1927
DOLE AIR RACE TO HAWAII
WOOLAROC
FLIGHT POSITION:
9, which was revised to 7.
PILOT:
Lieutenant Arthur C. Goebel, of the Army Air Reserves, who was age 31 and
a Hollywood stuntpilot.
NAVIGATOR:
Lieutenant
William V. Davis Jr, of the United States Navy.
SPONSOR:
This
airplane was sponsored by Frank Phillips, the founder of the Phillips 66
oil company, which provided its aviation fuel. The airplane was named after
Woolaroc Ranch, which was owned by Frank Phillips, near Bartlesville, Oklahoma,
and whose name is a contraction of the words "woods, lakes, rocks". The
Woolaroc
is now on display at the Wollaroc Museum, which was founded for the airplane,
by Frank Phillips.
AIRCRAFT:
Travel
Air 5000 monoplane. It was one of the four airplanes in the air race
to have a radio.
COLOR:
Blue
fuselage with a yellow wing.
ENGINE:
220-horsepower Wright Whirlwind J-5C engine.
FUEL CAPACITY:
425 gallons.
WINGSPAN:
50 feet 4 1/2 inches.
LENGTH:
31 feet 2 inches.
REGISTRATION:
NX869.
Race results:This
airplane took off at 12:36 p.m. and won the $25,000 Dole Air Race first
prize in 26 hours, 19 minutes, and 33 seconds, after arriving at Wheeler
Field on Oahu, Hawaii, at 12:24 p.m., the next day. The airplane arrived
with about 50 gallons of fuel remaining, which was enough for about 3 to
4 hours of flight time. Arthur Goebel later appeared in the 1932 film
The
Lost Squadron.
The Woolaroc,
with Arthur C. Goebel and his navigator, Lieutenant William Davis
Jr., landing at Wheeler Field, on Oahu Island in Hawaii, after a flight
of 26 hours, 17 minutes, and 33 seconds.
|
Cameramen
waiting for Arthur Goebel and Lieutenant William Davis Jr, the winners
of the Dole Air Race and the $25,000 first prize.
|
A hangar
at Wheeler Field.
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A crowd
of people around the Woolaroc, after its arrival at Wheeler Field,
on Oahu, Hawaii.
|
Arthur
Goebel, with his hands in the air, and the Woolaroc, after winning
the Dole Air Race.
|
The
Woolaroc
in Hawaii!
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