MIKE GRACIA

The Hughes Flying Boat—at one time the largest aircraft ever built—
is piloted by designer Howard Hughes on its first and only flight.

The  aircraft is on display at the Evergreen Aviation & Space Museum located in McMinnville, Oregon.

U.S. Air Force Captain Chuck Yeager became the first person
to fly faster than the speed of sound.

Yeager, born in Myra, West Virginia, in 1923, was a combat
fighter during World War II and flew 64 missions over Europe.

Brigadier General Charles Elwood Yeager
(February 13, 1923 – December 7, 2020)

Amelia Mary Earhart
(July 24, 1897; disappeared July 2, 1937; declared dead
January 5, 1939)

Aviation trailblazer Amelia Earhart became the first woman to
fly solo across the U.S. nonstop on this day in history, Aug. 24,
1932.

Earhart piloted her Lockheed Vega 5B from Los Angeles to
Newark in 19 hours and 5 minutes.  She set an official U.S
record for women’s distance and time.

Amelia Earhart’s Lockheed Vega 5B in the National Air
and Space Museum.

American aviator Wiley Post returned to Floyd Bennett Field in
New York on July 22, 1933, having flown solo around the world
in 7 days, 18 hours, and 49 minutes. He was the first aviator to accomplish the feat.

Post, instantly recognizable by the patch he wore over one eye,
began the journey on July 15, flying nonstop to Berlin. After a
brief rest, he flew on to the Soviet Union, where he made several
stops before returning to North America, with stops in Alaska,
Canada, and finally a triumphant landing at his starting point in
New York.

Wiley Post with his Lockheed Model 5C Vega, NR105W,
at Floyd Bennet Field, Long Island, New York, 15 July
1933.