Transcontinental flight

A transcontinental flight is a non-stop passenger flight from one side of a continent to the other. The term usually refers to flights across the United States, between the East and West Coasts.

History The first transcontinental multi-stop flight across the United States was made in 1911 by Calbraith Perry Rodgers in an attempt to win the Hearst prize offered by publisher William Randolph Hearst. Hearst offered a $US50,000 prize to the first aviator to fly coast to coast, in either direction, in less than 30 days from start to finish. Previous attempts by James J. Ward and Henry Atwood had been unsuccessful.

Rodgers persuaded J. Ogden Armour, of Armour and Company, to sponsor the flight, and in return he named the plane after Armour's grape soft drink "Vin Fiz". Rodgers left from Sheepshead Bay, New York, on September 17, 1911, at 4:30 pm, carrying the first transcontinental mail pouch. He crossed the Rocky Mountains on November 5, 1911, and landed at Tournament Park in Pasadena, California, at 4:04 pm, in front of a crowd of 20,000 people. He had missed the prize deadline by 19 days. He was accompanied on the ground by a support crew that repaired and rebuilt the plane after each crash landing. The trip required 70 stops.

On December 10, 1911, Rodgers flew to Long Beach, California, and symbolically taxied his plane into the Pacific Ocean.

Timeline of early transcontinental flights 1911 – James J. Ward, failed attempt. 1911 – Henry Atwood, failed attempt. 1911 – Calbraith Perry Rodgers – Start: September 17, 1911, at 4:30 pm; finish: November 5, 1911. 1912 – Robert George Fowler – Start: September 11, 1911; finish: February 8, 1912. 1923 – First non-stop flight from Long Island, New York to Rockwell Field, San Diego by Lt. John Macready and Lt. Oakley Kelly in a Fokker T-2 1929 – The Buhl Airsedan "Spokane Sun-God" was the first aircraft to make a non-stop US transcontinental round-trip flight on August 15, 1929 (Nick Mamer and Art Walker flew it from Spokane, Washington, to New York City and back between August 15 and 21, 1929, taking 120 hours 1 minute 40 seconds). 1930 – Frank Hawks flew from San Diego to New York in a towed glider leaving San Diego March 30, 1930, and arriving in New York eight days later. 1932 – First scheduled cross-country through passenger flights (no change of plane). 1933 – Transcontinental passenger flights in as little as 20 hours on the Boeing 247. 1934 – First three-stop airline flights (TWA DC-2s). 1946 – First one-stop airline flights (United DC-4s and TWA Constellations). 1953 – First sustained nonstop airline flights (TWA may have flown some LA-NY nonstops in 1947). 1957 – First transcontinental flight to average supersonic speed. John Glenn flew from Naval Air Station Los Alamitos, California to Floyd Bennett Field, New York in 3 hours and 23 minutes.

Transcontinental air speed records In-flight and on-ground time are counted after the earliest flights

Year Date Time Direction Pilot Aircraft Notes and reference 1911 September 17 3 days, 10 hours, 14 minutes East to West Calbraith Perry Rodgers Vin Fiz Flyer The first transcontinental flight. It took fifty days (3 days, 10 hours, 14 minutes actual flying time). Rodgers made it in some seventy hops, flying a Wright biplane which was damaged and repaired so many times en route that nothing remained of the original machine at the finish but the drip pan and the vertical rudder. 1919 October 11 3 days, 3 hours, 5 minutes East to West Belvin Maynard DH-4 On the first leg of the "Transcontinental Air Race of 1919" which saw 33 planes cross the U.S. with 8 completing the round-trip (out of 67 which began the trip). Nine deaths occurred during what was officially the U.S. Army's "Transcontinental Reliability and Endurance Test"1922 September 4 21 hours, 19 minutes East to West Jimmy Doolittle DH-4 Pablo Beach, Florida, to San Diego, California, with only one refueling stop 1923 May 2–3 26 hours, 50 minutes, 38.4 seconds East to West Lt John A. Macready and Lt Oakley G. Kelly Fokker T-2 First nonstop transcontinental flight: Roosevelt Field, Long Island to Rockwell Field, North Island, San Diego. Longest straight-line distance covered nonstop until then 1924 June 23 20 hours, 48 minutes East to West Russell Maughan Curtiss P-1 Hawk First transcontinental flight "during hours of daylight". New York City to San Francisco, average speed 128 miles per hour 1929 February 418 hours 22 minutesWest to East Frank Hawks Lockheed Air Express Los Angeles Van Nuys to New York Roosevelt Field nonstop, 2481 miles, with mechanic/fueller Oscar Grubb 1929 June 27 19 hours, 10 minutes East to West Frank Hawks Lockheed Air Express Roosevelt Field, Long Island to Los Angeles (Van Nuys) nonstopKinert 1967, p. 57 1929 June 28 17 hours, 36 minutes West to East Frank Hawks Lockheed Air Express Los Angeles (Van Nuys) to Roosevelt Field, Long Island nonstop 1929 August 15 120 hr 1 min 40 sec West to East and East to West Nick Mamer and Art Walker Buhl Airsedan "Spokane Sun-God" First non-stop transcontinental round-trip flight from Spokane, Washington to New York City and back 1930 April 20 14 hr 45 minWest to East Charles A. Lindbergh Lockheed Sirius Los Angeles (Glendale) to New York Roosevelt Field, one stopLockheed Sirius "Tingmissartoq", Charles A. Lindbergh National Air and Space Museum 1930 May 27 18 hr 43 minEast to West Roscoe Turner Lockheed Air ExpressRoosevelt Field, Long Island to Los Angeles (Glendale), one stopKinert 1967, p. 70 1930 August 13 12 hr 25 minWest to EastFrank Hawks Travel Air "Mystery S" Los Angeles (Glendale) to Valley Stream, Long Island; three stops"Behind the name of Captain Frank M. Hawks, in aviation's record book today is set down the time of 12 hours, 25 minutes, 3 seconds for an eastward transcontinental flight, the fastest ever flown by man over the distance of 2,500 miles." Newark Advocate, Newark, Ohio, August 15, 1930; Valley Stream, New York; August 14, 1930 (Associated Press)1931September 411 hr 16 min 10 secWest to East Jimmy Doolittle 1931 Laird Super Solution Burbank CA to Newark NJ, three stops 1932August 2910 hr 19 minWest to East Jimmy Haizlip Wedell-Williams Model 44 Burbank to New York Floyd Bennett; two stops. Completed after winning the 2nd annual Bendix Trophy race.Glines 1995, p. 1541932November 1412 hr 33 minEast to WestRoscoe TurnerWedell-Williams Model 44New York Floyd Bennett to Burbank, California; three stopsGlines 1995, p. 1551933July 111 hr 30 minEast to WestRoscoe TurnerWedell-Williams Model 44New York Floyd Bennett to Burbank, California; four stopsGlines 1995, p. 1591933September 24–2510 hr 5 min 30 secWest to EastRoscoe Turner Wedell-Williams Model 44 Burbank, California to New York Floyd Bennett; two stopsGlines 1995, p. 1661936 January 13 9 hr 27 min 10sec West to East Howard Hughes Northrop Gamma Burbank, California to Newark, New Jersey nonstop 1937 January 19 7 hr 28 min 25 secWest to EastHoward HughesHughes H-1 Racer nonstop Burbank, California to overhead Newark Airport, NJ; 2445 miles 1939 February 11 7 hr ? min West to East Benjamin S. Kelsey XP-38 7 hr 43 min March Field, California to overhead Mitchel Field, New York including 41 min on ground at Amarillo and Dayton 1945 January 96 hr 4 minWest to East Curtin L. Reinhardt C-97 Stratofreighter Seattle to Washington, D.C., average speed 383 mph 1945 May 15 hr 40 minWest to East Najeeb Halaby Lockheed YP-80 Shooting Star Muroc AFB to Patuxent River NAS 1945 December 8 5 hr 17 min West to East Glen Edwards and Lt. Col. Henry E. Warden XB-42 Mixmaster Captain Glen Edwards and Lt. Col. Henry E. Warden set a transcontinental record flying the XB-42 from Long Beach, California to Bolling Field in Washington DC (2301 miles) in 5 hours 17 minutes, average 435 mph . 1945 December 115 hr 27 min 8 secWest to EastCol C. S. IrvineBoeing B-29 Burbank, California to overhead Floyd Bennett Field, New York; average 450 mph for 2459 miles1946 January 264 hr 13 min 26 secWest to East Col W. H. Councill Lockheed P-80 Long Beach, California to overhead La Guardia Airport, New York; 2460 miles nonstop, unrefuelled1947 September 37 hr 00 min 04 secEast to WestPaul MantzNorth American P-51La Guardia Airport, NY to Burbank, California, 2459 miles1949 February 56 hr 17 min 39 secWest to EastFred DavisLockheed L649Delivery flight of Eastern Air Lines Constellation, Burbank to La Guardia1949February 8 3 hr 46 min West to East B-47 Stratojet Larson AFB, Moses Lake, Washington to Andrews AFB near Washington DC, 607.8 mph average 1950January 224 hr 53 minWest to EastPaul MantzP-51CBurbank to passing La Guardia, average 503 mph1954January 24 hr 8 min 5 secWest to EastCol Willard Millikan North American F-86F Los Angeles LAX to overhead New York Floyd Bennett, 2468 miles; time includes fuel stop at Offutt AFB1954March 304 hr 24 min 17 secWest to EastJoe DeBona North American P-51C Los Angeles LAX nonstop to New York Idlewild, 2474 miles – still the prop record (560 mph)1954April 13 hr 45 min 30 secWest to EastLtCdr Francis BradyGrumman F9F-7 CougarSan Diego North Island to New York Floyd Bennett, 2442 miles, nonstop, one aerial refuelling1955March 93 hr 46 min 33.6 secWest to EastLt Col Robert Scott Republic F-84F Los Angeles LAX to overhead New York Floyd Bennett, 2468 miles; two aerial refuellings1955May 215 hr 28 minEast to WestLieut John ConroyNorth American F-86New York Mitchel Field to Los Angeles Van Nuys, 2481 miles, three stops1957March 215 hr 15 minEast to WestCdr Dale CoxDouglas A3Dnonstop unrefuelled New York Floyd Bennett to Los Angeles LAX1957March 23 3 hr 39 min 24 secWest to East Douglas A3D Burbank CA to overhead Miami MCAS, FL1957May 193 hr 38 minWest to East N American F-100F Palmdale CA to McGuire AFB, NJ1957July 163 hr 23 min 8.4 sec West to East Major John H. Glenn, Jr., USMC Vought F8U-1P Crusader "Project Bullet" non-stop from NAS Los Alamitos, California 2455 miles to Floyd Bennett Field, New York averaging Mach 1.1, despite three refuelings from AJ piston-engine tankers during which speed dropped below 300 mph. Glenn's on-board reconnaissance camera recorded the first continuous panoramic photograph of the United States.1957 November 27 3 hr 5 min 39.2 secWest to EastLieutenant Gustav KlattF-101 Voodoo "Operation Sun Run", RF-101C refuelled four times by KC-135s; Ontario, California to overhead Floyd Bennett Field, New York, 781.7 mph 1961 May 24 2 hr 47 min 18 secWest to East Lieutenant Richard F. Gordon, Jr., U.S. Navy McDonnell F4H Ontario, California to overhead Floyd Bennett Field, New York; three aerial refuellings from A3Ds1962 March 5 2 hr 1 min 39 secWest to EastRobert G. Sowers Convair B-58 overhead Los Angeles to overhead New York; one aerial refuelling1990 March 6 1 hr 7 min 53.69 sec West to East Lt Col Ed Yeilding and Lt Col Joseph T. Vida SR-71A Blackbird 61-7972 On delivery flight to the Smithsonian Institution, where the aircraft is now on display at the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy center, this SR-71 set the current transcontinental record. Yeilding and Vida crossed the west coast near Ventura, CA and, 2,404.5 miles later, crossed the east coast near Salisbury, MD averaging 2,124.51 mph 2003February 52 hr 56 min 20 secWest to EastSteve Fossett, Douglas TravisCessna Citation XSan Diego to Charleston SC, 2150 great-circle miles; fastest transcon flight by a subsonic aircraft2003February 63 hr 51 min 52 secWest to EastSteve Fossett, Joseph RitchiePiaggio AvantiSan Diego to Charleston SC; fastest transcon flight by a turboprop 2003 November 53 hr 55 min 12 secEast to West Mike Bannister and Les Broadie Concorde G-BOAG Flying to museum at retirement of the aircraft, New York to Seattle

Junior transcontinental air speed record For the junior record only in-flight time is counted at a certain speed