Wiley Post
When Post and Gatty returned to New York on July 1, 1931, they had circled the globe in 8D
15H 51M setting a round-the-world record.
In 1933, Post repeated his round-the-world flight, but this time did it solo, with the aid
of an auto-pilot and radio compass. In the interim between 1931 and 1933, he had improved the
"Winnie Mae" by installing an auto-pilot made by the Sperry Gyroscope Company and a radio
direction-finder which homed in on target radio stations.
He took off from New York's Floyd Bennett Field on July 15, bound, non-stop, for Berlin.
Despite bad weather over the Atlantic, he made it in 26H, setting a record for a New York to
Berlin flight. After a couple false starts, he departed Germany, only to be forced down in
Moscow by trouble with his auto-pilot. While more repairs were needed in Novosibirsk and
Irkutsk, he reached Khabarovsk, Siberia 10H ahead of his previous record.
In Alaska, his radio direction-finder malfunctioned, and he got lost. He hit the Alaska
Coast, and followed it down to Bethel where he refueled. From there hopped over the Alaska
Range and went toward Anchorage and touched down at a 700-foot landing strip in Flat, Alaska.
He smashed his prop and right landing gear in the process.
Some local miners repaired the aircraft, and the prop was flown to Fairbanks to be
straightened. After repairs, Post continued on to Edmonton, Canada arriving there on July
22nd. He then flew over 2000 miles non-stop to New York. 50,000 people greeted him when he
landed back at Floyd Bennett Field on July 22, 1933. He set a record for a solo
round-the-world flight only making eleven stops, despite some major mishaps.
He had knocked 21H off his previous record, completing the solo round-the-world flight in
7D 19H.
