Today in Aviation History :: The Longest Flight - Part 1 of 2

E.O Tips, father of the Tipsies was involved in this historic flight. He was sent by Fairey to Portugal to deliver and prepare the aircraft. 

Would you mind helping us grow Historic Wings? Please forward this message to a friend today! Email not displaying correctly? View it in your browser. HISTORIC WINGS The Longest Flight - Part 1 of 2 Today in Aviation :: March 30, 2013 We need to expand our readership! Please forward this story to a friend today! When the pair of Portuguese flyers left Lisbon, they were confident of the voyage ahead.  Their aircraft, a single engine, open cockpit, Fairey IIID biplane on floats, was one of the Portuguese Navy's finest.  The date was March 30, 1922 — 91 years ago today in aviation history.  As the plane lifted off, the clock registered precisely 7:00 am GMT.  Ahead was the most daunting and difficult challenge yet flown in aviation history.  Their mission, supported by the Portuguese government and navy, was to fly across the equator and over the vast South Atlantic, stopping along the way at several island groups, to link Lisbon with faraway Brazil.  The flight involved over 5,200 miles of flying, much of it over water in an airplane that at best had a 1,500 mile maximum range.  There would be many stops along the way. The challenges of the flight would push the men and equipment to the limit and beyond.  Two aircraft would be lost and the men would take the third and last plane on its final flight into history — one way or another, the story of the Longest Flight would write the name of Gago Coutinho, the navigator, and his pilot, Sacadura Cabral, forever into history. Continue Reading => Photo of the Day Curtiss NC-4 in Lisbon Harbor in 1919, the US Navy seaplane that made the first North Atlantic crossing. Photo Credit:  US Navy Copyright © 2013 Historic Wings Magazine, All rights reserved. You have received this message because you opted in to our newsletter on our website -- historicwings.com. Our mailing address is: Historic Wings Magazine 118 N. Johnson Road Sterling, VA 20164 Copyright © 2013 Historic Wings & Thomas Van Hare All Rights Reserved