100th anniversary of the ‘mile-high club


Reflecting Pool takeoff, buzzing the Capitol and the 100th anniversary of the ‘mile-high club’

 
A floatplane takes off from the Reflecting Pool, headed directly toward the Lincoln Memorial in 1923. (Library of Congress)
What is the best weather for a takeoff on the Reflecting Pool? Great question. A headwind is helpful for maximum lift, and calm water is necessary for a smooth takeoff.
It also really helps if the weather occurred back in 1923. We don’t recommend trying it now.
A century ago, Washington was targeted by aviators and stunt pilots at the dawn of the golden age of aviation. The Reflecting Pool takeoff was one of the more interesting stunts performed in 1923. Given the waves in the photo, it appears there was indeed a good headwind to help with lift.
After the floatplane rose above the Reflecting Pool, the pilot maneuvered the airplane around the Lincoln Memorial. The stunt was successful.
 
Preparing for takeoff on the Reflecting Pool in 1923. The floatplane had the entire length of the Reflecting Pool for liftoff before needing to dodge the Lincoln Memorial.  (Library of Congress)
The 1923 takeoff may have been inspired by the stunts of Lawrence Sperry, inventor and aviation pioneer, a year earlier.
On March 22, 1922, less than two months after the Knickerbocker Snowstorm buried the District with 28 inches of snow, Sperry buzzed the Capitol dome with an airplane and then landed it next to the Capitol steps. He was immediately greeted by police and government officials who shook his hand and posed for photographs that were shot by photographers who were in the vicinity. That certainly wouldn’t be the outcome today.
[Gyrocopter pilot who landed at U.S. Capitol sentenced to 4 months in prison] 
Sperry was allowed to take off from the Capitol, and he flew west to the Lincoln Memorial, where he landed again. He posed for more photos. Sperry took off one more time and landed near the U.S. Treasury Department building, where he asked for prompt payment for a contract that he previously worked with the U.S. Navy.
 
Lawrence Sperry buzzed the U.S. Capitol and then landed next to the Capitol steps on March 22, 1922, in his Sperry “Fliver.” He was warmly greeted by police and government officials. (Library of Congress)
The 100-year anniversary of the “mile-high club”
 
Sperry is considered a founding member of the “mile-high club,” although he was only 500 or 600 feet in the air at the time.
On Nov. 21, 1916, Sperry was flying with a student and friend, Dorothy Rice Pierce, above the coast of Long Island when he accidentally bumped the autopilot device and disengaged it. In 1912, Sperry had invented and patented the first autopilot, which he often used and demonstrated in flight.
With the autopilot disengaged, the airplane crashed into Great South Bay, and Sperry and Pierce were both rescued from the water nude. After the rescue, Sperry said it was the impact of the water that “divested” them of their clothing. No one believed Sperry’s story about how they lost their clothes, and at least one New York tabloid had fun with a headline at their expense.
Pierce, who was married at the time, divorced her husband 11 months later. She met another man, Hal Sims, on a chartered flight, and they married. Dorothy Rice Sims went on to become an accomplished pilot, motorcycle racer, bridge player, sportswoman, journalist and political correspondent. She lived 70 years and died on March 24, 1960.
 
Dorothy Rice Pierce, left, and Lawrence Sperry, right, are thought to be the founding members of the “mile-high club” during a flight on Nov. 21, 1916. (Library of Congress)
Most early pilots feared flying in the fog, but not Sperry. By the end of 1923, Sperry had logged more than 4,000 hours of flight time and he was very comfortable flying with newly invented instruments in his airplane that helped navigate during poor visibility.
Unfortunately, poor visibility is what would eventually kill him.
On Dec. 13, 1923, Sperry took off from England for a short flight to France despite heavy fog over the English Channel. He never arrived. His body was later found in the Channel on Jan. 11, 1924. Sperry was only 30 at the time of his death.
During his short lifetime, Sperry held 24 patents and is credited with inventing the autopilot, the turn-and-slip indicator, retractable landing gear and an effective aerial torpedo.
The name, Sperry, and Sperry Corp., which was founded by Elmer Ambrose Sperry, the father of Lawrence Sperry, continue to be well-known today in the world of aviation and manufacturing.
 
Lawrence Sperry climbs out of his airplane after landing near the Capitol steps. (Library of Congress)
 
A crowd gathers around Lawrence Sperry after he landed next to the Capitol steps on March 22, 1922. (Library of Congress)
 
Lawrence Sperry lands near the Lincoln Memorial after buzzing the Capitol dome and landing at the Capitol steps on March 22, 1922.  (Library of Congress)
 
Lawrence Sperry sits in his airplane near the Lincoln Memorial. He touted that his airplane, the Sperry “Fliver,” could fly 100 miles per hour. (Library of Congress)


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