I was recently shown the enclosed photograph and was asked if I could get any information on it. The photo is captioned “First round the world flight. Picked up in sea by RMS OLYMPIC 800 mls. east of Nantucket Lightship. Pilot Wiley Post”
I am assuming that one of the gentlemen stood by the aircraft is indeed Wiley Post (possibly the suited gentleman ?), and the aircraft is marked “City of New York Round the World”.
I have done a search on the net and can find no mention regarding this flight. The RMS Olympic was in service from 1911 to 1935, also, Wiley Post lost an eye and had to wear a patch in 1926. So, if everything and everybody is who they say they are I assume the dates would be somewhere between 1911 tp 1926.
So I am looking to find out if indeed one of these gents is Wiley Post, if so, which one.
The aircraft type and, if possible, the registration.
The date of the flight and/or the rescue date by RMS Olympic
Also, would anyone know anything about the signature at the bottom of the picture ?, unfortunately I cannot read it and it may not have anything to do with the flight but possibly something to do with the ships crew etc.
Any information received would be appreciated.[ATTACH=CONFIG]224569[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]224570[/ATTACH]
By: blackcat54 - 17th January 2014 at 23:04
Luc, John, Bager thats brilliant. Thanks for all the information you have supplied I shall pass it all on……………Thanks again
By: Bager1968 - 17th January 2014 at 04:38
This site positively identifies the aircraft, noting that the name “City of New York” was painted on the side, and providing photos of this:
http://www.dmairfield.com/airplanes/NX5501/index.html
The text notes
The annotation on the original photograph states, ” Fairchild FC-2W, P&W R-1340 “Wasp” 410HP, NX5501 c/n 86, ‘The City of New York’, John Mears and Charles Collyer’s, ‘Round-the-World’ in 23 days, 15 hours at Bettis Field 7/21/28.”
The article also notes that it was actually a FC-2W2, not a -2W (the -2W2 had a 2-foot fuselage extension which is noted as being discernible in the photo).
The guy in the light-colored suit looks a lot like Moggy C!
By: Bager1968 - 17th January 2014 at 04:28
Wiley Post’s two “round-the-world” flights were both in Winnie Mae, the first in 1931 with Harold Gatty as navigator and the second in 1933 with no one else in the aircraft at all, becoming the first to circumnavigate the world “solo”.
By: LucW - 16th January 2014 at 08:09
Hi Blackcat54,
Here is what I have about this photo :
” In June and July 1928, John Mears and Charles Collyer made the fastest trip round the world by sea and air. They took 23 days and 15 hours using a Fairchild FC-2W-1 NX5501 for the air travel.
This specific aircraft did not fly transoceanic, instead it was disassembled and shipped across the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. “
The signature might be of “John Henry Mears” .
Hope it helps.
Cheers,
Luc
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January 15, 2014 at 10:15 pm