Wiley Post

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 ? August 15, 1935) gained international fame as the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His plywood airplane, the Winnie Mae, and his pressure suit are displayed at the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, DC, USA. On August 15, 1935, Post and American humorist Will Rogers were killed when Post's plane crashed on takeoff from a lagoon near Point Barrow, in Alaska.

Final flight

Post became interested in 1935 in surveying a mail-and-passenger air route from the West Coast of the United States to Russia. Short on cash, he built a plane using parts salvaged from two wrecks and planned to add pontoons for landing in the lakes of Alaska and Siberia. His friend Will Rogers often visited him at the airport in Burbank, California while he was building the plane and asked Post to fly him through Alaska in search of new material for his newspaper column. When the pontoons Post had ordered did not arrive, he used a set that was designed for a much larger plane, making his plane dangerously heavy, especially when further loaded down with hunting and fishing equipment. After making a test flight in July, Post and Rogers left Seattle in the plane in early August. While Post piloted the plane, Rogers wrote his columns on his typewriter. A few miles from Point Barrow, Alaska, they became lost in bad weather and landed in a lagoon to ask directions. The engine quit when they tried to take off again, and the plane plunged into the lagoon, tearing off the right wing, and killing both men instantly.

Related Topics:
United States - Russia - Alaska - Siberia - Burbank, California - Seattle

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