Pangborn-Herndon 1931 Flight
In October 1931, Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, Jr. became the first two individuals in history to fly across the Pacific non-stop.
Flight Planning
In 1931, Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, Jr. wanted to break the record for fastest flight around the world - currently set by the airship Graf Zeppelin in 1929 at 20 days and 4 hours.
Herndon's family supplied the funds necessary for the flight, which the pair used to form the Around The World Corporation and purchase a custom made Bellanca J-30 Long Distance Special direct from the factory. They named the bright red aircraft Miss Veedol, after the motor oil brand Veedol. Veedol was manufactured by the Tidewater Oil Company, which Herndon's family owned.
They spent the next several weeks planning the flight. During this period, the record was broken by Wiley Post and Harold Gatty with a time of 8 hours and 15 minutes.
Pangborn and Herndon decided to attempt the flight anyway.
1931 Flight
Attempted Circumnagivation Record
Pangborn and Herndon's attempt to break the record for fastest flight around the world. Their attempt was not successful.
On July 28, Pangborn and Herndon took off on the first leg of their flight from Roosevelt Field No. 2 in New York.
They made stops in Wales, London, Berlin, Moscow, Novosibirsk, and Khabarovsk before abandoning their attempt on August 3.
Note: Every marker on the above map contains specific details about the flight.
Abandoned Circumnavigation Attempt
While in Khabarovsk, Pangborn and Herndon learned of a $25,000 prize being offered by the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, for the first non-stop flight across the Pacific.
They sent a wire to their New York office to arrange proper landing papers and clearance to fly to Tokyo.
Flight to Tokyo
Assuming their office had arranged the necessary authorization to land in Japan, Pangborn and Herndon quickly took advantage of a break in the weather and departed for Tokyo on August 3.
Over Hokkaido island, Herndon took photographs with a still and 16 mm movie camera, some of which were Japanese naval bases.
The pair landed at a huge military airport under construction, where workers directed them to Tachikawa Airport in Tokyo.
Arrest & Release
Upon landing at Tachikawa Airport, they were placed under arrest for having no papers and for photographing military installations.
After intervention by the U.S. State Department and intensive questioning by Japanese officials, Pangborn and Herndon were fined $1,050 each (over $20,000 today) then released.
After being released, Japanese authorities gave Pangborn and Herndon permission to attempt the non-stop flight across the Pacific.
However, they would only be allowed one attempt. If they are unable to take off, or are forced to return after takeoff, the authorities would impound Miss Veedol.
Pangborn and Herndon faced two major obsticles if they were to succeed.
The first obstacle: fuel capacity. The aircraft would need to be overloaded with fuel in order to make it all the way to America non-stop. As a result, they would need a longer runway to use for takeoff.
The second obstacle: range. Pangborn calculated that even with the extra fuel, they might not have the range to complete the flight if the conditions were anything short of perfect. In order to increase range, they would need to eliminate any unnecessary weight in order to increase range.
The solution to the first obstacle is simple - move the plane to a longer runway. Pangborn had plans for solving the second obstacle.
Preparation for Trans-Pacific Flight Attempt
Pangborn and Herndon moved the plane approximately 200 miles to the north to the 8,000-foot runway to Sabishiro Beach, near Misawa.
Their arrival in Misawa created publicity that generated sympathy from the people of Misawa including local aviation enthusiasts, who offered hangar space, tools, food, and support to the two pilots as they prepared for their flight attempt.
After performing routine maintenance to prepare for the plane for the flight, Pangborn secretly rigged the landing gear to where it could be released from inside the cockpit in order to reduce weight and drag. In addition, Pangborn added a "chin" fuel tank of 50 gallons and skid strips on the fuselage for a safer belly landing.
Releasing the landing gear over the ocean after take off would solve the second obstacle - if the attempt is successful...
Trans-Pacific Flight
After several weeks of preparation, and despite their maps and charts being stolen by the nationalist Black Dragon Society (who wanted a Japanese pilot to be the first to complete the flight), Pangborn and Herndon were ready and anxious for takeoff.
On October 3, as Pangborn was about to board, a small Japanese boy presents him with a gift of five apples from his father's orchard, deeply touching Pangborn. Misawa, like Wenatchee, is famous for its applies.
Shortly after, the pilots took off from Sabishiro Beach, a long, natural runway made from clay and sand, and were packed by the people of Misawa prior to take off. Their intended destination: Seattle, Washington - almost 4,500 miles away line-of-sight. About three hours later, once well off the coast of Japan, the landing gear was dropped, though not without complications. (See marker 2 on the map for more details)
During the flight, they took turns piloting, navigating, and napping in the back of the plane. For navigation, they used the "Great Circle", the shortest distance between two points on a sphere, the same way broadcast signals travel from one point to another. There was a close-call over the Gulf of Alaska when the airplane ran out of fuel, but they managed to get fuel pumped and engines started. (See marker 4 on the map for more details)
After several hours, they finally spotted the northern tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands; right on course to Seattle. Pangborn turned over controls to Herndon, instructing him to hold the current course and altitude, and to wake him up once he sees glowing city lights (which would be Vancouver, BC).
Around 2 am, Herndon wakes up Pangborn who notices Mt. Rainier emerging through the clouds. They missed both Seattle and Vancouver.
Pangborn took over controls, circled Mt. Rainier three times to figure out bearing, then turned the plane east toward Boise, where it would not be damaged by a belly-landing and could be repaired easily.
Like Seattle, Boise was also fogged in, so Pangborn tried for Spokane then Pasco before turning toward Wenatchee.
Note: Every marker on the map contains specific details about the flight.
Landing in Wenatchee
At 7:14 am, after 41 hours and 13 minutes, and almost 5,500 miles, Pangborn and Herndon make a belly landing at Fancher Field, surrounded by a crowd of dozens of people including Pangborn's mother, brother and sister-in-law, in addition to representatives for both Asahi Shimbun and the Wenatchee Daily World.
Carl Cleveland, the reporter for the Wenatchee Daily World, alerted the Associated Press - Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon, Jr. had successfully became first humans in history to fly across the Pacific non-stop, and would be the only pilots to do so until after World War II.
The landing damaged the plane's propeller and caused minor bruises and scrapes to both pilots. They were presented with a $25,000 check from the Japanese newspaper, were given a heroes welcome for days and became an international household name for weeks.
Fun fact: $25,000 in 1931 is equivalent to over $487,000 today!
Pangborn and Herndon were transported to the Cascadia Hotel in Wenatchee, where they were given baths, food to eat, and a place to nap after their long flight.
The Bon Marche department store in Seattle arranged to have Miss Veedol trucked to Seattle for repairs. After a few days in Seattle, they continued to New York to complete their around the world flight.
Legacy of the 1931 Flight
The historic flight by Pangborn and Herndon has stamped a legacy into both Wenatchee and East Wenatchee that can be felt to the present day.
Wenatchee Valley - Misawa Sister City Relationship
Remembering the gift of five apples Pangborn received from the Japanese boy on Sabishiro Beach, Pangborn arranged for the mayor of Wenatchee to send his counterpart in Misawa five cuttings from Washington's famous Richared Delicious apples. They were grafted onto trees in Misawa, with cuttings and seedlings being distributed across Japan a few years later.
In 1981, in commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the historic flight, a large delegation of residents from North Central Washington flew to Misawa to attend official signing of the Sister City agreement. They were welcomed at the Misawa airport by a large crowd, then taken to Misawa City Hall where the Sister City agreement was signed. The agreement formed an official Sister City relationship between Misawa and both Wenatchee and East Wenatchee.
Since 1981, Misawa and the Wenatchee Valley have exchanged annual visits by representatives at their respective festivals: the Misawa summer festival in August, and the Washington State Apple Blossom Festival in May.
The Spirit of Wenatchee & Miss Veedol Replica
East Wenatchee Rotary Hangar, where the Miss Veedol replica is stored
In 1996, The Spirit of Wenatchee, a group of volunteers and aviation enthusiasts from across the Wenatchee Valley began building a fully functioning replica of Miss Veedol, the airfract used in the historic 1931 flight, with the goal of rekindling recognition of Clyde Pangborn and the historic flight.
The fully functioning replica was completed in 2003. The Spirit of Wenatchee volunteers to fly the plane for various events around the region and to airshows throughout the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada.
Miss Veedol has became a good will icon that units Wenatchee and East Wenatchee with Misawa. In October 2010, Miss Veedol was shipped in an ocean container to Misawa Air Base and flown in numerous celebrations and airshows throughout Japan. The replica stayed in Japan for over a year, where it was viewed by an estimated 500,000 people.
Pangborn Memorial Airport
Entrance to Pangborn Memorial Airport in East Wenatchee
In 1941, a new airfield was constructed in East Wenatchee, and named Pangborn Memorial Airport after Clyde Pangborn. Today, the airport is owned and operated by the Ports of Chelan and Douglas Counties, and provides commercial flight services between Wenatchee and Seattle via Horizon Air. The airport's primary runway (Runway 12/30) was extended to 7,000 feet in 2016 to accomodate large aircraft.
Pangborn-Herndon Memorial
Pangborn-Herndon Memorial taken in July 2022
In 1969, a momument was erected in East Wenatchee to commemorate the first successful non-stop flight across the Pacific. The momument consists of a column of basalt topped with a pair of wings cast from molten aluminum. The basalt column was found in Moses Coulee about 20 miles from the present site, and formed as part of the Columbia River Basalt lava flows which covered much of Eastern Washington around 15 million years ago.
The memorial is located in Fancher Heights above East Wenatchee, and was added to the U.S. National Register of Historic Places in March 1972.
Location of the Pangborn-Herndon Memorial in present day East Wenatchee
Home Address: Anywhere in the Air
The Wenatchee Valley Museum & Cultural Center has established an exhibit commemorating Clyde Pangborn and his historic 1931 flight across the Pacific. The exhibit contains a number of photographs of Pangborn taken throughout his lifetime along with a couple replicas of aircraft flown by Pangborn. The highlight of the exhibit is the propellor from Miss Veedol that was bent during the belly landing which marked successful completion of the historic flight.
Wenatchee Valley Museum Virtual Tour: Pangborn Exhibit
East Wenatchee City Hall Exhibit
On February 9, 2007, a special exhibit was unveiled at the East Wenatchee City Hall by Mark Peterson, whose mother Georgia captured the historic landing on camera in 1931.
The exhibit is on permanent display inside the main foyer at East Wenatchee City Hall.
Pangborn-Herndon 1931 Flight exhibit on display at East Wenatchee City Hall
