The Journey of Flight.pdf - Valkyrie Cadet

The NC-1 came down after flying 850 miles. It was badly damaged in the landing and began to
break up in the water. A steamship rescued the crew. A naval destroyer tried to take the plane in tow,
but it sank.
Commander Read, in the NC-4, kept to the air and came roaring down into the harbor of Horta,
Azores, 15 hours and 18 minutes after leaving Trepassey.
On May 20, 1919, Commander Read and his crew flew on to Ponta Delgada, a 1-hour and 44minute
flight. On May 27, they flew on to Lisbon, Portugal, reaching there in 9 hours and 43 minutes.
The total flying time for the Atlantic crossing Newfoundland to Portugal, was 26 hours and 45 minutes.
Sikorsky S-38C Flying Boat. (EAA)
On May 30, the NC-4 proceeded up the coast with stops at the Mondego River and at Ferrol, Spain.
The next morning they landed at Plymouth near the spot where the Mayflower had moored 300 years
before. The total airline distance from Rockaway was 3,936 miles. The total flying time was 52 hours
and 31 minutes. This was the first transatlantic crossing. Amazingly, just 2 weeks later, the first nonstop
crossing of the Atlantic was made.
In 1913, the London Daily Mail made a standing offer of $50,000 to the crew of the first airplane
that could make a nonstop crossing of the Atlantic, starting from either side, and lasting no longer than
72 hours. Because of the war, no one attempted to win the prize until the spring of 1919. The first team
to make the attempt was Harry Hawker, an Austrian war hero, and his navigator, Lieutenant Commander
Kenneth McKenzie-Grieve of the Royal Navy. Their attempt ended in failure.
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