Aviator. With co-pilot Hugh Herndon, Jr., he made the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean. They flew 4500 miles from Misawa, Japan to East Wenatchee, Washington in just over 41 hours, landing at Fancher Field (now Pangborn Memorial Airport) on October 5, 1931. The planned landing was Seattle but it was fogged in, as was Spokane; East Wenatchee is roughly half way between the two cities. As a flight instructor for the Army Signal Corps in World War I, he acquired the nickname "Upside Down Pangborn" because of his fondness for the slow roll to glide in an upside down position. After the war he was one of many former military pilots on the barnstorming circuit. He co-founded and was chief pilot of the Gates Flying Circus which operated from 1921 to 1928. Pangborn also participated in the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race from London to Melbourne, Australia, coming in second, but close enough that it was considered a significant feat. Many consider his greatest contribution to be his work recruiting American pilots for the RAF and secretly ferrying fighter planes and bombers to the British in North Africa and Australia prior to the United States entry into World War II. His awards include the Harmon Trophy, the White Medal of Merit (from Japan), the King's Medal (from England), and the Admiral Moffett Maritime Aviation Trophy. Pangborn was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1995.
Aviator. With co-pilot Hugh Herndon, Jr., he made the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean. They flew 4500 miles from Misawa, Japan to East Wenatchee, Washington in just over 41 hours, landing at Fancher Field (now Pangborn Memorial Airport) on October 5, 1931. The planned landing was Seattle but it was fogged in, as was Spokane; East Wenatchee is roughly half way between the two cities. As a flight instructor for the Army Signal Corps in World War I, he acquired the nickname "Upside Down Pangborn" because of his fondness for the slow roll to glide in an upside down position. After the war he was one of many former military pilots on the barnstorming circuit. He co-founded and was chief pilot of the Gates Flying Circus which operated from 1921 to 1928. Pangborn also participated in the MacRobertson Trophy Air Race from London to Melbourne, Australia, coming in second, but close enough that it was considered a significant feat. Many consider his greatest contribution to be his work recruiting American pilots for the RAF and secretly ferrying fighter planes and bombers to the British in North Africa and Australia prior to the United States entry into World War II. His awards include the Harmon Trophy, the White Medal of Merit (from Japan), the King's Medal (from England), and the Admiral Moffett Maritime Aviation Trophy. Pangborn was enshrined in the National Aviation Hall of Fame in 1995.
Bio by: Margaret
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