Page 32 - Volume 13 Number 9

Wichita’s Greatest Gamble – Part Two
On August 16, 1927, two airplanes built in Wichita, Kansas, took off from Oakland, California, bound for the shores of Hawaii, but only one would return triumphant.
by Edward H. Phillips
By early August both Arthur Goebel and Bennett Griffin had arrived at the Oakland airport with their new Travel Air monoplanes, the Woolaroc and Oklahoma, respectively. Resplendent in their paint schemes of blue fuselage and orange wings, the Wichita ships looked impressive and appeared more than capable of making the 2,400-mile-long trek westward. William Erwin and Alvin Eichwaldt had finally arrived in the Dallas Spirit, painted in a conservative green and silver combination.
Early on the morning of August 16 a flood of spectators began arriving at the airport. By midmorning the crowd was estimated at 25,000 with other estimates as high as 100,000. The race was Oakland’s big event – merchants closed their shops, workers were given or took the day off and a large fleet of small boats filled with curiosity seekers bobbed gently in the waters of San Francisco Bay, almost directly in line with the end of the runway. As Dole race historian Lesley Forden writes, “The people at the airport brought their camp stools, picnic tables, lunches, ukuleles, cameras and field glasses to watch this crazy once-in-a-lifetime stunt, and they brought a great curiosity about this new and exciting world of airplanes and aviators.”
When the clock struck 12 the stirring of the crowds was overwhelmed by the ear-splitting roar of eight Wright Whirlwind radial engines as their pilots checked magnetos and checked oil pressure, temperature and RPM at full throttle. All of the racers were using the reliable Whirlwind, which had proved itself on Lindbergh’s Ryan
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monoplane and was fast becoming the engine of choice for commercial and military aircraft.
It was time for the first contestant to line up on the dirt runway, and Bennett Griffin taxied the Oklahoma into position, revved the engine to full throttle and watched anxiously for the starter’s flag to drop. Behind the Travel Air, arranged in a semicircle, stood the El Encanto, Pabco Pacific Flyer, Golden Eagle, Miss Doran, Aloha, Woolaroc and last, Dallas Spirit.
When the checkered flag finally dropped, the Oklahoma, heavily laden with more than 450 gallons of highly flammable aviation fuel, its Wright engine roaring at full throttle, struggled to move forward, but slowly accelerated as men pushed on the wing struts until the ship left them in the dust. At 12:02 pm the monoplane was airborne and heading out over the bay. Next came El Encanto, which promptly entered a ground loop and crashed, crushing the left wing as the landing gear failed. The Pabco Pacific Flyer was next to try, but the airplane suddenly rolled to a stop and had to be towed back to the starting line (it later crashed on the second takeoff attempt).
The Lockheed Vega Golden Eagle took off effortlessly, followed by the Buhl Air Sedan Miss Doran with the pretty, 22-year-old schoolteacher Mildred Doran on
SEPTEMBER 2019
The Woolaroc flying high above the clouds in the Dole race. Only four of the eight airplanes that had entered the race made it in the air – the Golden Eagle, Miss Doran, Aloha and Woolaroc. (Frank Phillips Museum)