Calbraith Perry Rodgers
1879-1912
“Cal Rodgers”
Cal Rodgers started flying in 1911 at age 32. After three months of experience, he became the 49 th licensed pilot. Two weeks later he set the world record for duration in the air at the Chicago International Aviation Meet.
Rodgers then aspired to win a $50,000 prize offered by William Randolph Hearst for the first pilot to fly from coast to coast within 30 days. Sponsored by the J. Ogden Armour company, Rodgers set off from Brooklyn on September 17, 1911 in a Wright Brothers plane named the “Vin Fiz.”
After a half dozen wrecks, two engine explosions and scores of delays, Rodgers landed in Pasadena California on November 5, 1911. He missed the prize deadline but Cal Rodgers became the first aviator to fly across the United States.
Five months later, Cal Rodgers died during an exhibition in Long Beach, California.
