clyde pangborn

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Article from Aviation History Magazine

First Across the Pacific Nonstop

Aerial circus star Clyde Pangborn and playboy Hugh Herndon, Jr., captured the

Japanese prize with a glorious belly-flop in Wenatchee, Wash., in 1931.

By Terry Gwynn-Jones

Clyde "Upside-Down" Pangborn andhis co-pilot Hugh Herndon, Jr., wereunder house arrest in Tokyo's ImperialHotel. Charged with espionage andmaking an illegal flight, they had beendetained for seven weeks sincelanding in Tokyo on August 8, 1931.The two American airmen had struttedonto aviation's world stage 12 days

earlier. They had taken off from NewYork's Roosevelt Field in a blaze ofpublicity, with high hopes of beatingthe around-the-world speed record setby one-eyed Wiley Post and hisAustralian navigator Harold Gatty.Pangborn, a daredevil stunt pilot, was well-known in American aviation circles. He had been chiefpilot and half owner of the fabled Gates Flying Circus until it closed down in 1928. His playboy co-pilot, an aviation novice, was better known in society circles. A Princeton dropout who loved thegood life, Herndon was the son of Standard Oil heiress Alice Boardman. Anxious to see her sonmake a name for himself, the socialite had not turned a hair when he asked her for $100,000 tofinance the flight.

Their hopes of beating Post and Gatty's flight time had come to an end in Khabarovsk, Siberia,where, landing in a teeming rainstorm, their Bellanca Skyrocket Miss Veedol had slid off therunway and become hopelessly bogged down. Already well behind their strict schedule, and withno hope of taking off for several days, the despondent pair abandoned their world flight. Theydecided, instead, to salvage something from the trip by competing for a $50,000 prize offered byJapan's Asahi Shimbun newspaper for the first nonstop flight across the Pacific. They carried nomaps of Japan, so Pangborn cabled the editor of the English-language Japanese Times , askingfor a track and distance from Khabarovsk to Tokyo and requesting that the American Embassyobtain landing permission from the Japanese Aviation Bureau.

The field at Khabarovsk had dried out before their cable was answered, so Pangborn decided totake off before it was swamped again by threatening storms. Flying a rough heading for Japan,they received a radio message giving a track and distance and advising that landing approval

was being sought. After landing at Haneda to get directions, they finally reached Tachikawaairport, where they were met by angry officials demanding to see their landing papers. Japan wasat war with China and, understandably, did not take kindly to foreign pilots arriving unannouncedand photographing military-restricted areas. Pangborn recounted: "We were arraigned on threecounts. That we had flown over fortified areas and that we had photographed these areas. Truewe didn't have a flight permit with us, but we assumed it would be routine for our embassy toarrange it. As for flying over fortified areas and taking pictures, we were just tourists taking whatwe thought were pretty landscape shots."



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Their seven weeks under house arrest gave Pangborn and Herndon the time to plan theirtranspacific attempt. They were also able to consider the efforts of the other teams, Japaneseand American, that had already unsuccessfully competed for the Asahi Shimbun prize. TheJapanese decision to sponsor a Pacific flight had been sparked four years earlier by CharlesLindbergh's transatlantic triumph. Lindbergh's New YorkParis solo flight had electrified the world.Overnight, the American had become an international hero--the most photographed person of hisera. The Japanese believed that the first successful transpacific flight, which was a longer andmore demanding undertaking than crossing the Atlantic, would help focus attention on Japan'semergence as the industrial powerhouse of Asia--particularly if a Japanese pilot and plane werefirst across.

While the world still bathed in the afterglow of Lindbergh's success, Japan announced itstranspacific intentions. The Imperial Aeronautics Association declared that a Japanese pilot, flyingin a Japanese-owned and -manufactured aircraft, would cross the Pacific. Shortly afterward, theTokyo newspaper Mainichi Shimbun placed an order with T. Claude Ryan for an exact replica ofLindbergh's long-range monoplane.

Delivered to Japan early in 1928, the Ryan NYP-2 (New York-Paris No. 2) was not purchased toattempt the Pacific flight. The original NYP had been built to Lindbergh's specification to fly the3,600 miles between New York and Paris--plus a few hundred extra for safety. The flight from

Japan to America's West Coast required an aircraft with a range of at least 4,500 miles.

Although the Japanese buyers may at first have thought it possible to extend the Ryan's range, itseems more likely that the aircraft's role was to act as a design guide for Japan's Kawanishicompany to construct a similar but much larger, transpacific machine, designated the K-12 Nichi- Bei-Go (JapanU.S. Model). Two Ryans were ordered, one as a backup in case of an accident.The project folded, however, when flight testing proved that Kawanishi's lumbering K-12 hadneither the range nor the takeoff performance to make the transpacific flight. Red-facedKawanishi officials hung one of the expensive white elephants from the factory ceiling beneath abanner proclaiming, "How not to design or build a Special-Purpose Airplane."

Interest in the Asahi Shimbun prize did not diminish, even when Charles Kingsford Smith and hiscrew completed the first transpacific flight from Oakland, Calif., to Brisbane, Australia, in the

Fokker F.VII/3m tri-motor Southern Cross in June 1928. The island-hopping flight, which did notqualify for the Japanese prize, was made in three stages; hence, it lacked the drama of a nonstopcrossing.

The first nonstop Pacific attempt was made in 1930, when Canadian-born pilot Harold Bromleyteamed up with Australian navigator Harold Gatty. Their aircraft was an elegant, 450-hp Wasp-powered monoplane manufactured by E.M. Smith and Company (Emsco) and named City of Tacoma --for the city that had sponsored the flight. Fully loaded, their Emsco had a still-air rangeof approximately 4,000 miles--500 miles less than they needed. To succeed they would require atailwind. As this was more likely when flying east, the airmen decided to begin the flight fromJapan. Taking off from a long, flat beach at Sabishiro, 370 miles north of Tokyo, they flew 1,250miles, mostly in cloud, before headwinds forced them to turn back.

Daring young Japanese airman Seiji Yoshihara was the next to try. Yoshihara had made asensational flight from Berlin to Tokyo in a tiny, open-cockpit Junkers A-50. He figured that thefuel economy of his airplane's 85-hp engine would enable him to cross the Pacific. Equipping theJunkers with floats, Yoshihara took off on May 18, 1931, following the great circle route. He hadcovered almost 1,000 miles when the seaplane developed engine trouble, and he was forced toditch in the Pacific. Miraculously, Yoshihara was picked up by a passing ship seven hours later.Following Yoshihara's gallant attempt, the Imperial Aeronautics Association announced additionalprize money of $100,000 for a successful flight by a Japanese team. In the United States, a groupof Seattle businessmen added a $28,000 sweetener to the $50,000 Asahi Shimbun prize. Theironly stipulation was that the flight start in Seattle and finish in Japan. This meant that prize money



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totaling $78,000 was now offered for non-Japanese teams--a fortune in those Depression days. Itattracted Texan barnstormer Reginald Robbins and oilman Harold S. Jones, who had twiceattempted a Seattle-Tokyo flight in their Lockheed Vega Fort Worth . Unfortunately, their shrewdplan to refuel from a Ford TriMotor tanker in the air over Alaska failed to work on both occasions.Another westbound attempt ended when a flier named Bob Wark was forced down nearVancouver, barely 100 miles from his starting point.

Following their aborted flight in 1930, Bromley and Gatty had left the Emsco in Japan to be sold.It was subsequently used in two further American transpacific attempts. The first ended whenpilot Thomas Ash failed to get the Emsco off the sands at Sabishiro. For the second attempt, LosAngeles salesmen Cecil Allen and Don Moyle renamed the Emsco Clasina Madge . They took offfrom Sabishiro on September 8, 1931, while Pangborn and Herndon were still under house arrestin Tokyo. Long on courage but short on experience, Allen and Moyle got lost and, after flyingaimlessly for more than a day, landed on Siberia's Kamchatka Peninsula. The pair eventuallyheaded on toward the United States with stops in the Aleutians and Alaska. The Clasina Madge finally reached Tacoma on September 25, 1931.

Pangborn and Herndon already had been tried in Tokyo's district court. Found guilty, they weresentenced to 205 days hard labor or fines of $1,050 each. After paying their fines, Pangborn andHerndon revealed their plan to attempt the Japan United States flight. Because of the recent

failures, Japan's Civil Aviation Bureau had restricted future flights to only "approved" aircraft. Afterdays of haggling, approval was reluctantly given for Pangborn to attempt one overloaded takeofffrom Japan.

They flew Miss Veedol to Sabishiro Beachon September 29 and made finalmodifications for the flight. Pangborn hadworked out a clever plan to reduce dragand extend the Bellanca's range. The ideahad previously been used in 1919 byAustralian Harry Hawker in anunsuccessful attempt to cross the Atlantic.The scheme involved removing the bolts

holding the landing gear to the fuselageand replacing them with a series of clipsand springs attached to a cable. By pullingon the cable following takeoff, Pangbornwould jettison the whole structure. For thelanding he attached steel skids to theBellanca's potbelly.

Pangborn explained: "We determined that to make the trans-Pacific flight we would have to takeoff with the heaviest wing loading [fuel load] we had ever attempted with the Bellanca. Even thenit was marginal that we would have enough fuel to take us the 4,500 miles to the U.S. west coasteven at the most economical cruising speed. Studying the problem I calculated that we couldincrease our speed [by] approximately 15 miles per hour if we could rid ourselves of the drag of

the fixed landing gear. On a forty hour flight that would be the equivalent of adding 600 miles toour range, and that might make the difference between success and failure."

At Sabishiro Beach the two Americans were guests of the nearby town of Misawa City. Themayor had publicly announced that fliers of any nation seeking such an honorable goal should behosted in friendship. Not all Japanese were so friendly, however, as the airmen discovered whentheir painstakingly prepared flight charts were stolen. It appeared likely that the culprits weremembers of the radically patriotic Black Dragon Society, who for weeks had been violentlyspeaking out against the Americans and their proposed flight.



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Pangborn and Herndon obtained new charts and were finally ready to go on October 2. To saveweight, they carried no radio, no survival equipment, not even a seat cushion, and limited theirfood to hot tea and some fried chicken. Even so, with 915 gallons of fuel and 45 gallons of oil onboard, the Bellanca was still exceeding its allowable maximum operating weight by 3,400 pounds.As Pangborn prepared to climb on board the Bellanca, a small Japanese boy rushed out of thecrowd and presented them a gift of five apples from his father's orchard. Pangborn appeareddeeply touched. Misawa City, like his hometown of Wenatchee, Wash., was famous for its apples.Miss Veedol used the takeoff ramp that local villagers had built for Bromley and Gatty's earlierattempt. A hill of sand had been packed down by a steam roller and then covered with a runwayof planks that led down to the beach. Working like a ski jump, its purpose was to give theoverloaded airplane an initial burst of acceleration. Even so, the Bellanca had trouble gainingflying speed as it rolled down onto the wet beach.

With its 425-hp Wasp engine screaming at full power, the monoplane was only up to 60 mph withtwo-thirds of the beach gone. Pangborn had estimated that he required 90 mph for liftoff. As Miss Veedol approached a pile of logs that marked the end of the makeshift runway, Pangborn couldbe seen rocking the aircraft from wheel to wheel in an attempt to break the drag of the wet sand.He later recounted: "I was determined to get off, or pile into those logs. We had permission foronly the one attempt and in no way was I going to spend any more time in Japan."

The aircraft staggered into the air with 100 yards to spare. Flying straight ahead, wallowing near astall, the fuel-bloated Bellanca inched up above the waves. When they had a safe margin ofheight, Pangborn turned slowly onto a heading of 072 degrees--heading toward the Aleutians.Three hours out, on track and approaching the Kurile Islands, Pangborn was satisfied thateverything was operating normally and jettisoned the landing gear. The main structure fell awaybut two of the gear's bracing rods did not drop clear. Pangborn realized that they posed a realthreat to a safe belly landing and that he would have to work them free during the flight. Devoid of300 pounds of landing gear and its drag, Miss Veedol climbed to 14,000 feet, where it picked up agood tail wind.

The sun went down and they began to encounter airframe icing in the clouds. To stay clear ofclouds, they climbed to 17,000 feet where conditions were smooth and ice-free. Pangborn

decided this was the ideal time to try to get rid of the two dangling struts. Handing over control toHerndon, the steel-nerved airman put his flying circus wing-walking skills to good use. Strugglingagainst the frigid 100-mph slipstream, Pangborn eased out of the cockpit and placed his feet onthe broad strut that supported the Bellanca's wing. Holding on for dear life with one hand, with theother he removed one of the offending brace rods. Pangborn clambered back into the cockpit,warmed himself, then repeated the procedure on the other side. Through the night it was bitterlycold. He recalled, "The water in our canteens and even our hot tea froze."

The first real position check was a volcano in the Aleutians, and the two men were delighted tosee it loom directly below them. Pangborn remained at the controls, with Herndon responsible forkeeping the main wing tanks topped up from the huge auxiliary cabin tank. This required him totransfer fuel with a hand-operated wobble pump. Twice he forgot the task. The first time he wasable to pump fuel fast enough to keep the spluttering Wasp engine running. On the second

occasion, Herndon's carelessness nearly cost the men their lives when the propeller stoppeddead.

The Bellanca was not equipped with an electric starter. Pangborn had no alternative but to divethe airplane in the hope of getting the propeller to windmill. Yelling at Herndon to start pumping,Pangborn steepened the dive, desperately trying to turn the propeller in the rarefied air. They hadlost 13,000 feet and were only 1,500 feet above the ocean when it finally began to windmill andthe engine burst into life again.



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The only word of their progress during the whole flight came from an island in the Aleutians wherean amateur radio operator radioed to America that he had heard an airplane passing over abovethe clouds. No one was quite sure of their final destination, though Pangborn's mother wasadamant that her son would choose his hometown Wenatchee, Wash., as his landing site. Shewas among 30 locals who maintained a vigil at its little airfield.

Pangborn sighted the tip of the Queen Charlotte Islands, off the northwestern coast of Canadaand knew the worst of the navigation was over. He had been at the controls for more than 30hours. Aware that the tricky job of belly landing lay not too far ahead of them, he decided to catcha few hours of sleep. He instructed Herndon to hold the current height and heading and to wakehim when he saw the lights of a big city. "That will be Vancouver, British Columbia," Pangbornyelled.

Once again Herndon's inattention let them down. When Pangborn awoke some hours later, hiscavalier co-pilot had wandered off course and missed both Vancouver and Seattle. Ahead ofthem was Mount Rainier. Pangborn decided to carry on inland to Boise, Idaho, which would alsogive them a new world's nonstop distance record. However, two hours later, when it becameevident the Boise area was covered in fog, they turned toward Spokane, Wash. When thatdestination appeared to be covered by lowclouds, Pangborn decided to head for

Wenatchee.

At 7:14 a.m. on October 5, 1931, the bigred monoplane swooped in over the hillsand circled Wenatchee's little airfield,dumping fuel to reduce the chance of fire.Approaching slowly, Pangborn sentHerndon to the rear of the cabin, hopingthat his weight would help hold the taildown during the landing. At the lastmoment he cut off the fuel and ignitionswitches and, as the Bellanca flared closeto stalling, lowered it gently onto the

ground. For a moment it was obscured bya cloud of dust; then, decelerating rapidly,Miss Veedol slithered to a stop, teetered for a moment and fell onto its left wingtip.

After being hugged by his mother and brother, Pangborn wasamazed to discover that a representative of Asahi Shimbun was there to present the fliers with their $50,000 check. Bysome quirk of fate, the newspaper's emissary had selectedWenatchee as their most likely landing point.

Among the little group that had waited through the night wasCarl M. Cleveland, then a young reporter for the WenatcheeDaily World . He had commandeered the only telephone in

hopes that he might get a world scoop. He was notdisappointed: "PANGBORN-HERNDON SPANPACIFIC....BOY ARE WE GLAD TO GET HERE: PANGBORNPUTS IT....IT'S LIKE A DREAM COME TRUE." Cleveland'shometown headlines were mirrored around the continent as hepassed the story to his editor, who relayed Cleveland's wordsto the wire services and the world.

The Asahi Shimbun prize was the only money awarded for theepic flight. As foreigners, Pangborn and Herndon were not



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eligible for the Imperial Aeronautic Association's prize, nor did they qualify for the Seattlebusinessmen's prize.

From Pangborn's point of view, worse was to follow. His relationship with Herndon was alreadystrained, and their partnership quickly dissolved. Bickering between the two came to a head whenHerndon and his mother, as financial backers for the transpacific flight, claimed the prize moneyand the cash realized from the sale of Miss Veedol . They gave Pangborn a paltry $2,500 for hisefforts.

Pangborn vented his feelings in the Albany Times Union . "HERNDON INCOMPETENT SAYSPANGBORN!" blared the headlines. In the story that followed, Pangborn disclosed that his co-pilot had known nothing of navigation because he had been romancing a girl instead of studyingprior to their flight. He disclosed that Herndon had been little more than a passenger in Miss Veedol , stating, "Out of the 200 hours we were in the air [since leaving New York], Herndon flewat most ten of those hours."

The nonstop transpacific flight eventually brought Pangborn other, more lasting rewards. He washonored with American aviation's prestigious Harmon Trophy--joining other greats such asCharles Lindbergh and Jimmy Doolittle. And news came from Japan that, forgiven for his earliertransgressions, Pangborn had been awarded the Imperial Aeronautical Society's White Medal ofMerit.

The most lasting memento of Miss Veedol 's flight was a gift from Clyde Pangborn to the people ofMisawa City. Remembering the touching gift of five apples from the little Japanese boy onSabishiro Beach, Pangborn arranged for the mayor of Wenatchee to send to his counterpart inMisawa City five cuttings from Washington state's famed Richard Delicious apples. They weregrafted onto trees in Misawa City and, within a few years, cuttings and seedlings were distributedto apple growers around the country. Today, Richard Delicious apples are grown throughoutJapan.

miss-veedol-fl

Story & PhotosBy R. Lawrence Osborn

After 40,000 hours of effort by 40 volunteersover five years, a replica of the BellancaSkyrocket Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndonflew around the world in 1931 has finally flown inWenatchee, Wash.

The flight of the recreated "Miss Veedol" tookplace at Pangborn Memorial Field. At thecontrols were the "Spirit of Wenatchee" project's chief pilot Arnie Clarke and construction bossDavid Stadler

.They flew the chubby, high-wing monoplane for about an hour. After landing and exiting throughone of the windows (the plane has no doors), Clarke declared, "She flew just like she wassupposed to."

According to Jake Lodato, the project's communications director and third pilot, some 300onlookers showed up to watch the first flight. Among them was Herndon's daughter HeatherBates from Mesa, Ariz.



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She brought her dad's flight jacket for Clarke to wear. Herndon's grandson Hugh Herndon IV andthree of Pangborn's cousins also attended.

Birth Of An Idea

The project was hatched by EAA Chapter 424 members Brian Odell, Len Pugsley and Rick Rufflein 1997. They thought a static replica of "Miss Veedol" would be a fitting tribute to the namesakeof their home field.

In less than a year, the Spirit of Wenatchee committee had upgraded its plan. The new plan: builda flying replica and use it to reenact the Pangborn-Herndon round-the-world flight in 2003, the100th anniversary of powered flight.

Just as the need for outside funding became obvious, Tokyo investment company owner KazOgura offered to back the project as a promotion. His Pangborn World Flight Co. has longpromoted the project in Japan.

The citizens of Misawa, Japan, East Wenatchee's sister city and the starting point of the 1931trans-Pacific flight, donated more than $40,000. East Wenatchee residents matched theircontributions, helping fund the $450,000 cost of the plane.

The plan to reenact the Pangborn-Herndon flight this year was put on hold by the volatile situationin Iraq. The group has decided to try next year instead.

Incredibly, they plan to drop the landing gear after taking off from Japan to reduce drag, just asPangborn did 72 years ago. The replica "Miss Veedol" (the name of an oil company sponsor) willland on its reinforced belly at the end of the flight.

The gear will be retrieved and reinstalled so the plane can be flown normally to complete theround-the-world flight, just as the original did in 1931.

72 Years Ago …After a stint as a barnstormer, Pangborn set his sights on the 20-day round-the-world record set

by the airship "Graf Zeppelin" in 1929. Preparation for the flight began in early 1931, withPangborn providing the flying skill, Herndon the money.

(Incidentally, Pangborn was instrumental in giving another soon-to-be famous pilot his firstairplane ride -- a young Washington lad named Greg Boyington, future leader of the VMF-214"Black Sheep Squadron.)

In June '31, just as work on their Bellanca Skyrocket was nearing completion, Wiley Post andHarold Gatty stole the record out from under them. They circled the globe in eight days, 15 hours,15 minutes.

The record they had to beat had been cut in half. While the Bellanca was slower than Post'sLockheed Vega "Winnie Mae," Pangborn figured its greater range and resulting fewer stops

would give them an edge.

On July 28th, Pangborn muscled the overloaded Bellanca off New York's Roosevelt Field No. 2and headed out across the Atlantic. After stops in London, Berlin and Moscow, they were still 10hours behind Post and Gatty's pace; crossing Siberia, they fell 27 hours behind.

Knowing they couldn't make up the time in the slower Bellanca, they gave up their round-the-world speed attempt. Instead, they opted to try for the $25,000 prize offered by a Japanesenewspaper for the first nonstop flight from Japan to the U.S.



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But plan B got off to a rocky start when they landed in Tokyo without approval. Though they werearrested, diplomats interceded and got the two released after paying a hefty fine.

While they approved the record attempt, Japanese authorities granted permission for only onetakeoff attempt. If the first try failed or if they were forced to return for any reason, their planewould be impounded.

Since he knew "Miss Veedol" would be carrying 930 gallons of fuel, Pangborn finagledpermission to depart from an 8,000-foot runway at Sabishiro Beach in Misawa. He nevermentioned that he'd rigged the landing gear to be dropped after takeoff, giving the plane an extra15 mph of airspeed and 600 miles of range.

Planning on a 40-hour flight, Pangborn and Herndon left Japan early on Oct. 4th. Three hoursout, they tried to drop the landing gear but only the wheels released; the gear legs remainedfirmly in place.

Pangborn later used his experience as a wingwalker to rectify the situation. At 14,000 feet abovethe cold North Pacific, he crawled out onto the wing struts and freed the gear legs, paving theway for a successful belly landing at the end of the flight.

Just after 7 a.m. on Oct. 5th, Pangborn set the plane down in a near-perfect belly-landing. He andHerndon had flown 5,500 miles across the Pacific nonstop in 41 hours and 15 minutes.

Postscript

After landing in Wenatchee, the plane was trucked to Seattle and new landing gear installed.Pangborn and Herndon then flew on to New York to complete their world flight. While their featwas as significant as Lindbergh's 1927 Atlantic crossing, Pangborn and Herndon received littlepublic acclaim. But Pangborn did win the Aviation League's Harmon Trophy for the greatestachievement in flight for 1931.

"Miss Veedol was disassembled, shipped to Seattle, elevated to the upper floors of the BonMarche department store, reassembled and exhibited for two weeks for Seattle's tony shoppers!"

Lodato said. "It was then shipped to Boeing Field, repaired and put back on wheels for the lastleg of the circumnavigation to New York."

Pangborn and Herndon sold the "Miss Veedol" to New York doctor Leon Pisciuli. Planning to usethe plane in a study of the effects of extended flight on humans, Pisciuli had the all-red Bellancarepainted silver and named it "American Nurse."

He recruited a young nurse named Edna Newcomer and a pilot by the name of William Ulrich toassist him on the trans-Atlantic flight. They took off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York themorning of Sept. 13, 1932 and headed out to sea.

"The American Nurse disappeared over the Atlantic (estimated to be south of Spain) shortlythereafter and no trace was ever found," Lodato said. "The three souls lost are part of the legacy

of pushing the aviation envelope that so fascinated the world in those early, exploratory years."

For more details on the plane and Pangborn, see their website: http://www.spiritofwenatchee.org/ Replica photos http://www.airic.ca/html/bellanca_miss_veedol.html



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Bellanca J-300 Special

What is a J-300 Special? In 1931 Bellanca Aircraft Corp. had the Sky Rocket and the Pacemakeraircraft in production. The J-300 is a hybrid between the two designed with one thing in mindrange. Pangborn himself had the Veedol custom manufactured to suite his needs for long range.Added to this aircraft is four feet to the wing span to help lift the near 6,000 lb fuel load, two times

its own 3,000 lb gross weight. It’s basically a flying gas tank.

A stock Bellanca of the same era is much slimmer with out the belly and chin fuel tanks.

Make: Bellanca (replica).

Model: J-300 Long Distance Special .Year: 1930Engine: Pratt & Whitney 985-14B Radial with engine driven turbo chargerHorse power: 450Propeller: Hamilton Standard 108" variable pitch.Cruising speed: 110 Knots 1700 RPM.Take off distance: Full fuel load unknown.Fuel capacity: 763 US gallons.Fuel system: 8 fuel tanks total.Wing tanks = 4, capacity 216 gallons.Fuselage main deck tanks = 2,capacity 200 gallon forward, 150 gallon aft.Belly tank = 1 capacity, 160 gallons.

Chin tank = 1 capacity, 37 gallons.Emergency fuel dump: 2 Valves 6" main deck tanks.Fuel consumption: 17 GPH calculated average to include time to climb.Range: 45-50 hours 5,000 plus miles (estimate)Weight: 3,180 empty, 8,139 full fuelWings: Span 49'9" feet, area 380 square feet, cord 79"Length: 27'9"Height: 8'6"

clyde pangborn

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