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Summary

From August 9 to December 10, 1947, Clifford Evans and George Truman circled the globe in their Piper Super Cruisers, the first time light personal aircraft accomplished such a feat. This collection consists of a photo album documenting the preparation for their around the world flight.

Biographical / Historical

From August 9 to December 10, 1947, Clifford Evans and George Truman circled the globe in their Piper Super Cruisers, the first time light personal aircraft accomplished such a feat. Evans flew the City of Washington while Truman flew the City of The Angels. Neither Evans nor Truman was wealthy, so they had to convince Piper, Lycoming, and other manufacturers to donate the necessary equipment. Finally, they were able to arrange for two fully equipped, secondhand Piper Super Cruisers to be furnished for the trip. These planes were modified by the addition of a metal, rather than wood, fixed-pitch propeller, extra instruments, sophisticated radio and navigation equipment, and two extra 50-gallon fuel tanks for a total supply of 138 gallons to allow for 26 hours of endurance. They also carried survival equipment. Evans built a drift meter to help with navigation for both aircraft as well. The two planes were christened on July 25, 1947 at Washington National Airport with water flown in from both the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans, and their flight officially began when they left from Teterboro, New Jersey on August 9, 1947. The flight took just over four months and encompassed 22,436 miles. Weather was the biggest problem, confining them to the ground for many days. However, when they arrived back at back at Teterboro Airport on December 10, 1947, the only mishap was a damaged tail wheel on one of the landings. During their final stretch across the United States, the "Modern Magellans," as they were billed, were celebrated with dinners and receptions and were greeted by President Harry Truman in Washington, DC.

Identifier

NASM.XXXX.0226

Creator

Courtesy Associates

Date

1947

Provenance

Unknown, item found in collection, NASM.XXXX.0226.

Extent

0.29 Cubic feet (1 flat box)

Archival Repository

National Air and Space Museum Archives

Scope and Contents

This collection consists of a photo album documenting the preparation for Clifford Evans and George Truman's around the world flight in their Piper Super Cruisers. Many of the photographs have captions and a few have attached press releases. The photographs show Evans and Truman posed with their aircraft, scenes of both pilots with their families, interior views of the aircraft, scenes of both pilots studying maps and charts and selecting survival equipment, and many images from the ceremony where the aircraft were christened at Washington National Airport. The album ends with images of the departure of both aircraft from Teterboro, New Jersey on August 9, 1947 to begin the flight.

Arrangement note

Collection is in original order.

Rights

Material is subject to Smithsonian Terms of Use. Should you wish to use NASM material in any medium, please submit an Application for Permission to Reproduce NASM Material, available at Permissions Requests.

Restrictions

No restrictions on access

Citation

Piper PA-12 (Super Cruiser) Around the World Flight Photo Album [Evans and Truman], NASM.XXXX.0226, National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.

Topics

Aeronautics

Piper PA-12 (Super Cruiser)

Flights around the world

Air pilots

Type

Collection descriptions

Archival materials

Photograph albums