First aerial circumnavigation
The first aerial circumnavigation of the world was completed in 1924 by four aviators from an eight-man team of the United States Army Air Service, the precursor of the United States Air Force. The 175-day journey covered over 26,345 miles (42,398 km). The team generally traveled east to west, around the northern-Pacific Rim, through to South Asia and Europe and back to the United States. Airmen Lowell H. Smith and Leslie P. Arnold, and Erik H. Nelson and John Harding Jr. made the trip in two single-engined open-cockpit Douglas World Cruisers (DWC) configured as floatplanes for most of the journey. Four more flyers in two additional DWC began the journey but their aircraft crashed or were forced down. All airmen survived.
The aircraft shown here, Chicago, led the first round the world flight in 1924.
Pilots of the 1924 Round The World Flight
Major Martin and Sergeant Harvey at Port Moller after crash of the Seattle
U.S. President Calvin Coolidge inspected the planes when they landed in Washington, D.C., toward the end of the tour in September 1924
Santa Monica Airport is a general aviation airport largely in Santa Monica, California, United States, in the Greater Los Angeles area. It is one of the United States' oldest airports, and has been one of the world's foremost general aviation airports.
2006 USGS airphoto
Facing east toward Century City and landing aircraft
Approaching Santa Monica Airport from the east
Airport diagram of Santa Monica Municipal Airport (KSMO, SMO), after the runway length change in 2017