Dole Air Race 1927 Kinograms Newsreel; San Francisco to Hawaii Air Race (Patreon)

more at http://quickfound.net/

Silent, with title cards. 'Dole race, 1927. With noted aviators and pilots, including Emory Bronte, Ernie Smith, Hegenberger, Maitland, Arthur Goebel and Lieutenant William Davis, Martin Jensen, Captain Paul Schulter, Major Livingston Irving, Norman Goddard, Kenneth Hawkins, Bennet Friffin, Al Henley, Lieutenant Knope, Miss Mildred Doran and Auggie Pedlar, Gordon Scott and Jack Frost, Captain Bill Erwin and Navigator Alvin Eichwaldt. Scenes include airplanes taking off, a demonstration of a life raft, the crash of the Pabco Flyer and El Encanto.'

Originally a public domain film from the Library of Congress Prelinger Archives, slightly cropped to remove uneven edges, with the aspect ratio corrected, and one-pass brightness-contrast-color correction & mild video noise reduction applied.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dole_Air_Race

Wikipedia license: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/

The Dole Air Race, also known as the Dole Derby, was a deadly air race across the Pacific Ocean from Oakland, California to Honolulu in the Territory of Hawaii held in August 1927. There were eighteen official and unofficial entrants; fifteen of those drew for starting positions, and of those fifteen, two were disqualified, two withdrew, and three aircraft crashed before the race, resulting in three deaths. Eight aircraft eventually participated in the start of the race on August 16, with only two successfully arriving in Hawaii; Woolaroc, a Travel Air 5000 piloted by Arthur C. Goebel and William V. Davis, arrived after a 26​1⁄4-hour flight, leading runner-up Aloha by two hours.

Of the unsuccessful six aircraft, two crashed on takeoff, two were forced to return for repairs, and two went missing during the race (Golden Eagle and Miss Doran). One of the aircraft that was repaired took off again to search for the missing aircraft several days later and also vanished over the sea (Dallas Spirit). In all, before, during, and after the race, ten lives were lost and six airplanes were lost or damaged beyond repair...

Inspired by Charles A. Lindbergh's successful trans-Atlantic flight, James D. Dole, the Hawaii pineapple magnate, announced on May 25, 1927 a prize of US$25,000 (equivalent to $370,000 in 2019) for the first fixed-wing aircraft to fly the 3,870 kilometers (2,405 mi) from Oakland, California, to Honolulu, Hawaii, and US$10,000 (equivalent to $150,000 in 2019) for second place. The flights would have to complete in the 12 months following August 15, 1927. Dole stated he hoped that Lindbergh would compete. The prospect of breaking more long-distance flight records enticed other wealthy businessmen to offer similar Pacific-conquering prizes: Sid Grauman offered US$30,000 (equivalent to $440,000 in 2019) to the first to fly from Los Angeles to Tokyo, and William Easterwood offered a similar US$25,000 (equivalent to $370,000 in 2019) prize for the first to fly from Dallas to Hong Kong in three stops and no more than six days. All the wealthy patrons hoped to draw Lindbergh.

The Honolulu chapter of the National Aeronautic Association drew up rules for the Dole race.

The transpacific record

The publicity for the first successful transpacific flights from Oakland to Hawaii were stolen by two flights in June and July 1927, ahead of the scheduled August start for the Dole Derby. On 28 June, about a month after Dole posted the prizes, Air Corps Lieutenants Lester J. Maitland and Albert F. Hegenberger flew a three-engine Atlantic-Fokker C-2 military aircraft from Oakland Municipal Airport to Wheeler Army Airfield on Oahu in 25 hours and 50 minutes. An earlier attempt in 1925 had ended in failure for two Navy PN-9 seaplanes; one of the aircraft, commanded by Commander John Rodgers, ran out of fuel several hundred miles short of Hawaii and sailed to Kauai over the next nine days...

Woolaroc flew a great-circle route, flying at an altitude of 4,000 to 6,000 feet (1,200 to 1,800 m), above the cloud cover... Goebel and Davis won the race in 26 hours, 17 minutes, earning them the US$25,000 first prize. After their sponsors were paid, Goebel and Davis split the remainder, earning them each US$7,500...