The still-young aviation world began buzzing following an announcement newspaper publisher William Randolph Hearst made on October 10, 1910. The media mogul pledged $50,000 to the first pilot to fly across the United States in 30 days or less, in either direction, by October 10, 1911. Hearst said he intended the prize to “encourage the useful development of the aeroplane,” but if he gained publicity for his newspapers, so much the better.
Such a feat would smash all existing records for long-distance, multi-leg flights. Wilbur Wright, for one, was skeptical that it was even possible, feeling that the Wrights’ motor was not up for the task. “I think sixty days ought to be allowed for this reason,” he said. Aviator Glenn Curtiss was more optimistic, saying he didn’t have “the slightest doubt that it will be done.” Louis Blériot, who had become the first person to fly across the English Channel the previous year, was itching to give it a try. “If I had not pledged my word to my wife that I would not fly again, I would certainly compete for this prize and this honor,” he stated.
The list of pilots who said they’d vie for the prize was a who’s who of aviation pioneers. It included Henri Farman, Roland Garros, Harry Atwood, Walter Brookins, Thomas Sopwith and John Moisant. In the end, three pilots, none of them as well-known, made the attempt. They were Calbraith Rodgers, Robert Fowler and James Ward. The obstacles they had to overcome included the lack of powerful, reliable engines; unstable, delicate aircraft easily tossed about by the elements; muddy, rut-filled fields that made takeoffs and landings dangerous, and the lack of navigational instruments. “The man who makes it will be exceptional, physically and intellectually,” Wilbur Wright said. “He will need every atom of courage in his make-up.”
Fowler, 27, was the first to start, departing from San Francisco on September 11, 1911. A native of San Francisco, Fowler had recently completed. This was the shortest route, but it crossed the Sierra Nevada mountains—a formidable obstacle. On the second day of his attempt, Fowler crashed near Alta, California. He was battered and bruised, and his airplane would need a major rebuild before he could resume his journey eastward.
