Solo Flights around the World

George W. Truman and Clifford Vassar Evans flew around the world solo, in convoy. One could argue that in having another aircraft in close proximity was not a "solo" flight, however, they were alone in their respective aircraft, and their exploit is still worthy of being told.

Truman and Evans were both ex-Army pilots. At the end of the WWII, they becane Civilian Flying Instructors at the College Park Airport in Maryland.

In 1946, while watching the new Piper Super Cruiser taxiing in front of their flying school, someone is supposed to have said: "With an extra fuel tank on the back seat, that aircraft could be flown around the world".

These words may have been spoken by Truman, but they could also be the words of another flying instructor, Gene Pace. Truman and Evans were soon to become obsessed with the idea of flying around the world, studying aeronautical charts, and looking for legs of no more than 1000 miles. The pair kept their idea secret, fearing that other pilots with bigger resources might steal their 'idea', and beat them to it. With their wives support, which was not forthcoming in the beginning, and post war euphoria, nothing was impossible to these American pilots. The war was over, and the year was 1946.

Truman and Evans approached the Piper Aircraft Company, and also Lycoming, the engine manufacturer, for sponsorship. Unfortunately, although Piper and Lycoming promised assistance on the completion of the flight, the companies later withdrew their offer.

After unsuccessfully contacting other potential companies for assistance, Truman and Evans were forced to sell their cars and mortgage their homes. In the end, Piper agreed to give them two second-hand airframes which were in good condition, and also had their engineers design, build, and install, the ferry tanks necessary for the flight. Lycoming, not wanting to be out done, sold them two brand new engines for a dollar each. With these two main hurdles out of the way, and the companies wanting only publicity in return, the flight could now proceed. However, this was not before Truman suffered an engine failure while testing a new propeller, caused by water in the carburetor. After repairs, the two Super Cruisers were taken to Washington D.C. where they were christened, with pomp. Truman named his machine the "City of the Angels", as he was living in Los Angeles, and similarly, Evans called his "City of Washington", for the same reason.

Truman and Evans originally aimed to depart on their journey in the middle of summer, but with delays, the two pilots eventually took off from Teterboro in New Jersey, on August 9th, 1947. With such a late start in the season, bad weather in the Northern Hemisphere would now be against them all the way. Their first planned stop was Presque Isle in Maine, but in the confusion of the departure, Truman took a heading toward Bangor, Maine, eventually making it to Presque Isle, and then proceeding on to Goose Bay in Labrador. Due to bad weather , Truman and Evans could not depart from Goose Bay until August 13th , heading for the American base of Bluie One at Narsasuacq, Greenland. Here they stayed until August 24th, in the base hospital, having both caught the flu and being unable to fly.

Once they were back on their feet, the two men flew the very long leg of 950 miles, in very bad conditions, to Reykjavik in Iceland. Their next planned stop was Prestwick in Scotland, but due to heavy fog, Truman and Evans were forced to divert to Newton Yard in Ireland. After refuelling, they flew on to Croydon in England, and became the first pilots to cross the Atlantic in light aircraft. They had covered a distance of 3600 miles in 42 hours.

Truman and Evans visited friends in Ypenburg, Holland, before continuing their flight and landing at Orly Airport, south of Paris on September 3rd. At Istres, in southern France, they were delayed by severe thunderstorms, and didn't arrive in Rome until September 9th. A very long leg of 1500 miles took them across the Mediterranean to Cairo in Egypt, where they landed on September 11th , to Bagdad on the 12th, and on to Dahran where they were detained for 6 days by Arab authorities until the 19th September. Then followed another very long leg of 1100 miles to Karachi in Pakistan, which took 9.5 hours, and on to Jodhpur in India, where they were the guests of the Maharaja.

After crossing the Indian Ocean, Truman and Evans stopped in Rangoon in Burma, Hanoi in Indochina, and arrived in Hong Kong on October 3d. As much as the crossing of the North Atlantic had been difficult because of the late season, the crossing of the Indian Ocean was relatively easy, without the usual troubles caused by the monsoons and the Intertropical Convergence Zone. However, the trip was far from over. A typhoon in the China Sea stopped them in Hong Kong until October 6th. When they left for Shanghai, the head wind was so strong they had to stop at Amoy, one of the coastal islands of South-East China, and were consequently considered lost when they did not arrive in Shanghai on time. Finally, they arrived in Fukuoka in the Japanese island of Kyushu, followed by several stops in different Japanese towns: Nagoya, Tokyo and then Chitose in the island of Hokkaido.

Truman and Evans had hoped to be allowed to land on the Kuril, but the Soviets refused permission. The next landing place was the American Base on Shemya, on the western end of the Aleutians islands, a distance of 1500 miles. Because it was so late in the season, this leg was to be the most dangerous of all the flight. They finally landed at Shemya after a difficult flight of 13 hours and 30 minutes. When they left for Adak toward the American continent, a Flying Fortress B-17 and a Catalina, flew along with them to offer any assistance. From there they flew to Cold Bay and Nalnek in very poor weather. On their way to Anchorage, they had to turn back because of no visibility and heavy icing. They made several stops along the west part of Canada and landed in Los Angeles on November 26th. They were well received in the town which gave her name to Truman's aircraft. The pair then crossed the US to arrive at the point of departure, Teterboro in New Jersey, on December 10th, 1947.

Truman and Evans had covered 22,500 miles in 122 days and 23 hours, with 275 hours and 25 minutes flying time, and visiting twenty one countries along the way.

They had been the first to cross both the Atlantic and the Pacific in "light aircraft". Indeed, all the previous crossings had been done in larger aircraft or flying boats. Truman and Evans did not seek to set or beat any records, but simply to fly around the world in their light aircraft. These two pilots, their aircraft, and the engines, all performed well throughout the entire flight.

The importance of this successful flight was to prove that their so called "light aircraft", were perfectly capable of long and difficult flights.

The City of Washington was donated to the National Air & Space Museum in Washington. The Museum is part of the Smithsonian Museum. Unfortunately, the Piper, as well as so many other interresting aircraft, cannot be seen as it is kept at the restoration centre of Suitland in Maryland.

Since I wrote this (in 2004), I received news from Helen Horrocks, cousin of Clifford V. Evans Jr., that the City of Washington was hung the night of October 26, 2006 in the Smithsonian's Udvar-Hazy Center at Dulles Airport, Chantilly, VA., ironically almost directly above the Concorde.
Thank you Hellen Horrock for that, one more reason to visit the Museum.

The City of the Angels has been restored with the original colors and it is visible at the Piper Aviation Museum in Lock Haven, Pennsylvania.