Winnie MaeThe Winnie Mae is a modified Lockheed 5C Vega flown by Wiley Post during the 1930 National Air Races, winning first place with a time of 9 hours, 9 minutes, and 4 seconds, as well as setting records for the fastest around-the-world flight in 1931, with a time of 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes, the first solo around-the-world flight in 1933, and the flight altitude record in 1934, reaching 50,000 feet.
Pressure suitA pressure suit is a protective suit worn by high-altitude pilots who may fly at altitudes where the air pressure is too low for an unprotected person to survive, even when breathing pure oxygen at positive pressure. Such suits may be either full-pressure (e.g., a space suit) or partial-pressure (as used by aircrew). Partial-pressure suits work by providing mechanical counter-pressure to assist breathing at altitude.
Jet streamJet streams are fast flowing, narrow air currents in the atmosphere. It is the physical mechanism of a teleconnection. The main terrestrial jet streams are located near the altitude of the tropopause and are westerly winds, flowing west to east around the globe.
Point BarrowPoint Barrow or Nuvuk is a headland on the Arctic coast in the U.S. state of Alaska, 9 miles (14 km) northeast of Utqiagvik (formerly Barrow). It is the northernmost point of all the territory of the United States, at 71°23′20″N156°28′45″W / 71.38889°N 156.47917°W / 71.38889; -156.47917 (Point Barrow), 1,122 nautical miles (1,291 mi; 2,078 km) south of the North Pole.
National Air and Space MuseumThe National Air and Space Museum (NASM) of the Smithsonian Institution is a museum in Washington, D.C., United States, dedicated to human flight and space exploration. Established in 1946 as the National Air Museum, its main building opened on the National Mall near L'Enfant Plaza in 1976. In 2023, the museum welcomed 3.1 million visitors, making it the fourth-most visited museum in the United States and eleventh-most in the world.
Will RogersWilliam Penn Adair Rogers (November 4, 1879 – August 15, 1935) was a Native American vaudeville performer, actor, and humorous social commentator. He was born as a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, in the Indian Territory, now part of Oklahoma, and is known as "Oklahoma's Favorite Son". As an entertainer and humorist, he traveled around the world three times, made 71 films (50 silent films and 21 "talkies"), and wrote more than 4,000 nationally syndicated newspaper columns.
Rogers–Post SiteThe Rogers–Post Site, located on the North Slope of the U.S. state of Alaska, is the location of a plane crash that killed humorist Will Rogers and aviator Wiley Post on August 15, 1935, during an aerial tour of Alaska. It is about 11 miles (18 km) southwest of Utqiaġvik, on the north side of near the mouth of the . The flight was described by the Associated Press as a prelude to a planned Trans-Siberian flight to Moscow.
Lockheed VegaThe Lockheed Vega is an American five- to seven-seat high-wing monoplane airliner built by the Lockheed Corporation starting in 1927. It became famous for its use by a number of record-breaking pilots who were attracted to its high speed and long range. Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean in one, and Wiley Post used his to prove the existence of the jet stream after flying around the world twice.Aircraft pilotAn aircraft pilot (or aviator) is an individual who controls an aircraft's flight by operating its directional controls. Other aircrew members, such as navigators and flight engineers, are also considered aviators because they assist in operating the aircraft’s navigation and engine systems. Aircrew members like drone operators, flight attendants, mechanics, and ground crew are not classified as aviators.
Territory of AlaskaThe Territory of Alaska or Alaska Territory was an organized incorporated territory of the United States from August 24, 1912, until Alaska was granted statehood on January 3, 1959. The territory was previously Russian America, 1784–1867; the Department of Alaska, 1867–1884; and the District of Alaska, 1884–1912.
Steven F. Udvar-Hazy CenterThe Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center is an annex of the Smithsonian Institution's National Air and Space Museum located at Dulles International Airport in Chantilly, Virginia, which houses much of the museum's collection of aircraft, spacecraft, and rockets, which are too large to be displayed at the main facility on the National Mall.Aviation in the interwar periodThe Golden Age of Aviation was the period in the history of aviation between the end of World War I (1918) and the beginning of World War II (1939). It was characterised by a progressive change from the slow wood-and-fabric biplanes of World War I to fast, streamlined metal monoplanes, creating a revolution in both commercial and military aviation. By the outbreak of World War II in 1939 the biplane was all but obsolete.*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.