Date: 1-17-01
VOICE ONE:
THIS IS SHIRLEY GRIFFITH.
VOICE TWO:
AND THIS IS DOUG JOHNSON.
WITH THE VOA SPECIAL ENGLISH
PROGRAM, EXPLORATIONS.
TODAY WE TELL ABOUT A MAN WHO SET NEW
RECORDS WHEN HE FLEW HIS OWN AIRPLANE AROUND THE WORLD MORE THAN SIXTY YEARS AGO.
HIS NAME IS WILEY POST.
(((THEME)))
VOICE ONE:
IT WAS NINETEEN-THIRTY-THREE.
ONLY SIX YEARS EARLIER CHARLES
LINDBURGH BECAME FAMOUS AROUND THE WORLD AS THE FIRST PERSON TO
FLY ALONE ACROSS THE ATLANTIC OCEAN.
NOW, A YOUNG PILOT WAS
TRYING TO FLY ACROSS RUSSIA.
HE HAD LEFT MOSCOW SEVERAL HOURS
BEFORE.
ALL HE HEARD WAS THE SOUND OF THE ONE ENGINE THAT
POWERED HIS PLANE.
HOUR AFTER HOUR THE SAME SOUND.
NOW THE
WEATHER WAS BAD.
HE COULD NOT SEE MUCH AHEAD, ONLY THE FOG.
FLYING IN FOG IS VERY DANGEROUS.
YET THE SOUND OF THE ENGINE
MADE EVERYTHING SEEM WARM AND SAFE.
THEN, OUT OF THE FOG HE SAW
A MOUNTAIN.
HE HAD ONLY SECONDS TO BRING THE AIRPLANE UP.
IT
WAS A NARROW ESCAPE, ONE OF MANY HE WOULD HAVE DURING HIS LONG
FLIGHT.
VOICE TWO:
THE YOUNG PILOT WAS WILEY POST.
HE WAS TRYING TO FLY AROUND THE
WORLD BY HIMSELF.
HE MADE THE TRIP IN LESS THAN EIGHT DAYS.
HE
STOPPED ELEVEN TIMES FOR FUEL, FOOD AND A LITTLE SLEEP.
WILEY POST MADE HIS FAMOUS FLIGHT IN JULY, NINETEEN-THIRTY-THREE.
NOT MANY FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS EXISTED THAT COULD HELP HIM FIND HIS
WAY.
HE WAS ALONE, FIGHTING AGAINST SLEEP.
IF HE FELL ASLEEP HE
WOULD DIE.
(((MUSIC BRIDGE)))
VOICE ONE:
NOTHING IN WILEY POST'S EARLY YEARS SUGGESTS THAT HE WOULD BECOME
A FAMOUS PILOT.
HE WAS BORN IN GRAND SALINE, TEXAS, IN
EIGHTEEN-NINETY-EIGHT.
HIS FAMILY WERE FARMERS.
IN NINETEEN-THIRTEEN, WILEY SAW SOMETHING THAT FOREVER CHANGED
HIS LIFE -- AN AIRPLANE.
AFTER WATCHING THE PLANE FLY, YOUNG
WILEY WAITED UNTIL MOST PEOPLE HAD LEFT THE AREA.
HE THEN BEGAN
INSPECTING AND STUDYING THE PLANE.
HE MEASURED DIFFERENT PARTS
OF THE PLANE WITH HIS HANDS.
MANY YEARS LATER, WILEY POST WOULD
SAY THAT FIRST AIRPLANE WAS THE MOST WONDERFUL THING HE HAD EVER
SEEN.
VOICE TWO:
WILEY POST BEGAN TO STUDY EVERYTHING HE COULD FIND ABOUT FLYING.
HE BEGAN TO EDUCATE HIMSELF ABOUT SUBJECTS SUCH AS MATHEMATICS,
RADIO AND MACHINERY.
HIS SELF-EDUCATION WOULD CONTINUE THE REST
OF HIS LIFE.
POST FINALLY RODE IN AN AIRPLANE IN NINETEEN-NINETEEN AT THE
TIME, MANY PEOPLE BELIEVED ALL PILOTS WERE SPECIAL PEOPLE.
THEY
BELIEVED IT TOOK SPECIAL SKILLS AND COURAGE TO FLY AN AIRPLANE.
BUT AFTER HIS FIRST RIDE, WILEY POST KNEW THAT FLYING WAS
SOMETHING HE COULD LEARN TO DO.
VOICE ONE:
WILEY POST BEGAN HIS CAREER IN FLYING, NOT AS A PILOT, BUT AS A
PERFORMER WHO JUMPS FROM AIRPLANES USING A PARACHUTE.
HE DID
THIS WITH A GROUP THAT PERFORMED FLYING TRICKS TO EARN MONEY.
HE
JUMPED NINETY-NINE TIMES IN TWO YEARS WITH THE FLYING SHOW.
WHEN
HE WAS NOT JUMPING WITH A PARACHUTE, HE WAS BEING TAUGHT HOW TO
FLY BY PILOTS IN THE AIR SHOW.
BUT HE COULD NOT FLY AS OFTEN AS
HE LIKED.
VOICE TWO:
WILEY POST THEN DECIDED THE ONLY WAY TO BECOME A GOOD PILOT WAS
TO BUY AN AIRPLANE OF HIS OWN.
HE NEEDED MORE MONEY THAN HE
EARNED IN THE FLYING SHOW.
HE WENT TO WORK IN THE OIL PRODUCING
AREAS OF TEXAS.
BUT HE DAMAGED HIS LEFT EYE IN AN ACCIDENT.
DOCTORS HAD TO REMOVE HIS EYE.
AT FIRST, POST THOUGHT HIS DAYS AS A PILOT WERE ENDED.
A PILOT
NEEDS TO BE ABLE TO JUDGE DISTANCE.
JUDGING DISTANCE IS
DIFFICULT WITHOUT TWO EYES.
IT SEEMS IMPOSSIBLE TO TELL HOW BIG
OBJECTS ARE AND HOW FAR AWAY.
WILEY POST BEGAN TEACHING HIMSELF TO JUDGE DISTANCE WITH ONLY ONE
EYE.
HE WORKED HARD AT TRAINING HIS EYE AND BRAIN TO TELL THE
CORRECT DISTANCE.
IT TOOK A LONG TIME, BUT HE SUCCEEDED.
HE
CONTINUED TO FLY AND SOON BECAME A VERY GOOD PILOT.
VOICE ONE:
IN NINETEEN-TWENTY-EIGHT, HE GOT A JOB FLYING THE PLANE THAT
BELONGED TO A RICH OIL PRODUCER FROM OKLAHOMA.
THE MAN'S NAME
WAS F-C HALL.
HE BOUGHT A NEW AIRPLANE FOR POST TO FLY.
MISTER
HALL NAMED THE AIRPLANE THE "WINNIE MAE" AFTER ONE OF HIS
DAUGHTERS.
F-C HALL TOLD POST HE COULD USE THE PLANE TO ENTER FLIGHT
COMPETITIONS.
POST DID.
IN NINETEEN-THIRTY, HE ENTERED THE
NATIONAL AIR RACES.
THE RACE CALLED FOR FLYING WITHOUT STOPPING
FROM LOS ANGELES IN THE WESTERN STATE OF CALIFORNIA, TO THE CITY
OF CHICAGO, IN THE MIDDLE WESTERN STATE OF ILLINOIS.
POST WON THE RACE.
HE DEFEATED SEVERAL WELL KNOWN PILOTS.
IT
WAS THE FIRST TIME THE PUBLIC HEARD THE NAME WILEY POST.
VOICE TWO:
POST WAS NOT REALLY INTERESTED IN RACING AIRPLANES.
HE WANTED TO
BE THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY AROUND THE WORLD.
MANY PILOTS HAD
TALKED ABOUT TRYING TO MADE SUCH A FLIGHT.
BUT NO ONE HAD DONE
IT.
POST BELIEVED HE WOULD NEED SOMEONE TO HELP HIM IN THE EFFORT.
HE CHOSE AN AUSTRALIAN MAN, HAROLD GATTY, TO DO THE MATHEMATICS
THAT DECIDED THE PLANE'S DIRECTION.
POST WOULD FLY THE PLANE.
ON JUNE TWENTY-THIRD, NINETEEN-THIRTY-ONE, POST AND GATTY TOOK
OFF FROM ROOSEVELT FIELD IN NEW YORK.
THEY RETURNED TO ROOSEVELT
FIELD EIGHT DAYS, FIFTEEN HOURS AND FIFTY-ONE MINUTES LATER.
THEY HAD FLOWN AROUND THE WORLD.
VOICE ONE:
AT FIRST EVERY ONE WAS VERY HAPPY.
WILEY POST AND HAROLD GATTY
WERE HEROES.
THEN MANY PEOPLE BEGAN TO SAY THAT POST WAS NOTHING
MORE THAN AN AIRPLANE DRIVER BECAUSE HE HAD NO REAL EDUCATION.
THEY SAID GATTY WAS THE REAL HERO.
HE HAD GUIDED THE FLIGHT.
BOTH MEN KNEW THEY HAD MADE THE FLIGHT AS A TEAM.
OTHERS DID NOT
RECOGNIZE THIS.
THIS HURT POST.
WILEY POST BEGAN TO PLAN ANOTHER FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD.
THIS
TIME HE WOULD GO ALONE.
(((MUSIC BRIDGE)))
VOICE TWO:
WILEY POST KNEW THAT ANY EFFORT HAS A GOOD CHANCE OF SUCCESS IF
THE PERSON PLANNING THE TASK IS WELL PREPARED.
SO HE WORKED HARD
TO PREPARE WELL.
HE USED THE MOST MODERN EQUIPMENT POSSIBLE.
HE
MADE SURE THE ENGINE ON THE "WINNIE MAE" WAS PERFECT.
AND TO
PREPARE HIMSELF, HE WENT WITHOUT SLEEP FOR LONG PERIODS OF TIME.
ON JULY FIFTEENTH, NINETEEN-THIRTY-THREE, POST TOOK OFF FROM
FLOYD BENNETT FIELD IN NEW YORK.
HIS FIRST STOP WOULD BE BERLIN,
GERMANY.
HE LANDED IN BERLIN TWENTY-SIX HOURS LATER.
HE BECAME
THE FIRST PERSON TO FLY FROM NEW YORK TO BERLIN WITHOUT STOPPING.
VOICE ONE:
AFTER A LITTLE FOOD FOR HIMSELF AND FUEL FOR THE "WINNIE MAE,"
POST WAS ONCE AGAIN IN THE AIR.
THIS TIME HE WAS HEADED FOR
RUSSIA.
FOR LONG HOURS HE FLEW, LISTENING ONLY TO THE SOUND OF
HIS ENGINE.
OFTEN, THE WEATHER WAS SO BAD HE COULD NOT SEE WHERE
HE WAS.
AT ONE POINT HE CAME SO CLOSE TO RUNNING OUT OF GAS HE
CONSIDERED USING HIS PARACHUTE.
BUT AT THE LAST MINUTE HE FOUND
A PLACE TO LAND AND GET GAS.
THE FLIGHT ACROSS THE HUGE WIDTH OF RUSSIA WAS DIFFICULT.
HE
MADE SEVERAL STOPS FOR GAS AND A FEW HOURS REST BEFORE FLYING
ACROSS THE BERING SEA TO ALASKA.
VOICE TWO:
BY NOW, HE WAS VERY TIRED.
TO KEEP HIMSELF AWAKE AS HE FLEW EAST
DURING THE LONG NIGHT, POST TIED A PIECE OF STRING TO ONE FINGER.
THE OTHER END OF THE STRING WAS TIED TO A HEAVY AIRCRAFT TOOL.
HE HELD THE TOOL IN HIS HAND.
IF HE STARTED TO FALL ASLEEP, THE
TOOL WOULD FALL FROM HIS HAND.
THE STRING WOULD PULL HIS FINGER
AND WAKE HIM.
FROM FAIRBANKS, ALASKA, HE FLEW TO EDMONTON, CANADA AND THEN ON
TOWARD NEW YORK.
MORE THAN FIFTY-THOUSAND PEOPLE WAITED AT FLOYD BENNETT FIELD.
.
WILEY POST GENTLY LANDED THE "WINNIE MAE" LONG AFTER DARK.
HE
HAD FLOWN AROUND THE WORLD IN SEVEN DAYS, EIGHTEEN-HOURS AND
FORTY-NINE MINUTES.
THOUSANDS OF EXCITED PEOPLE RUSHED TOWARD THE PLANE.
WILEY POST
WAS A HERO.
HE HAD BECOME THE MOST FAMOUS PILOT IN AMERICA.
(((MUSIC BRIDGE)))
VOICE ONE:
IN NINETEEN-THIRTY-FIVE, ONLY TWO YEARS AFTER HIS AROUND THE
WORLD RECORD FLIGHT, WILEY POST WAS KILLED IN A FLYING ACCIDENT
IN ALASKA.
BEFORE POST'S DEATH, THE GOVERNMENT OF THE UNITED STATES HAD
BOUGHT THE "WINNIE MAE." IT IS OWNED BY THE SMITHSONIAN'S AIR
AND SPACE MUSEUM IN WASHINGTON D-C.
VOICE TWO:
MANY PILOTS HAVE FLOWN AROUND THE WORLD SINCE WILEY POST MADE HIS
FLIGHT.
HIS RECORD WAS FIRST BROKEN ONLY A FEW YEARS AFTER HIS
DEATH.
SINCE THAT TIME MANY RECORDS FOR THE TRIP HAVE BEEN MADE
AND BROKEN.
YET WHAT WILEY POST DID CAN NEVER REALLY BE DONE AGAIN.
NO PILOT
TODAY WOULD TRY TO MAKE THE FLIGHT IN AN AIRPLANE LIKE THE WINNIE
MAE.
NO ONE WOULD TRY IT WITH THE FLIGHT INSTRUMENTS HE USED.
AND, NO ON WOULD WANT TO COPY HIS FLIGHT AROUND THE WORLD .
.
.
ALONE.
(((THEME)))
VOICE ONE:
THIS SPECIAL ENGLISH PROGRAM WAS WRITTEN BY PAUL THOMPSON.
THIS
IS SHIRLEY GRIFFITH.
VOICE TWO:
AND THIS IS DOUG JOHNSON.
JOIN US AGAIN NEXT WEEK FOR ANOTHER
EXPLORATIONS PROGRAM ON THE VOICE OF AMERICA.