Airienteering with 13MIKE

by Fred J. Calfior and Douglas W. Miller

AirLeg 29

1) When abeam the town of Dobbs Ferry, turn towards “VAN CORTLAND PARK”

2) Descend to “7000” feet

“This is more of a historical (hysterical?) note than anything else! On November 2, 1947, Howard Hughes piloted the H-4 Hercules for its one and only flight for 60 seconds, traveling just over 1 mile at 80 miles per hour across Long Beach Harbor near Los Angeles, California. Some say it was quite by accident, since Hughes was just playing with the flaps on the taxi run when all of a sudden, it was airborne! But no matter, it was done! It had a wingspan of almost 320 feet, which has never been exceeded to this day, and was powered by eight 3,000 horsepower Pratt & Whitney R-4360 engines. It weighed a whopping 400,000 pounds, made just about entirely of wood. Since it skimmed the surface of the water, and was predominately wood, it was given the nickname Spruce Goose!”

3) Who was France's top World War I ace?

If your answer is “Rene Fonck”, go to AirLeg 23

If your answer is “Adolphe Pegoud”, go to AirLeg 88

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