Page 33 - Volume 13 Number 8

to fly nonstop from California to the United States Army’s Wheeler Field near Honolulu, Territory of Hawaii. The second­place finisher would receive $10,000. The only stipulation was that the flight had to be nonstop and completed within one year after the date of Aug. 12, 1927.
When Lindbergh landed in France, Dole was in San Francisco, California, reading the newspapers about “Lucky Lindy’s” triumphant flight. After considerable thought and discussion, Dole had the following statement printed in the Honolulu Star Telegram for May 25, 1927:
“James D. Dole, believing that Charles A. Lindbergh’s extraordinary feat in crossing the Atlantic is the forerunner of eventual transpacific air transportation, offers $25,000 to the first flyer and $10,000 to the second flyer to cross from the North American continent to Honolulu in a nonstop flight within one year after the year beginning Aug. 12, 1927.”
In the wake of Dole’s challenge, air racing fever reached a near fever pitch. By late June the Travel Air company had received 17 orders for specially­modified monoplanes to compete for the prize, but these were rejected when it became clear that the pilots lacked not only the money necessary to build such an airplane, but the qualifications and experience to fly it halfway across the vast Pacific Ocean.2
Meanwhile, north of downtown Wichita, 54­year old Jacob “Jake” Moellendick was facing a major decision that he knew would either “make or break” the Swallow Airplane Manufacturing Company. The business had begun in 1919 when Jake and E.M. “Matty” Laird teamed up to produce the Swallow – a double­bay, three­place biplane powered by the ubiquitous, war­surplus Curtiss OX­5 engine. By late 1923 about 40 had been sold before Laird resigned and relocated to his hometown of Chicago, Illinois, where he became a successful builder of custom biplanes.
In early summer 1927 a Texan named William P. Erwin had placed an order for a cabin monoplane specially designed and equipped to compete in the Dole race. Time was short – only two months remained before the Aug. 12 deadline. Jake’s chief engineer, Waverly Stearman (brother of Lloyd C. Stearman) was in the process of completing the engineering drawings and plans to build the ship to Erwin’s specifications.
For years Moellendick had been a gambler, betting that his oil fields in Kansas would strike black gold (and they often did). Customers for the Swallow were becoming
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impatient to take delivery of their airplanes, the backlog already was more than the small factory and workforce could cope with, and dealers were becoming angry as delays continued. Jake, however, made up his mind to build Erwin’s airplane. The production line screeched to a halt and all resources were directed to building the monoplane Erwin called Dallas Spirit.3
By early August, activity at the Swallow facilities had reached a frenetic pace as workers scrambled to complete Erwin’s ship in time for the race. The rules of the race required that each pilot have a navigator, and Erwin signed up Alvin Eichwaldt who was soon familiarizing himself with the airplane’s navigator compartment. Unfortunately, the Swallow monoplane missed the entry deadline, but an agreement was reached that delayed the takeoff date to Aug. 16.
As with his old friend Jake, Walter Beech also was willing to take a risk. The board of directors authorized him to negotiate with only two pilots desiring to place orders – Arthur Goebel and Bennett Griffin – to custom­ build Type 5000 monoplanes for the race. Goebel was a well­known pilot and respected businessman based at Clover Field near Santa Monica, California. He learned to fly in 1920 and had flown many stunt scenes for National Pictures, Inc. Walter Beech received his order June 17 and Goebel arrived at the factory for five days of interviews and questions about his flying abilities. Finally, he signed a contract and plunked down the required $5,000 deposit to begin construction, with the balance $15,000 due upon delivery early in August.
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 31
William Erwin revs up the Wright radial engine of the Dallas Spirit as part of pre-race preparations at the Oakland, California, airport. Erwin planned to continue flying from Hawaii across the Pacific to Hong Kong in an attempt to win the William E. Easterwood prize for the first three-stop flight from Dallas to Hong Kong. (Frank Phillips Foundation, Inc., Bartlesville, Oklahoma)