| Winnie Mae | |
|---|---|
 Winnie Mae at the Smithsonian'sSteven F. Udvar-Hazy Center | |
| General information | |
| Type | Lockheed Vega |
| Manufacturer | Lockheed Corporation |
| Owners | Florence C. Hall,Wiley Post |
| Registration | NR105W |
| History | |
| Manufactured | 1930 |
| Preserved at | Smithsonian Institution displayed at theNational Air and Space Museum |
TheWinnie Mae is a modifiedLockheed 5C Vega flown byWiley Post during the1930 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,[1] and the flight altitude record in 1934, reaching 50,000 feet.[2] TheWinnie Mae was sold to theSmithsonian Institution afterWiley Post's death, where it is currently being displayed at theNational Air and Space Museum inWashington D.C.
TheWinnie Mae was built in 1930 by theLockheed Corporation in Burbank, California, with the serial number 122 as a Lockheed 5B model.[3] In June of 1930,Florence C. Hall, an oil baron based inChickasha, Oklahoma, purchased the Winnie Mae for $22,000 and named it after his daughter. The plane had been intended for personal use and Hall's personal pilot,Wiley Post, would pilot the aircraft.[4] On August 27th, 1930, with permission from the plane's owner Florence C. Hall, Wiley Post entered the Winnie Mae in theNational Air Races. Winning first place in the men's non-stop cross-country derby securing a cash prize of $7,500 and setting a record time of 9 hours, 9 minutes, and 4 seconds; an achievement which was painted on the plane'sfuselage.[5][6]
On June 23rd, 1931, Wiley Post along with Australian aviatorHarold Gatty acting as navigator departed New York in an attempt to beat the record for the fastest around-the-world flight. After 14 refueling stops they landed back in New York on July 1st, 1931, having completed the circuit in 8 days, 15 hours, and 51 minutes. Being the first to complete an around-the-world flight in afixed-wing aircraft and beatingHugo Eckener's previous record of 21 days, 5 hours, and 31 minutes in aZeppelin. After completing the flight, Wiley Post acquiredWinnie Mae fromFlorence C. Hall.[1] On July 8th, 1931, Wiley Post competed in theNational Air Races again with theWinnie Mae, being beaten byJimmy Dolittle in aLaird Super Solution.
In 1932, Wiley Post converted theWinne Mae from a Lockheed 5B to a Lockheed 5C model and installed various other modifications. ItsWasp C engine was upgraded with cylinders from aWasp C1, increasing the horsepower from 420 to 500. Its fixed-pitch propeller was upgraded to a Smith 450-SIvariable-pitch propeller, and the wing'sangle of incidence was decreased by 10 degrees to increase the plane's airspeed by approximately 10 MPH (16 KPH). In 1933, Wiley Post installed aSperrygyroscopic autopilot, a fairly new invention at the time, and added six auxiliary fuel tanks in preparation for his solo around-the-world flight, giving the Winnie Mae a fuel capacity of 645 gallons.[3]
On July 15th, 1933, Wiley Post departedFloyd Bennett Airfield, New York, in theWinnie Mae on what would become the first solo around-the-world flight.[1] At 11:58 A.M. (AKST) on July 20th, 1933, after a 3,000-mile leg fromKhabarovsk,Siberia toNome, Alaska, Post overflew his destination and got lost, crash-landing next to aU.S. Army Signal Corps radio station atFlat, Alaska after 7 hours of searching for an airfield. The aircraft's wheels sank into the soft ground causing the plane to nose over, damaging its propeller,engine cowling, and right landing gear strut. Replacement parts were flown in fromFairbanks, Alaska, and after repairs, theWinnie Mae departed Alaska the following day at 7:28 A.M. (AKST). Post completed his record-breaking solo around-the-world flight in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes, stopping 11 times for fuel.[3] When theWinnie Mae landed back in New York on July 22nd, over 50,000 spectators gathered to catch a glimpse of Wiley Post and his now-famous aircraft.[7]
In early 1934, Wiley Post started modifying the Winnie May for high-altitude long-distance flights,supercharging the engine and adding jettisonable landing gear as well as a skid to land on, this design was chosen to reducedrag on the aircraft. TheWinnie Mae could not bepressurized due to its wooden construction, so Post had a full-body pressure suit made with financial support from thePhillips Petroleum Company.[1] On December 7th, 1934, Post flew theWinnie Mae to an estimated fifty thousand feet aboveBartlesville, Oklahoma, unofficially setting theflight altitude record for a fixed-wing aircraft.[4] Wiley Post understood that planes fly faster at higher altitudes, so he set out to beat the current cross-country speed record.[2] After four failed attempts, Post settled for theBurbank, California, toCleveland, Ohio, route, which he completed on March 15, 1935, covering the 2,035 miles in thestratosphere in 7 hours, 19 minutes at an impressive 340 MPH (547 KPH).[5] For comparison, the Lockheed 5C Vega normally had a top speed of 185 MPH (298 KPH).[1] TheWinnie Mae was able to achieve its high speeds by flying in thejet stream, a fast-flowing atmospheric air current.
Wiley Post died in a plane crash on August 15, 1935, while flying a modifiedLockheed Orion nearPoint Barrow, Alaska. Shortly after in 1936, Post's widow sold theWinnie Mae for $25,000 to theSmithsonian Institution, which still preserves it at theNational Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.[8]
Data fromLockheed Vega Winnie Mae | National Air and Space Museum
General characteristics
Performance