CAL RODGERS AND THE VIN FIZ. The First Transcontinental Flight

Traces the obstacles Cal Rodgers faced making the first flight from New York to California, only eight years after the Wright Brothers flew at Kitty Hawk

In quest of a $50,000 prize offered by William Randolph Hearst for a successful flight across the U.S., Cal Rodgers left New York on Sept. 17, 1911. Flying a plane built by the Wright brothers, and sponsored in his voyage by the Armour Company of Chicago (then introducing a new soft drink, "vin fiz"), he arrived in California on Nov. 5, missing out on the prize because he exceeded Hearst's time limit. But Rodgers's was the first successful transcontinental flight, traveled at about 60 miles an hour. This lively, informative look at flying just eight years after Kitty Hawk recreates both the fragility of the machine and the courage of its pilot. Since no reliable maps existed for aviators, Rodgers relied on railroad lines to guide him, and experienced two dozen breakdowns along the way. He was killed in a plane crash less than six months after his historic flight. Illustrated.
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.

In 1911, Rodgers became the first person to fly from one American coast to the other. Because he was accompanied by a small train carrying a machine shop and spare parts, and because it took him a total of 49 days--punctuated by dozens of crashes--the flight has often been dismissed. To be sure, it was part of a $50,000 contest, and the plane's name (Vin Fizz) was taken from a soft drink sold by its sponsor, the Armour Company, but it was the first transcontinental flight, and it stirred intense interest along its route. Lebow has done a nice job of putting the flight in the context of air meets and the awkward years of early flying, and there is a lot of colorful information. Research is admirable, using untapped family correspondence and photos. Well done.
- Roger E. Bilstein, Univ. of Houston-Clear Lake
Copyright 1989 Reed Business Information, Inc.