Oct. 5, 1931 Clyde Pangborn crash landed in a field outside of Wenatchee, Wa. It was the first time in human history that anyone had flown across the Pacific non-stop. It was incredibly difficult and dangerous. Pang was an amazing pilot, who started in the early days of barnstorming, and became a hero in WWII:
When the war broke out in Europe in late 1939, Pangborn joined the Royal Air Force and assisted in organizing the R. A. F. Ferry Command. He recruited pilots throughout the United States and Canada for the Ferry Command and Eagle Squadron. From 1941 through the end of the war in 1945, Pangborn served as Senior Captain, Royal Air Force Ferry Command during which time he made approximately 170 trans-ocean flights (crossing both the Atlantic and the Pacific). In 1942 he brought the first Lancaster heavy bomber to the United States for tests and later returned with the same aircraft and demonstrated it to United States Army Air Force and major aircraft builders throughout the U. S. and Canada. During his tour with the Ferry Command, Pangborn flew almost every type of multi-engine aircraft used during the war.Clyde Pangborn is buried in Arlington National Cemetery.
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