• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to footer
Zippy Facts Logo

Zippy Facts

Interesting Random Facts

  • Animals
  • Culture
  • Firsts
  • Food
  • Geography
  • Health
  • History
  • Inventions
  • Language
  • Mythology
  • Odds
  • People
  • Religion
  • Science
  • Space
  • Universe
  • World
You are here: Home / People / Who Was The First Person To Fly Across America?

Who Was The First Person To Fly Across America?

July 20, 2020 by Karen Hill

In 1911, nobody had ever flown across America in an airplane. A motorcycle driver named Calbraith P. Rodgers decided to try to make the trip even though he had had only 70 hours training as a pilot.

His airplane was owned by the manufacturer of a popular soft drink and was called the Vin Fizz. When Rodgers left New York in the little airplane, he was followed by a railroad train made up of three cars.

It carried a load of spare parts for the Vin Fizz along with members of Rodgers’ family who were there to cheer him on. Of course, no one expected him to fly nonstop from New York to California.

In 1911, that was out of the question. However, nobody expected Rodgers to make quite as many stops as he did. He crashed 19 times between his take off in New York and his landing in California. He spent 82 hours in the air, traveling a distance of 3,417 miles.

Not only was Rodger’s leg in a cast when he landed, but so much of the original Vin Fizz had been replaced as a result of all those crashes that it was almost a different airplane.

Related Facts

  • How do Infectious Diseases spread on Airplanes and How are they prevented?
  • Which Explorers First Explored the Continents of the World?
  • Why Does the Paradox of Zeno of Elea Say That an Object In Motion Is Also Stationary and What Does It Mean?
  • Was Charles Lindbergh the First Person To Fly across the Atlantic Ocean?
  • What was the European Age of Exploration?
  • How Do Big Airplanes Fly When They Are So Heavy?

Filed Under: People

About Karen Hill

Karen Hill is a freelance writer, editor, and columnist. Born in New York, her work has appeared in the Examiner, Yahoo News, Buzzfeed, among others.

Previous Post: « In Which Country Do Kids Hate School the Most?
Next Post: Who Started The Macaroni Club In England? »

Footer

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Flickr
  • GitHub
  • Google+
  • Instagram
  • LinkedIn
  • Medium
  • Pinterest
  • StumbleUpon
  • Tumblr
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Categories

Accomplishments Animals Culture Firsts Food Geography Health History Inventions Language Mythology Odds People Religion Science Space Universe World Your Body

About

Zippy Facts empowers the world by serving educational content that is accessible to everyone.

A tribute to growing up, zippyfacts.com showcases interesting and unusual facts about the world.

Our mission is to use technology to facilitate knowledge transfer and sharing.

Copyright © 2020 Zippy Facts

  • About Us
  • Contact
  • Privacy Policy