First Transcontinental Nonstop Flight

Range, endurance, and navigation

The achievement required fuel planning, engine reliability, weather judgment, navigation across changing terrain, and the physical endurance of two pilots in a noisy aircraft. A long flight is a chain of ordinary systems that must remain dependable for an extraordinary length of time.

History & service

The first nonstop flight across the United States was made by Lts. John A. Macready and Oakley G. Kelly in a Fokker T-2 airplane. Taking off from Roosevelt Field, Long Island, N.Y., on May 2, 1923, the heavily loaded T-2 flew westward through both fair and foul weather (much of it at night) without the benefit of any navigational aids other than a magnetic compass and some railroad maps.

Almost 27 hours later, the single-engine T-2 landed at San Diego, Calif., having flown a distance of 2,520 miles. For their successful nonstop flight across the U.S., Macready and Kelly were awarded the Mackay Trophy for 1923.

Macready was one of the most remarkable pilots in the U.S. Air Service during the 1920s. In addition to being awarded the Mackay Trophy for his 1923 T-2 flight, he was also awarded the trophy in 1921 for his high-altitude flights and again in 1922 along with Lt. Kelly for an endurance record of more than 35 hours in the T-2, making him the only pilot in history to win the award three times.

He was also the first pilot to make an emergency parachute jump at night, second to fly an aircraft with a pressurized cockpit, first to crop-dust with an airplane, and first to fly a photographic aerial expedition of the U.S.

Details that tell the story

Flown May 2–3, 1923 · Pilots were Oakley Kelly and John Macready · Route ran from New York to California · Flight lasted more than 26 hours

The work behind a record flight

Long-distance flying exposed the difference between an aircraft's advertised performance and the demands of a real journey. More fuel extended range but increased takeoff weight. A route that looked direct on a map might cross hostile weather, mountains, or ocean with few options for landing. Navigation, fatigue, engine reliability, and access to fuel could matter as much as speed.

Record flights made individual pilots famous, but their preparation drew on a much wider circle. Mechanics inspected and modified aircraft. Weather specialists helped assess routes. Manufacturers supplied parts and advice. Ground organizations arranged fuel, communications, and recovery. Some journeys were feats of endurance; others were surveys intended to show where dependable future routes might run.

The human stories are strongest when those practical details remain visible. A pilot's courage did not remove risk; it operated alongside planning, experience, and judgment. The surviving aircraft can reveal what the mission demanded through its fuel capacity, cockpit arrangement, engine installation, and provisions for navigation. Related objects in other museums supply the rest of the picture: an engine, a pressure suit, a radio, or a later transport that made the once-exceptional route routine. A record becomes more meaningful when it can be connected to what followed.