The publisher William Randolph Hearst had offered a US$50,000 prize to the first aviator to fly coast to coast, in either direction, in less than 30 days from start to finish.
Calbraith Perry Rodgers, grandson of naval hero Oliver Perry and a risk-taking sort of sportsman, had taken about 90 minutes of instruction from Orville Wright in June 1911 before soloing, and had won an $11,000 air endurance prize in a contest in August. Rodgers became the first private citizen to buy a Wright airplane, a Wright Model B modified and called the "Model EX".
Since the airplane would need a considerable support crew, Rodgers persuaded Ogden B. Armour, of meatpacking fame, to sponsor the attempt, and in return named the plane after Armour's new grape soft drink Vin Fiz. The support team rode on a 3-car train called the Vin Fiz Special, and included Rodgers' wife Mabel, his mother, other family members, mechanics, reporters, and employeers of Armour and Vin Fiz.
The flight began at 4:30 pm, September 17, 1911, when Rodgers took off from Sheepshead Bay, New York. Although the plan called for a large number of stops along the way, in the end there were about 70 or so, at least a dozen of which were crashes, and Rodgers was injured several times. The Vin Fiz Flyer ended up being rebuilt at least twice, and only a few pieces of the original plane actually made it all the way to the end.
On November 5, having missed the prize deadline by 19 days, Rodgers landed in Pasadena, California, in front of a crowd of 20,000. On the 12th he took off for Long Beach, California, but was forced down twice and broke an ankle. Finally, on December 10 he landed on the beach, and taxied the Flyer into the Pacific Ocean, completing the unprecedented journey of over 4,000 miles.
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In addition to the Vin Fiz endorsement, Mabel Rodgers used the flight to promote an airmail service, and sold special 25-cent postage stamps for items to be carried on the airplane. They were semi-official - the Post Office tolerated them, but insisted that mail carry regular stamps as well. The stamps were large, inscribed "RODGERS AERIAL POST" and "VIN FIZ FLYER", with a picture of the airplane in the center. It is believed that they were ordered by Cal's brother Robert S. Rodgers from a printer in Kansas City, Missouri, and they were probably first available around October 14.
Twelve Vin Fiz stamps are known to exist today - seven on postcards, one on a cover, and four individuals. One of the cards sold in 1999 for $88,000. Another one of the cards was only recently discovered; it was bought at an Internet auction for several hundred dollars, then auctioned by Siegel in December 2001 for $44,000.
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