First Nonstop Continental Flight

The Army proved a point when Lieutenants Kelly
and Macready flew from New York to San Diego in 1923.

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By Joseph B. Haymore

On May 3, 1923, First Lieutenants Oakley Kelly and John Macready landed at Rockwell Field, San Diego, California, where they had lunch with Major Henry H. “Hap” Arnold, the field commander. Hardly a notable occasion–on the surface.

What was remarkable about this event, however, was that the young lieutenants had just become the first aviators to fly nonstop across the continental United States. It was the culmination of 1 1/2 years of dedicated work by the lieutenants, their mechanics and engineers, and the U.S. Weather Bureau.

During the years immediately following World War I, the fledgling Army Air Service had to fight for its very life. Although the Air Service was convinced of the need to develop aviation, many politicians and citizens of the day saw aviation as a luxury, an unnecessary frill.

The Air Service’s pilots knew that their livelihood depended on their ability to showcase their skills. This period of Air Service history has been called the “stunt era.”

It was in this atmosphere that two aviators were given the support they needed to fly nonstop across the United States. The story begins in late 1921, when Kelly and 1st Lt. Muir Fairchild first proposed to fly across the continent nonstop. Their fellow aviators immediately declared the plan preposterous. No plane or pilot was capable.

The two aviators were convinced, however, that if they could find the right airplane, they could successfully make the trip. After evaluating all the airplanes in the Army inventory, they found that the Fokker F-IV (Army designation T-2) had the characteristics they were looking for.

The T-2 was a huge, passenger airplane with a wingspan of 74 feet 10 inches. It held eight passengers in an enclosed metal-tubing-and-fabric-covered fuselage and seated one pilot in an exposed cockpit in front of the large, cantilevered, wood-covered wing. The wing was similar to some featured on Anthony Fokker’s most successful fighters of World War I. The Army had recently acquired two of these airplanes to be used as testbeds for the Liberty 12 engine. The T-2 carried 130 gallons of fuel, but for a transcontinental flight, additional fuel would have to be added.

One of the Army’s T-2s (A.S. 64233) was made available for the flight, and 1st Lt. Earnest Dichman, the team’s chief engineer, began to modify it for the flight. He placed a fuel tank in the cabin, bringing the total fuel capacity up to 725 gallons. Other necessary modifications included additional water and oil tanks in the cabin, larger and stronger wheels, auxiliary water and oil radiators, a door between the cockpit and the cabin, and a second set of flight controls in the cabin.

The pilots had to decide from which coast to start their planned nonstop, cross-country flight. The Weather Bureau strongly recommended flying from west to east, to take advantage of the prevailing 20-plus-mph westerly wind during August and September, and the pilots agreed to the California-to-New York route.

On September 24, 1922, the airplane arrived at Rockwell Field on North Island, Calif., where final preparations for the flight were made. An overhauled Liberty 12 engine was installed; the back of the pilot’s seat was hinged to allow easier access between cockpit and cabin; and a continuous-cord message system was installed to allow the pilots to communicate while in flight. Macready had replaced Fairchild, who was recovering from an unrelated accident.

At last, all preparations were complete. The Weather Bureau gave the go-ahead. And on the morning of October 22, 1922, the T-2 was placed at the end of the 10,000-foot runway.

As the two airmen approached the T-2, they tossed a coin to see who would have the honor of starting the flight in the cockpit. Kelly won the toss and climbed into the cockpit. Once the preliminary checks and engine run-up were completed, the wheel chocks were removed, and the plane slowly, hesitatingly, rumbled forward. With a gross weight of 10,695 pounds (an astonishing weight for that era) the plane made its way down the runway, then slowly lifted off. As the plane headed east, Point Loma loomed ahead. At an altitude of only 100 feet, Kelly had to turn downwind to avoid it. The Fokker began to sink lower and lower, until it was skimming along a bare 10 feet above the waves.

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