Wiley Post

Wiley Hardeman Post (November 22, 1898 – August 15, 1935) was an American aviator during the interwar period and the first pilot to fly solo around the world.Post's Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center from 2003 to 2011.It is now featured in the "Time and Navigation" gallery on the second floor of the National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.. Post was born to parents who cultivated cotton on a farm near Grand Saline, Texas.[1] Post's aviation career began at age 26 as a parachutist for a flying circus, Burrell Tibbs and His Texas Topnotch Fliers, and he became well known on the barnstorming circuit.On June 23, 1931, Post and the Australian navigator Harold Gatty left Roosevelt Field on Long Island, New York, in the Winnie Mae with a flight plan that would take them around the world, stopping at Harbour Grace, Flintshire, Hanover twice, Berlin, Moscow, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Blagoveshchensk, Khabarovsk, Nome (where his propeller had to be repaired), Fairbanks (where the propeller was replaced), Edmonton, and Cleveland before returning to Roosevelt Field.[9] They arrived back on July 1, after traveling 15,474 miles (24,903 km) in the record time of 8 days and 15 hours and 51 minutes, in the first successful aerial circumnavigation by a single-engined monoplane.They had lunch at the White House on July 7, rode in a ticker-tape parade the next day in New York City, and were honored at a banquet given by the Aeronautical Chamber of Commerce of America at the Hotel Astor.[10] After the record-setting flight, Post wanted to open his own aeronautical school, but could not raise enough financial support because of doubts many had about his rural background and limited formal education.Over the next year, he improved his aircraft by installing an autopilot device and a radio direction finder, that were in their final stages of development by the Sperry Gyroscope Company and the United States Army.[citation needed] In 1933, Post repeated his flight around the world, this time using the auto-pilot and compass in place of his navigator and becoming the first to accomplish the feat alone.Between February 22 and June 15, 1935, Post made four unsuccessful attempts to complete the first high altitude non-stop flight from Los Angeles to New York, all of which failed for various mechanical reasons.[citation needed] In 1935, Post became interested in surveying a mail-and-passenger air route from the West Coast of the United States to Russia.Lockheed refused to make the modifications Post requested, on the grounds that the two designs were incompatible and potentially a dangerous mix, so he made the changes himself.[16] After making a test flight in July, Post and Rogers left Lake Washington, near Seattle, in early August and made several stops in Alaska.No longer owned by the federal government, Wiley Post Road remains, connecting Bandini Boulevard and Lindbergh Lane in Bell, California.
Winnie Mae , Wiley Post's Lockheed Vega when it was on display at the Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center
Wiley Post with Harold Gatty in Germany, 1931
Post in his third pressure suit
A cover flown by Post on all four of his attempts to make the first high altitude non-stop transcontinental flight from Los Angeles to New York, February–June 1935
Post with Will Rogers, August 1935
The gravestone of Post
Wiley Post AirportWally PostCorinth, Van Zandt County, TexasPoint BarrowTerritory of AlaskaAviatorWinnie MaeLockheed VegaSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Centerinterwar periodpressure suitsjet streamWill Rogerscrashed on takeoffNational Air and Space MuseumWashington, D.C.Grand Saline, TexasMaysville, OklahomaLawton, OklahomaPusher typeSweeney Automobile and Aviation SchoolKansas CityroughneckOklahoma State ReformatorybarnstormingHarold Gattythe recordGraf ZeppelinHugo EckenerRoosevelt FieldLong Island, New YorkHarbour GraceFlintshireHanoverBerlinMoscowNovosibirskIrkutskBlagoveshchenskKhabarovskFairbanksEdmontonClevelandCharles LindberghWhite Houseticker-tape paradeHotel Astorautopilotradio direction finderSperry Gyroscope CompanyUnited States ArmycompassFloyd Bennett FieldKönigsbergRukhlovoFrank PhillipsPhillips Petroleum CompanyB.F. Goodrich Companypressure suitearphonesthroat microphoneEdwards AFBcoversTranscontinental & Western Air, IncLockheed OrionLockheed ExplorerfloatsAlaskaSiberiaLockheedBurbank, CaliforniaBryan SterlingLake WashingtonSeattleOklahoma City, OklahomaSmithsonian Institutioncrash siteNational Register of Historic PlacesWiley Post–Will Rogers Memorial AirportUtqiagvik, Alaskareliever airportOklahoma City's major commercial airportOklahoma CityWill Rogers – Wiley Post Memorial Seaplane BaseseaplaneRenton Municipal AirportRenton, WashingtonArmy Air ForcesUnited States Air ForceCheli Air Force StationCaliforniaDistinguished Flying CrossInternational Harmon TrophyNational Aviation Hall of FameWright Brothers National MemorialInternational Air & Space Hall of FameSan Diego Air & Space MuseumUnited States Postal ServiceairmailstampsOklahoma Hall of FameBritish Air Transport (painting)Wayback Machine