (A/C No. NR105W) with Harold Gatty as navigator successfully traveled around the world making fourteen stops and setting a record time of 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes. In July 1933, Post followed a similar course but made only eleven stops and became the first person to fly solo around the world, making the trip in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes.
Lieutenant J. F. Gillon worked at the US Navy Hydrographic Office and "voluntarily assisted many of the prominent fliers in plotting their courses," including Wiley Post. After his successful around the world solo flight, Post returned the map section in this collection to Gillon as a memento.
Provenance:
J. F. Gillon, Gift, 1933, NASM.XXXX.1006.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access.
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
1.32 Cubic feet (2 legal document boxes and 1 flatbox)
Type:
Collection descriptions
Archival materials
Scrapbooks
Photographs
Maps
Diaries
Date:
1924
Summary:
In 1924, as a lieutenant in the Army Air Service, Leslie P. Arnold was a crew member in one of the three Army planes that flew 27,000 miles around the world in 175 days. This collection consists of Leslie Arnold's handwritten diary and annotated navigational charts of the journey as well as a scrapbook with images of the trip including the aircraft, gasoline tanks, pilot crew, and air-to air shots.
Scope and Contents:
This collection consists of Leslie Arnold's handwritten diary and annotated navigational charts of the journey. The collection also contains the following: an autographed photograph; a Signal Corps message; an advertisement for Mobil oil; a page from 'Illustrated Current News;' and a black scrapbook with images of the trip including the aircraft, gasoline tanks, pilot crew, and air-to air shots. Some of the photographs in the scrapbook are snapshots while others were taken by news agencies.
Arrangement:
This collection is arranged by type of material.
Biographical / Historical:
In 1924, as a lieutenant in the Army Air Service, Leslie P. Arnold was a crew member in one of the three Army planes that flew 27,000 miles around the world in 175 days. Arnold joined the Army in 1917 where he served for eleven years. During his service, he spent time in France during World War I and was part of General William Mitchell's group that conducted tests to prove that battleships could be sunk by aerial bombardment. After the 1924 trip, Arnold worked for a variety of airlines: Transcontinental Air Transport; Pennsylvania Central Airlines and Eastern Air Lines.
Provenance:
Leslie Arnold?, Gift?, unknown, NASM.XXXX.0518.
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
This donation consists of 156 separate interviews or sound sources collected by Elgen Long while he was researching and writing his book, Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved which promotes the theory that Amelia Earhart's aircraft came to rest at the bottom of the ocean near Howland Island.
This collection is in English.
Scope and Contents:
The donation consists of 156 separate interviews or sound sources, some comprising two or more tape sides. Most of them are interviews conducted by Long, including interviews with: crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Itasca; Naval and Coast Guard officials; mechanics and engineers involved in the maintenance of Earhart's aircraft; New Guinea and Australia residents and radio operators; friends, family and associates of Earhart and Noonan; and advocates of alternative disappearance theories. There are also radio interviews and a few movie soundtracks and miscellaneous items. The total running time of the collection is 13,209 minutes (220sca hours). This donation also includes a hard drive which holds 387 audio files in .mp3 or .mp4 format (each file is an interview with the possibility of multiple interviews per tape).
Arrangement:
Arrangement by donor.
Biographical / Historical:
Elgen Long collected oral recordings, both interviews and sound sources, while he was researching and writing his book, Amelia Earhart: The Mystery Solved which promotes the theory that Amelia Earhart's aircraft came to rest at the bottom of the ocean near Howland Island. These tapes were also used throughout Long's partnership with David W. Jourdan, founder of the deep-sea exploration company Nauticos, during their three attempts to locate Earhart's aircraft on the ocean floor (2002, 2006, and 2017).
Provenance:
David Jourdan, Gift, 2020, NASM.2020.0025
Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection items available for reproduction, but the Archives Center makes no guarantees concerning copyright restrictions. Other intellectual property rights may apply. Archives Center cost-recovery and use fees may apply when requesting reproductions.
Collection Citation:
Forman H. Craton Collection, 1902-1983, Archives Center, National Museum of American History.
This collection consists of correspondence, memos, newspaper articles and logbooks concerning the flight.
Arrangement:
The documents on the microfilm are only arranged by Record Groups and not chronologically. The material covers correspondence, memos, newspaper articles, logbooks, descriptions of the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC) aircraft, memos dealing with permission to overfly and photograph foreign countries, the flight route, pilot selection, aircraft selection, equipment and weather forecasts. The decision was made during the processing to arrange the photocopied documents by subject and then chronologically.
Historical note:
In 1924, the U.S. Army Air Service decided to attempt an around the world flight to prove that the airplane was a valuable and viable method of transportation and could therefore have a great impact on the world's future. The Douglas Aircraft Company was commissioned by the Army Air Service to build an aircraft for the flight. The result was the Douglas O-5 Observation Seaplane, which was referred to in 1924 as the Douglas World Cruiser (DWC). The O-5 grew out of the 1923 Douglas Observation Seaplane (DOS).
On April 6, 1924, four Army Air Service DWC Seaplanes departed from Seattle, Washington in an attempt to fly around the world. They were the: "Seattle", "Chicago", "Boston" and "New Orleans". The "Seattle" was delayed by a forced landing caused by engine trouble early on and was trying to catch up to the others when bad weather forced it off course. It crashed near Chignik, Alaska. The "Boston" suddenly lost oil pressure and had to land at sea between Orkney and Faroe Islands. Although the landing was successful, the "Boston" was damaged beyond repair during an attempt to hoist it on board the USS Richmond. At Pictou Harbor, Nova Scotia, the prototype aircraft arrived to join the remaining two and became the "Boston II". From there the planes flew on across the United States and landed at Sand Point Field in Seattle, Washington on September 28, 1924 having accomplished the 27,553-mile flight around the world.
Two of the World Cruisers still survive. The "New Orleans" (#4) is in the Air Force Museum at Dayton, Ohio. The "Chicago" (#2) is in the Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
Provenance:
National Archives, Purchase, 1971, XXXX-0152, unknown
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Topics: Air shows. George "Buck" Weaver's Aviation Activities. Progress of Waco Aircraft Company (advertisements). Letters. Travels. Personalities (including Katherine Stinson).
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Philip Van Horn (P. V. H.) Weems Papers, Accession 2012.0052, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.
Collection Citation:
Lee Ya-Ching Papers, NASM.2008.0009, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
"Some controversial points in aircraft design, by F.T. Hill. Low-powered flying, by M.E.A. Wright. Some Aspects of an attempt to fly around the world, by Maj W.T. Blake." Source: Institution of Aeronautical Engineers. Minutes of Proceedings #6. MID 217...
Collection Creator:
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base (Ohio) Search this
Container:
Box D692, Folder D52.16 / 51
Type:
Archival materials
Date:
Apr 1923
Scope and Contents:
Airplanes - Design; Airplanes - Light; Institution of Aeronautical Engineers - Minutes of Proceedings #6; Military intelligence Division - England 17671; Flight - Around-the-World - British;
Collection Restrictions:
No restrictions on access
Collection Rights:
Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests
