A Brief History
On June 9, 1928, Australian Charles E. K. Smith completed the first flight across the Pacific Ocean, an enormous aviation first that is often overlooked.
Digging Deeper
Smith went to the USA, starting with buying his airplane there from a famed polar explorer. The Fokker F.VII was a monoplane boasting three engines, capable of carrying up to 10 people for 750 miles at a top speed of 130 mph. Named the Southern Cross, the Fokker was modified to carry extra fuel to make the flight from California to Hawaii and beyond.
The next stop was Fiji after a 34 ½ hour flight before making the final flight to Australia, completing the 7,316 mile journey. Three other men accompanied Smith on his epic flight in which they also set a distance record for radio transmission.
Flying the Lady Southern Cross, Smith disappeared over the Indian Ocean in 1935 while trying to set a speed record flying between Australia and England.
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
FitzSimons, Peter. Charles Kingsford Smith and Those Magnificent Men. HarperCollins, 2010.
Grant, R.G. Flight: The Complete History of Aviation. DK, 2022.
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