Page 37 - Volume 13 Number 9

James Dole (center) talked met with first-place winners Goebel and Davis (left). Pilot Martin Jensen (right) and navigator Paul Schluter, placed second in their Breese monoplane Aloha. Of the eight contestants in the race only two reached the islands. (Frank Phillips Museum)
At daybreak on the morning of August 20, ships of the United States Navy were converging on the area where the Dallas Spirit should have been when Eichwaldt sent his final transmission. No trace of the airplane was found, and after a week of further searching, the Navy canceled the effort.
Back in Wichita, Jacob Moellendick was admitted to the hospital after hearing news of the disappearance of the Dallas Spirit and apparent death of his two friends, Erwin and Eichwaldt. Jake’s great gamble had failed, forcing his airplane company into bankruptcy. By contrast, Walter Beech and the Travel Air company had much to celebrate in the victory of Goebel and Davis and the Woolaroc. His great gamble had paid off handsomely, but Walter and the nation deeply lamented the death of six men and one woman in an all-or-nothing dash to Hawaii, a race that 91 years later remains controversial in both its purpose and execution. KA
Notes:
1 Forden,Lesley:“TheGloryGamblers—TheStoryoftheDoleRace;”1986.
Ed Phillips, now retired and living in the South, has researched and written eight books on the unique and rich aviation history that belongs to Wichita, Kan. His writings have focused on the evolution of the airplanes, companies and people that have made Wichita the “Air Capital of the World” for more than 80 years.
SEPTEMBER 2019
KING AIR MAGAZINE • 35
The Woolaroc was photographed after landing at Wheeler Field, Territory of Hawaii. Goebel and Davis had been in the air more than 26 hours since departing Oakland.
(Frank Phillips Museum)