Floyd Bennett Field - Timeline

Timeline

This is an incomplete sampling of some of the most significant events at Floyd Bennett Field (FBF) during the Golden Age of Aviation.

6/26/30 - Airport Dedication. A crowd of 25,000 attended this aerial demonstration led by Charles Lindbergh and Jimmy Doolittle. A flotilla of 600 US Army Air Corps aircraft circled the field as part of the airport dedication. Admiral Byrd, Mayor Walker and his wife, and Mrs. Floyd Bennett were present at the dedication of the airport.

7/28-30/31 - FBF to Istanbul, Turkey Flight. Russell Norton Boardman (age 33) and John Louis Polando (29) flew a Bellanca Special J-300 high-wing monoplane named Cape Cod, registration NR761W, powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind engine, to Istanbul in 49:20 hours establishing a distance record of 5,011.8 miles (8,065.7 km), the first known record flight whose distance surpassed either English (5,000 mi) or metric (8,000 km) mark. As the runway at FBF was just 5,000 feet (1,500 m) long, they needed to remove a fence and clear a parking lot to add another thousand feet to meet their required takeoff distance. The phone and electric utilities even took down poles along Flatbush Avenue.

7/28-29/31 - FBF to Moylegrove, Wales Flight. Just 18 minutes after Boardman and Polando departed, Hugh Herndon Jr. and Clyde Pangborn flew a Red Bellanca CH-400 Skyrocket, named Miss Veedol (registration NR-796W) and powered by a 425 hp (317 kW) Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, to Moylegrove, Wales in 31:42 hours. They stopped in Japan on their flight around the world and finally landed at FBF on 10/17/31. The aircraft was later named "The American Nurse" and was lost in the Atlantic Ocean without a trace in 1932.

6/3/32 - Failed Transatlantic Attempt. Stanislaus F. Hausner attempts a transatlantic flight from FBF to Warsaw, Poland, in a Bellanca CH Pacemaker, named Rose Marie and powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind engine, and makes a forced landing at sea. He is rescued by a British tanker 8 days later.

7/5-6/32 - Failed Round-the-World Attempt. James Mattern and Bennett Griffin flew a Lockheed Vega, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, from FBF to Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, and then non-stop to Berlin, Germany in 18:41 hours. They continued as far as Borisov, Russia in this failed round-the-world flight attempt.

8/23 (25?) - 9/11/32 - Failed Transatlantic Attempt. Colonel George R. Hutchinson and his family flew a Sikorsky amphibian, powered by two Pratt & Whitney engines, from FBF, but made a forced landing off the coast off Greenland. They were rescued two days later by a British trawler. In addition to the Colonel, his wife Blanche, daughters Kathryn and Janet Lee, a crew of five manned the aircraft.

8/29/32 - Transcontinental Record. James G. Haizlip flew a Weddell-Williams powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine, from FBF to Los Angeles, California, in 10:19 hours, establishing a new transcontinental record.

8/29/32 - Failed Transcontinental Record. Roscoe Turner also flew a Weddell-Williams, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine, from FBF to Los Angeles, California, in 10:58:39 hours, but was beat by Haizlip.

9/13/32 - Failed Transatlantic Attempt William Ulbrich flew a Bellanca Skyrocket powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from FBF with passengers Dr. Leon Pisculli and Edna Newcomber, but was lost at sea.

11/14/32 - Transcontinental Record. Roscoe Turner flew a Weddell-Williams, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine, from FBF to Burbank, California, in 12:33 hours, establishing a new East-West record.

6/2/33 - Transcontinental Record. Lieutenant Commander Frank Hawks flew a Northrop Gamma, powered by a Wright Whirlwind engine, from Los Angeles, California to FBF, in 13:26:15 hours, establishing a new West-East non-stop record.

6/11-12/33 - FBF to Haiti Flight. Captain J. Errol Boyd, Robert G. Lyon, and Harold P. Davis flew a Bellanca monoplane, powered by a Wright Whirlwind engine, from FBF to Saint Marc, Haiti in about 24 hours.

6/15/33 - Failed Round-the-World Attempt. James J. Mattern flew a Lockheed Vega, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, from FBF across the Atlantic, and makes a forced landing in Siberia. He later flew part of the way back to New York.

7/1/33 - Transcontinental Record. Colonel Roscoe Turner flew a Weddell-Williams, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine, from FBF to Los Angeles, California, in 11:30 hours, establishing a new East-West record.

7/1-8/12/33 - Balbo's Transatlantic Flight. Italian Air Force General Italo Balbo led a group of 25 Savoia-Marchetti S-55X seaplanes, powered by twin 750 hp (560 kW) Isotta-Fraschini Asso engines, from Orbetello, Italy, to Amsterdam, Iceland, Labrador, and Chicago. After two airplanes crashed along the journey, the group of 23 planes stopped at FBF for 6 days on their way back to Rome, Italy. The flight marked the 10th anniversary of Benito Mussolini's rise to power.

7/15-17/33 - Transatlantic Flight followed by a Fatal Crash. Captain Steponas Darius and Stasys Girėnas flew a Bellanca CH-300, named Lituanica and powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind engine, from FBF to Soldin, Germany, (now Mysliborz in Poland) were they were killed in a crash. They were attempting a flight to Kaunas, Lithuania. This was the 7th transatlantic flight and 2nd in a total distance covered without landing.

7/15-22/33 - Round-the-World Flight. Wiley Post flew a Lockheed Vega (registration N-105W) named Winnie Mae, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, around the world in 7 days, 18:49:30 hours. He was the first to fly around the world solo. During that flight, he covered 15,596 miles (25,099 km) in 4 days, 19:36 hours, establishing a new record. A crowd on 50,000 people gathered at FBF to see him arrive.

8/5-7/33 - FBF to Syria Flight Lt. Maurice Rossi and Paul Codos flew a Bleriot 110, powered by a Hispano Suiza engine, from FBF to Rayak, Syria in about 55 hours, and established a distance record of 5,657.4 miles (9,104.7 km).

9/2/33 - Crash. Francisco de Pinedo was killed in a crash during takeoff from FBF.

9/25/33 - West-East Record Flight. Colonel Roscoe Turner flew a Weddell-Williams, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine, from Burbank, California, to FBF, in 10:04:55 hours, establishing a new West-East record.

2/28/34-4/25/34 - South American Flight. Laura H. Ingalls flew a Lockheed Air Express, powered by a Pratt & Whitney engine, from Glenn Curtiss Airport, North Beach, NY, on a 17,000-mile (27,000 km) tour of South America, including a solo flight across the Andes. She returned to FBF after the flight.

5/14-15/34 - FBF to Rome Flight. George R. Pond and Cesare Sabelli flew a Bellanca Pacemaker, named Leonardo da Vinci and powered by a 300 hp (220 kW) Wright J-6 Whirlwind engine, in an attempted non-stop flight from FBF to Rome, but were forced to land at Lahinch, Ireland, after 32:00 hours due to a fuel system problem. Later they flew to Rome. This was the 8th transatlantic flight.

5/27-28/34 - Paris to FBF Flight. Lt. Maurice Rossi and Paul Codos flew a Bleriot 110, powered by a Hispano Suiza engine, from Paris, France to FBF in 38:27 hours, the second non-stop flight from Europe to America. In August 1933, both men had flown from FBF to Rayak, Syria.

9/1/34 - West-East Record Flight. Colonel Roscoe Turner flew a Weddell-Williams, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Junior engine, from Burbank, California, to FBF, in 10:02:57 hours, beat his old record (9/25/33) by about 2 minutes, and established a new West-East record.

1/15/35 - Passenger Transport Record Flight. Major James H. Doolittle flew an "American Airlines Airplane Development" Vultee, powered by a Wright Cyclone engine, non-stop from Los Angeles, California, to FBF in 11:59 hours, and established a transcontinental non-stop record for a passenger transport airplane.

2/20-21/35 - Passenger Transport Record Flight. Leland S. Andrews also flew an American Airlines Airplane Development Vultee, powered by a Wright Cyclone engine, non-stop from Los Angeles, California, to FBF in 11:34:16 hours (beat Doolittle by almost a half-hour) and established a new transcontinental non-stop record for a passenger transport airplane.

4/30/35 - Passenger Transport Record Flight. D.W. Tomlinson flew a TWA Douglas DC-1, powered by twin Wright Cyclone engines, non-stop from Burbank, California, to FBF in 11:05:45 hours (beat Andrews by almost a half-hour).

5/16-17/35 - Speed Records. D.W. Tomlinson and J.S. Bartles flew a TWA Douglas DC-1, powered by twin Wright Cyclone engines, and established 14 speed records at FBF, demonstrating the increasing efficiency of transport planes and engines with heavy loads.

5/18/35 - Speed Records. D.W. Tomlinson and J.S. Bartles flew a TWA Douglas DC-1, powered by twin Wright Cyclone engines, and established 8 more speed records at FBF, further demonstrating the increasing efficiency of transport planes and engines with heavy loads.

7/11/35 - Laura H. Ingalls flew a Lockheed Orion, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from FBF to Burbank, California, establishing an East-West record for women.

7/18-8/16/35 - FBF to Norway Flight. Thor Solberg flew a Leoning amphibian, powered by a Wright Cyclone engine, from FBF to Bergen, Norway, via Canada, Greenland, and Iceland.

9/12/35 - Laura H. Ingalls flew a Lockheed Orion, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from Burbank, California, to FBF, establishing a West-East record for women (Return trip from her 7/11/35 flight).

9/21-22/35 - Attempted Flight to Lithuania. Felix Waitkus (Feliksas Vaitkus) (1907-1956) flew a Lockheed Vega, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from FBF to Ballinrobe, Ireland, on a projected flight to Lithuania.

3/22/36 - The U.S. Postal Service rejected Floyd Bennett Field's application for the Air Terminal. This signals the failure of the field as a passenger airport as the airlines relied on the U.S. Mail contracts for revenue and would not schedule flights to FBF.

4/21/36 - Miami to New York Speed Record. Howard Hughes flew a Northrop Gamma, powered by a Wright Cyclone engine, from Miami to FBF in 4:21:32, establishing an intercity speed record.

9/2-3/36 - Attempted Round-trip Flight to London. Harry Richman and Richard T. Merrill flew an Airplane Development Vultee named Lady Peace, powered by a Wright Cyclone engine, from FBF to Llwyncelny, Wales, in 18:38 hours on an attempted round-trip flight to London, England.

9/4/36 - East-West Record Flight. Louise Thaden and Blanche Noyes flew a Beechcraft, powered by a Wright Whirlwind engine, from FBF to Los Angeles, California, in 14:55:01, and established an East-West transcontinental speed record.

10/6-7/36 - Attempted Flight to Stockholm. Kurt Bjorkvall flew a Bellanca Pacemaker, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, in an attempted flight form FBF to Stockholm, Sweden. He was forced doen in the Atlantic off the Irish coast.

10/28-30/36 - Record Non-stop Flight to London. Captain James A. Mollison flew a Bellanca Flash, powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp engine, from FBF to Croydon Airport in London, England, not only making record time from Newfoundland, but was the first pilot to fly non-stop to London in 13:17 hours.

12/14/36 - New York to Miami Speed Record. Major Alexander de Seversky flew a Seversky Sev 3, powered by a Wright Cyclone engine, from FBF to Miami, Florida, establishing a new speed record of 5:46:30 hours.

12/17/36 - National Aviation Day On this day a celebration of the 33rd anniversary or the Wright Brothers first flight at Kitty Hawk, NC, was held.

5/9-10/37 - Flight to London. Richard T. Merrill flew a Lockheed Electra Model 10, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, from FBF to Croyden Airport in London, England, with a stop in Essex, in 20:59 hours.

5/13-14/37 - Flight from London. Richard T. Merrill and John S. Lambie flew a Lockheed Electra Model 10, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, back from London to FBF, via Massachusetts, with photos of the coronation of George VI in 24:22:25 hours.

7/10-14/38 - Round-the-World Flight Howard Hughes flew a Lockheed 14N Super Electra (registration NX-18973), powered by two 900 hp (670 kW) Wright Cyclone engines, around the world in 3 days, 19:08:10 hours, testing new navigation equipment. A crowd of 25,000 people came to FBF to see him arrive.

7/17-18/38 - The Flight of "Wrong Way" Corrigan. Douglas Corrigan flew a Curtiss Robin, powered by a 165 hp (123 kW) Wright Whirlwind, J-6 engine, non-stop from FBF to Dublin, Ireland, in 28:13 hours. After being denied permission to make the flight to Ireland, he filed a flight plan to California, and flew to Ireland. The 31-year old pilot departed at 5:15 a.m. and claimed to have trouble with his compass and never admitted otherwise. Corrigan died on 12/9/95 at the age of 88 years.

8/10-11/38 - FW-200 Lands at FBF. Alfred Henke, Rudolph von Moreau, Paul Dierberg, and Walter Kober, flew a prototype Focke-Wulf FW-200 (registration D-ACON), named Brandenberg and powered by four Pratt and Whitney 875 hp (652 kW) Hornet engines, non-stop from Berlin, Germany, to FBF in a record time of 24:50:12 hours.

8/13-14/38 - FW-200 Departs from FBF. Alfred Henke, Rudolph von Moreau, Paul Dierberg, and Walter Kober, flew the same Focke-Wulf FW-200, powered by four Pratt and Whitney 875 hp (652 kW) Hornet engines, non-stop from FBF back to Berlin, Germany, in a record time of 19:55:01 hours, cutting the previous record of Wiley Post by 5:50 hours.

12/3/38 - Women's West-East Transcontinental Record. Jacqueline Cochrane flew a Seversky, powered by two Pratt & Whitney Wasp engines, from Burbank, California, to FBF in 10:27:55 hours, setting the women's West-East transcontinental record.

5/24/39 - Mexico City to FBF Flight. Francisco Sarabia flew a Gee Bee Racer from Mexico City to FBF in 10:45 hours, beating the non-stop record flight time of 14:19 hours set by Amelia Earhart on 5/8/35. Sarabia was killed in a crash from Washington D.C. on 6/7/39.

10/15/39 - Laguardia Airport Dedicated. FBF's possibility of commercial success is doomed by the opening of this $45 million, 558-acre (2 km2) airport, located at the site of the old North Beach Airport. Almost 300,000 people attended the ceremony for the field named after Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia.