Oct. 5- Anniversary of Clyde Pangborn's Historic Non-Stop Trans-Pacific Flight

Oct. 5, 1931 was the first time an aviator ever flew non-stop across the Pacific Ocean. That aviator was Clyde Edward Pangborn, native of Bridgeport, Washington, along with his not very able co-pilot, Hugh Herndon. And he did it without any sort of spells, charms, or other magical intervention.  From Wikipedia:

With their eyes on a $25,000 prize, Pangborn and Herndon next decided to attempt the first nonstop trans-Pacific flight. They flew from Siberia to Japan in preparation. In the spirit of documentation, Herndon took several still pictures as well as some 16mm motion pictures, which included some of Japan's naval installations. Because of the photography, combined with their inadequate documentation to enter the country (a fact they hadn't been aware of), the men were jailed. They were eventually released with a $1000 fine, but they were allowed only one chance to take off in Miss Veedol; if they returned to Japan, the plane would be confiscated and the men would return to prison.

Other complications hampered the flight. Pangborn and Herndon's maps and charts were stolen by a Japanese nationalist group who wanted a Japanese pilot to be the first to complete the endeavor. They also had extremely precise calculations for their flight, leaving no room for error; Miss Veedol had to be overweighted with fuel, way beyond the manufacturer's recommendation (650 gallons stock was expanded to 950 gallons), and they would need to abandon their landing gear after take-off to reducedrag.

Pangborn and Herndon finally took off on October 4, 1931 from Sabishiro Beach, Misawa, Aomori, Japan. Their destination was Seattle, Washington, just under 5500 miles (8500 km) away, a distance exceeding Charles Lindbergh's flight from New York to Paris by 2000 miles. Immediately after take-off, a problem arose: the device intended to jettison the landing gear partially failed. The gear was ejected, but the two root struts remained. Pangborn was forced to climb out on the wing supports barefoot at 14,000 feet in the air to remove the struts.

Due to fog in both Seattle and Spokane, Washington, Pangborn and Herndon landed in Fancher Field in East Wenatchee, Washington on October 5, 1931, after 41 hours and 15 minutes of flying. A memorial to the historic flight is located near the landing site, and a propeller damaged from the landing is on display in a Wenatchee museum. The regional airport, Pangborn Memorial (EAT) in East Wenatchee, also honors his accomplishment.

The Miss Veedol was trucked to Seattle where her landing gear was replaced. Pangborn and Herndon left from Seattle and continued to New York to complete their world flight. Although news of the flight did circulate, Pangborn did not receive much financial benefit as a result; however, he continued to fly as an airmail pilot, air racer, and a test and demonstration pilot.