1927 DOLE AIR RACE TO HAWAII 7

1927 DOLE AIR RACE TO HAWAII

MISS DORAN

FLIGHT POSITION: 4, which was revised to 5.

PILOT: John Augy Pedler, age 24, who was the youngest pilot in the air race and had won the privilege of flying this airplane from Eyer L. Solniger, in a coin toss. Both were employees of the Lincoln Oil Company.
NAVIGATOR: Lieutenant Vilas "Cy" Knope.
CREW: Mildred Doran, age 22, who was a Michigan State graduate and a sixth-grade Cairo, Michigan school teacher, from Flint, Michigan. Her father was employed by the Lincoln Oil Company.
SPONSOR: Bill Malloska, the founder of the Lincoln Oil Company service station chain and the operator of a small fleet of airplanes at the Flint, Michigan airport.

AIRCRAFT: Buhl CA-5 Airsedan biplane. It was one of eight Buhl CA-5 Airsedans that were produced in 1927.
COLOR: Red wings and nose, white fuselage, and blue tail. It had "Miss Doran, Lincoln, Mich." painted on its nose and Lincoln Oils advertised on its sides.
ENGINE: 225-horsepower Wright Whirlwind J-5 engine.
MAXIMUM SPEED: 118 mph.
WINGSPAN: 42 feet.
LENGTH: 27 feet 8 inches.
FUEL CAPACITY: 400 gallons.
REGISTRATION: NX2915.

RACE RESULTS: This airplane took off at 12:33 p.m. and returned after 10 minutes, with a smoking engine, but then took off again at 2:03 p.m., after some spark plugs were replaced on its engine, and was lost at sea. It has been speculated that this airplane may have run out of gas over the Pacific Ocean, as it is unknown if Augy Pedler had the airplane refueled for its second takeoff attempt, after he had dumped some of its 400 gallons of fuel, before landing.

The Miss Doran.

Augy Pedler, the pilot of the Miss Doran, and Mildred Doran, a crew member on the airplane, which bears her name. Had the Miss Doran reached Hawaii, Mildred Doran would have become the first woman to fly from California to Hawaii. This honor later went to Amelia Earhart, who achieved it, about eight years later, as a pilot, in 1935. Later, Vernon Dalhart later wrote a song about Mildred Doran, called Mildred Doran's Last Flight, which was recorded as Challenge record number 557.
A closeup of the photo on the left, showing Pedler and Doran.

The Miss Doran having her compasses checked, on a rotating table, before the air race, at Rockwell Field, which was an United States Army air station in San Diego, California. It carries registration number 2915, which was later changed to NX2915.

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*The Miss Doran.*
Augy Pedler, the pilot of the Miss Doran, and Mildred Doran, a crew member on the airplane, which bears her name. Had the Miss Doran reached Hawaii, Mildred Doran would have become the first woman to fly from California to Hawaii. This honor later went to Amelia Earhart, who achieved it, about eight years later, as a pilot, in 1935. Later, Vernon Dalhart later wrote a song about Mildred Doran, called Mildred Doran's Last Flight, which was recorded as Challenge record number 557.	A closeup of the photo on the left, showing Pedler and Doran.
	The Miss Doran having her compasses checked, on a rotating table, before the air race, at Rockwell Field, which was an United States Army air station in San Diego, California. It carries registration number 2915, which was later changed to NX2915.