Today, the First Flight Commemorative Half Dollar remembers two brave aviators of less than 100 years ago.
Their goal — to fly around the world in 15 days.
They were not successful, but people still celebrated the many stages of their efforts.
Articles from the Healdsburg Tribune follow their journey:
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OLD ORCHARD. Me., Aug. 26. —With only a scattered dozen persons to bid them farewell, William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee, pilot and passenger of the Stinson monoplane Pride of Detroit, look off for New Foundland at 5:20 this morning. The pair hope to encircle the world in 15 days.
HARBOR GRACE, N. F., Aug. 26. The round-the-world monoplane, Pride of Detroit, arrived here at 4:15 this afternoon.
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HARBOR GRACE, N. F„ Aug. 27.—Edward F. Schlee and William S. Brock were sighted at 8 a. m today (6 a. m. Eastern Standard Time), in the monoplane, Pride of Detroit, flying high and fast near Cape St. Francis, toward England.
HARBOR GRACE, N. F., Aug. 27. —The monoplane Pride of Detroit took off at 7:44 a. m. today, Newfoundland summer time (6:44 a. m. eastern daylight time), on the first leg of its projected round the world flight, with Croydon, England, as its first stop. The plane was piloted by William S. Brock and carried Edward F. Schlee, as passenger-navigator.
Two minutes after the plane left the ground it passed out of sight over the Atlantic.
Weather conditions were perfect and reports from ships at sea indicated favorable weather to the other side of the Atlantic. Brock and Schlee intend to fly around the world in 15 days if they can, or at any event beat the record of Linton Wells and Edward Evans, who traveled around the world in 28-1/2 days.
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MUNICH, Germany, Aug. 29. William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee arrived at -1 p. m. from London, Eng., today, at the end of the second leg of their “round the world” flight in the monoplane Pride of Detroit.
The flight was resumed at 8:29 a. m. (3:29 a. m. eastern daylight time) today from Croydon field, England, when they took off in their Stinson monoplane Pride of Detroit, for Munich, Germany, 570 miles away.
The weather was excellent, the plane in perfect condition, and the fliers refreshed after a night’s sleep at the Hotel Savoy.
They had remained in London 22 hours after their 2350 mile flight across the Atlantic from Harbor Grace, N. F. where at 6:40 a. m. (eastern daylight time) Saturday the two Americans started on a 22,067 mile flight around the world which they expect to accomplish in 15 days.
Schlee and Brock received an ovation. The crowd gathered around them, lifted them shoulder high and bore both men to the Lufthansa building.
“We strayed from our course over Belgium,” Brock told the United Press. “We flew aimlessly for half an hour and then found our course again. We lunched well en route on sandwiches.”
They said they expected to depart tomorrow morning in an effort to fly direct to Constantinople in ten hours.
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BELGRADE, Aug. 30.—The ’round the world monoplane Pride of Detroit, en route from Munich to Constantinople, alighted here at 11:55 a. m., local time.
MUNICH, Germany, Aug. 30. The self-styled vagabonds of the air, William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee, resumed their 100-mile-an-hour jog around the world at 6:36 a. m. today when they left in their monoplane, Pride of Detroit, for Constantinople. They left Munich with the intention of flying to the former Turkish capital without a stop, and hoped to cover the 1100 miles in 12 hours.
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CONSTANTINOPLE, Aug. 31. The around the world monoplane, Pride of Detroit, arrived from Belgrade today at 12 noon. Turkish time is seven hours ahead of Eastern Standard Time. Noon standard time in Turkey would be 5 a. m. Eastern Standard Time.
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Sep. 3. America’s round-the-world fliers penetrated Asia today en route from Bagdad to Bender Abbas, Persia. Brock and Schlee left Bagdad in the Pride of Detroit at 7 a. m. Delays en route from Newfoundland had put them considerably behind the schedule they must maintain if they are to lower the existing 28-1/2 day record for a trip around the world.
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CALCUTTA, India, Sept, 6.—William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee arrived at Calcutta shortly before noon today in their monoplane, Pride of Detroit, in which they are circling the globe in record time. They had left Allahabad, 485 miles westward, at 6:55 a. m.
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Sept. 7. William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee arrived at Rangoon, Burma, from Calcutta today in their ’round the world monoplane, Pride of Detroit.
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HONGKONG, China, Sept. 9. The American around the world fliers, William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee, arrived here from Hanoi, French Indo-China, at 3:30 p. m., today. Flying eastward from Harbor Grace, N. F., they reached the Pacific ocean on their fourteenth day of the flight, setting a new world record.
They had covered approximately 9550 miles of their 22,067-mile itinerary around the world. The pride of Detroit left Harsi at 7 a. m., and was due to Hong Kong shortly after noon.
Their late arrival was due to dull weather, low lying clouds and poor visibility, which necessitated flying at reduced speed for the sake of safety.
When the fliers failed to arrive at the time expected a royal air force airplane went to meet the Pride of Detroit.
After several hours had passed both planes were sighted at the Kaitack airdrome, the Royal air force plane acting as escort.
American consular officials, British officers and a fair sized crowd greeted Brock and Schlee as they stepped out of the plane that had carried them without mishap across the Atlantic, across Europe and across Asia.
Brock and Schlee left Rangoon, Burma, yesterday at 6:15 a. m., with Bangkok, Siam, next on their schedule.
The distance between the two cities is 350 miles. When the Pride of Detroit had not arrived at Bangkok by 3 p. m., it was presumed the fliers had decided to fly to Hanoi, perhaps by a more direct route. The presumption was correct.
The next jump will be up along the coast for 800 miles to Shanghai, then across the east China sea and up through Japan to Tokyo, 1075 miles. At Tokyo, almost the halfway mark, they will install a new engine in the plane before starting the hazardous flights across the Pacific.
HONG KONG, Sept. 9.—William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee of the ’round the world monoplane Pride of Detroit today reaffirmed their determination to continue their journey by air via the Midway Islands and Honolulu. They planned to start tomorrow morning for Shanghai, whence they would fly to Tokyo, Midway Islands, Honolulu and San Francisco.
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Sep. 10. Reports from Shanghai today state that William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee arrived there at 5:30 p. m. today in their monoplane Pride of Detroit in which they are flying around the world.
They had left Hong Kong, 800 miles to the south, at 7 a. m. Their next jump will be across the East China sea and through the interior of Japan to Tokyo, 1075 miles from Shanghai.
Brock and Schlee left Harbor Grace, Newfoundland, two weeks ago today. Because of the difference of time between Newfoundland and Shanghai, their arrival at Shanghai was almost to the hour two weeks after their departure from Harbor Grace.
At Tokyo, the halfway mark, they plan to install a new engine in their plane, then resume their flight via Midway Islands, Honolulu, San Francisco and across the United States to Harbor Grace.
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Sept. 13.—William S. Brock, Edward F. Schlee and their ’round-the-world flight monoplane, Pride of Detroit, were isolated at Omura today. A furious storm, which beat against the coastlines and interior of the Island of Kyushi, held them there.
All wire communication was severed and the railway connecting Nagasaki with Omura, where the Pride of Detroit awaited better weather, was washed out. Other lines were blocked.
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TOKYO. Sept. 14.—William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee reached here tonight tired, dirty but undaunted in their determination to fly around the world. Nothing can prevent them from continuing their flight across the Pacific ocean to America, they said.
TOKYO, Sept. 14.—William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee today reaffirmed their intention of attempting a flight across the Pacific ocean by way of the Midway islands.
They expressed hope that they would be able to start at dawn Friday. The airmen arrived in the Pride of Detroit at Kasumigaura flying field, near here, today after a 650-mile flight from Omura in the typhoon ravaged province of Omura.
They left Omura at 6:30 a. m. and arrived at Kasumigaura at 2:55 p. m.
Neither Brock nor Schlee seemed to be impressed by the conviction of most persons here that an attempt to fly from here to the United States in a land plane would be suicidal.
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TOKYO, Sept. 16.—William S. Brock and Edward F. Schlee of the ’round-the-world monoplane Pride of Detroit flew to Yokohama from here today. They landed safely.
Brock and Schlee have abandoned their plan to fly across the Pacific and will travel by boat. They expect to fly on from San Francisco, making the flight to Detroit without a stop.
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SAN FRANCISCO, Sept. 30. Making a last moment change in their plans, William Brock and Edward Schlee left San Francisco at 8:58 a. m. today in their plane, the Pride of Detroit, for Los Angeles.
From Los Angeles, they will take the southern route on their homeward journey to Detroit. Previously it had been their plan to follow the airmail route from San Francisco to Chicago by way of Salt Lake City, Cheyenne and Omaha.
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LOS ANGELES, Oct. 1.—William Brock and Edward F. Schlee, whose proposed “round the world” flight was abandoned at Tokyo, took off from here at dawn today for El Paso, Texas, in the monoplane Pride of Detroit.
From El Paso, they will go to Dallas and from there to St. Louis. They expect to arrive in Detroit next Tuesday afternoon.
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From the Lewiston Morning Tribune, the following describes the reception for the men.
Even though part of their airplane’s journey was on a ship, the people still recognized their effort and their risk.
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Detroit, Oct. 4. —Schlee and Brock completed their circumnavigation of the globe today and received a tremendous ovation from the hometown residents.
At exactly 3 o’clock the big monoplane, Pride of Detroit, which had taken the intrepid fliers without serious mishap across land and sea, settled to earth at the Ford airport.
As the two men, who failed in their attempt to break the around the world record, but who spanned the Atlantic and vast spaces of Europe and Asia, stepped from their plane, they were greeted by happy friends and relatives.
Mrs. Schlee, wife of the navigator, who has endured many anxious hours since the plane headed over the Atlantic ocean on the start of the venture, leaped into her husband’s arms.
One of the first to congratulate the men was Edward S. Evans, millionaire manufacturer, who holds jointly the around the world record of 28 days, made by railroad, steamship and airplane.
After the brief greeting, the fliers were hustled into automobiles and rushed to the city hall, where they were pushed through another crowd enthusiastically cheering to be congratulated by Mayor Smith and other officials.
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The First Flight Commemorative Half Dollar Coin shows with images of the two aviators and their airplane, the Pride of Detroit.
