Maricopa hosted first transcontinental flights in 1911

Following hot in the footprints of the Wright brothers, Calbraith Perry “Cal” Rodgers enrolled in their flying school.  After only one hour and a half of instructions, Rodgers made his first solo. Within a few weeks, he entered and won several air meets, taking home thousands of dollars. 

In 1911 William R. Hearst offered a $50,000 prize to the first person who completed the first transcontinental flight in the United States.  The rules stated that the flight must be completed within 30 days, and by Oct. 10, 1911.

Rodgers, along with eight other pilots, entered the race. All eventually dropped out except Cal Rodgers and Robert G. Fowler. Fowler chose the West-East flight from the coast of California, and Rodgers’ flight was East-West (New York) across the United States following the Southern Pacific Railroad tracks to the west coast (California). Both pilots landed in Maricopa, and both finished the race.

Rodgers’ biplane was built by the Wright Brothers and called the Wright EX (experimental). It was the only one of its kind ever built. It weighed 903 pounds and consisted of two propellers driven by a bicycle chain, which was connected to a 4-cylinder, 4-cycle water-cooled engine. The engine was capable of producing 30 horsepower, had no throttle and only two speeds-which were wide open and stop. It could fly 55 miles per hour and had a gas tank that held 15 gallons. 

After the completion of the transcontinental flight, the only original parts left from Rodgers’ plane, the Vin Fiz, were the rudder, oil drip pan and the bottle of grape Vin Fiz.  The Vin Fiz was a new grape soft drink that Ogden Armour Corporation of Chicago paid Rodgers three to five dollars per mile flown to promote for a total of $23,000. Armour also financed a three-car train equipped with a complete mechanic crew and all necessary tools, fuel, parts and supplies needed to rebuild the plane twice if needed along the way. The Vin Fiz drink was advertised on the plane as well as the “special” train that Armour supplied to accompany it. Today, the Vin Fiz hangs in the National Air and Space Museum in Washington D.C.

The plan for both planes was to follow the railroad tracks from ocean to ocean.  This event was hyped-up and promoted by newspapers across the nation. People from coast to coast read about its progress and waited with great enthusiasm and anticipation for the plane’s arrival, with eyes often turned skyward searching for the aircrafts. 

After at least 16 crashes, including one in the midst of a chicken coop and another when Rodgers was thrown from the plane and after several hospital visits, he landed in Maricopa. The engine was spurting oil, and Rodgers decided he would stop in Maricopa and have the mechanics examine it. While in Maricopa, he discovered that four rollers on a chain were broken. Rodgers sent telegrams along the trip to the Editor of the New Times. On Nov. 1, 1911, he described his landing in Maricopa. “The sun goes down very early out here and then it is quite dark. The sun set behind the mountain at 4:30 causing some anxiety, as I could not tell how far I had to go or what kind of place I had to land upon at Maricopa. I arrived just as darkness came and the moon helped me out. I sighted Maricopa and was glad to see it, as it is very hard flying here on account of the sage brush and the cactus. I landed here at 5 o’clock and plan to leave here at 8 o’clock in the morning for Phoenix.” 

However, their train had developed trouble, too, and everyone had to wait in Maricopa overnight for a new locomotive to arrive before continuing their journey. After the locomotive arrived for the train, the conductor allowed a stranded traveling circus to hitch up their boxcar. A spokesperson for The Special remarked later, “We have a lot in common with a traveling circus.”
 
After spending the night in Maricopa, Rodgers flew into Phoenix the next morning for a short exhibition.  However, he was unable to make a planned landing because of the crowds. People, not accustomed to the space needed for landing this new flying machine, had plagued him all across the country. He had experienced more than one crash in his efforts to avoid them. After several maneuvers, he was able to bring the plane down in a field next to the Territorial Fairgrounds. The next morning saw him skyward again and on his way to Yuma and Pasadena.  Newspapers reported over 20,000 people along the waterfront of Pasadena and again at Long Beach, anticipating his arrival and eager to help celebrate his great achievement. 

After 49 days and a distance of 3,417 miles by rail, or 2,567 miles by air, Rodgers completed the first transcontinental flight from New York to Pasadena, California. His actual flying time was three days, 10 hours, and 14 minutes. The average speed was 52 miles per hour. 

Unfortunately, five months later, Rodgers lost his life while soaring off the Long Beach coast straight into the path of a flock of sea gulls that caused his plane to crash.  He was not able to walk away from this disaster, nor were the doctors able to repair his broken body and neck. The brave young man with his flying machine succumbed to his injuries on April 12, 1912. 

Robert Fowler was the second pilot to cross the continent, and the first to do so by flying west to east.  Fowler also landed in Maricopa. He remained in the air over Maricopa for 40 minutes before landing, setting a briefly held sustained flight record. 

Note: The airplane in the photo is a ca. 1920s airplane. Several of these flying machines landed in Maricopa during the early days of the 1900s to the great delight of its citizens. Monty O’Tool flew into Maricopa in his monoplane in 1927 and offered to take Marjorie and Paul Deal for a ride when they were only four and three years old. According to Paul, this was one of his most memorable moments of growing up in Maricopa. He is still amazed his mother allowed her young children this adventure. 

Submitted photo

Editor’s note:  Maricopa factoids are a regular feature on InMaricopa.com. They are provided by the Maricopa Historical Society, a branch of the Friends of the Maricopa Public Library. Most of the photos and information come from “Reflections of a Desert Town” by author and historical society chairperson Patricia Brock.