Talk:Fokker F.IV

October 1922

Was the first, unsuccessful, transcontinental flight made on October 5 or 24, 1922? Sources differ. Drutt (talk) 19:00, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

According to Fokker: Commercial aircraft, ed de Leeuw and published by Fokker, it was the 5 October, when they were airborne for over 35 hr. Second attempt was on 3 November(25 hrs).TSRL (talk) 19:13, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Thank you. Do you know when in 1921 it flew for the first time? Presumably sometime after April 1921, which was when the F.III took to the air. Drutt (talk) 19:27, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

This image is what caused the confusion. The caption states:

Undaunted by failure in two attempts to fly from coast to coast in a single hop, Oakley G. Kelly and John A. Macready, lieutenants in the U.S. Army Air Force, succeeded in crossing the United States in a non-stop flight, May 3, 1923.

Leaving San Diego, California, October 24, 1922 in their first attempt with a Fokker monoplane heavily laden with fuel, the army fliers were unable to get enough altitude to cross the mountain pass of Temecula, blanketed with clouds. They tried again in November of the same year. This time after negotiating the Rocky Mountains, a cylinder water jacket burst. They were finally forced to land near Indianapolis after desperately fighting thunder storms with a crippled motor all the way across the broad Mississippi Valley.

Their third and successful attempt was from Roosevelt Field, N.Y., and totalled 2516 miles to San Diego without a stop in 26 hours and 50 minutes. Failure and disaster were barely averted in this achievement, when Kelly and Macready miraculously pulled their machine out of an impending crash against the mountain walls of Arizona.

Drutt (talk) 19:42, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

Built in late 1921 (same source), no first flight date given, but flown by Fokker himself (perhaps amongst others). Arrived US March 1922, first one (c/n 1800) to USAAS 30 June 1922. Fog ended the first attempt, a cracked water jacket the second. de Leeuw describes the E-W successful flight, more prosaically, as "trouble free". The E-W advantage was that they did did not have to climb their heavily fuelled aircraft rapidly after departure. Suspect your caption writer needs to take more water with it!TSRL (talk) 20:02, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

According to this, the advantages of the W-E route are a prevailing Westerly wind and superior Californian fuel. Drutt (talk) 20:16, 4 April 2010 (UTC)

The Smithsonian account is measured and undramatic, as you would expect. Choosing to go with the prevailing winds seems very sensible at first glance. After all, it took another nine years after the first Atlantic heavier than air non-stop crossing to go the other way (Junkers W.33). I guess low altitude wind patterns may be a bit less consistent overland, but W-E would be your first choice. The Smithsonion does not say why they changed their minds, but de Leeuw's explanation, that going E-W avoided an early, rapid and heavily laden climb, sounds plausible. I wonder when the first W-E US coast to coast non-stop flight was made.TSRL (talk) 09:38, 5 April 2010 (UTC)

There's an intersting parallel with the flights of Calbraith Perry Rodgers and Robert George Fowler in 1911. They set off at the same time, from opposite ends of the country, and Fowler promptly crashed into the mountains east of California. He carried on, but was eventually beaten by Rogers. There's a detailed account of the race here) Drutt (talk) 00:17, 11 April 2010 (UTC)