{"id":7747865,"date":"2026-07-29T13:43:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:43:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/jetflights\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/"},"modified":"2026-07-29T13:43:42","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T11:43:42","slug":"cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/","title":{"rendered":"Der Amateur, der sich seinen Weg durch Amerika bahnte"},"content":{"rendered":"<style>.et_pb_title_container h1.entry-title { padding-top: 40px !important; }<\/style>\n<p>In 1911, flying across the United States was widely considered impossible. The newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst put money on it anyway, offering $50,000 to the first pilot to cross the country by air in 30 days or less. The men best equipped to try it looked at the state of the aeroplane and declined. The man who actually did it was a 6-foot-4, cigar-chewing amateur named Calbraith Perry Rodgers, who had learned to fly barely three months earlier after 90 minutes of instruction.<\/p>\n<p>He would not win Hearst&rsquo;s prize. He would crash again and again, break bones, and take 49 days just to reach California. But when he finally rolled the tattered <em>Vin Fiz<\/em> down to the Pacific surf, Cal Rodgers had done what no one had done before: flown across America.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f5f5f5;border-radius:8px;padding:20px;margin:24px 0;\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 10px 0;font-weight:700;font-size:18px;color:#222;\">Quick Facts: The Vin Fiz Flight<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.7;\">\n<li><strong>Pilot:<\/strong> Calbraith Perry Rodgers (1879\u20131912)<\/li>\n<li><strong>Flugzeug:<\/strong> Wright Model EX biplane, named <em>Vin Fiz<\/em> after a grape soda<\/li>\n<li><strong>Sponsor:<\/strong> Armour &amp; Company, paying by the mile, with a support train<\/li>\n<li><strong>Route:<\/strong> Sheepshead Bay, New York to Pasadena, then Long Beach, California<\/li>\n<li><strong>Distance \/ time:<\/strong> ~4,200 miles; 49 days to Pasadena, reaching the Pacific 10 December 1911<\/li>\n<li><strong>Crashes:<\/strong> Eight recorded in his logbook, plus many forced landings<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">A prize the experts wouldn&rsquo;t chase<\/h2>\n<p>Hearst announced his challenge in 1910 and gave pilots one year. The roll-call of aviators who said they might try read like a who&rsquo;s who of early flight \u2014 Roland Garros, Thomas Sopwith, Henri Farman. In the end almost none of them started. Even Wilbur Wright was doubtful the machines were up to it.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #d32f2f;padding:20px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px;\">\n<div>\n<p style=\"font-size:17px;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 8px 0;color:#222;line-height:1.5;\">&ldquo;The man who makes it will be exceptional, physically and intellectually. He will need every atom of courage in his make-up.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0;font-weight:600;color:#d32f2f;\">Wilbur Wright<span style=\"font-weight:400;color:#666;\"> \u2014 Aviation pioneer, on the transcontinental challenge<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>Rodgers had courage to spare. Deafened by childhood scarlet fever and shut out of the naval career his family expected, he had turned to racing cars, motorcycles and yachts before flying seized him completely. He talked the Chicago meat-packing giant Armour into sponsoring him to advertise its new grape soda, <em>Vin Fiz<\/em>, painted the name under the wings, and set off.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"margin:24px 0;\"><img data-opt-id=337374767  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-takeoff-sheepshead-bay-1911.jpg\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:8px;\" alt=\"The Vin Fiz lifts off from the Sheepshead Bay racetrack in Brooklyn on 17 September 1911, trailed by a special three-car train carrying spares, mechanics, and Rodgers&rsquo; family.\"><figcaption style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:8px;text-align:center;\">The Vin Fiz lifts off from the Sheepshead Bay racetrack in Brooklyn on 17 September 1911, trailed by a special three-car train carrying spares, mechanics, and Rodgers&rsquo; family.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Forty-nine days and a rebuilt airplane<\/h2>\n<p>Rodgers navigated by following railroad tracks, with the support train painted white so he could spot it from the air. It was just as well he had a hangar car full of spare parts: he crashed on his second day, and kept crashing. He hit a tree, a barbed-wire fence, blew cylinders, ran out of fuel over cotton fields, and repeatedly rebuilt the machine by the trackside. He blew past Hearst&rsquo;s 30-day deadline before he was even halfway.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"margin:24px 0;\"><img data-opt-id=1886790945  fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-wreckage.jpg\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:8px;\" alt=\"Rodgers beside one of the Vin Fiz&rsquo;s many wrecks. By journey&rsquo;s end, so little of the original aircraft survived that only the rudder and an oil-drip pan are said to have made the whole trip.\"><figcaption style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:8px;text-align:center;\">Rodgers beside one of the Vin Fiz&rsquo;s many wrecks. By journey&rsquo;s end, so little of the original aircraft survived that only the rudder and an oil-drip pan are said to have made the whole trip.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div style=\"max-width:100%;margin:24px 0;\">\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"><iframe style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/yjOwN1BnhfM\" title=\"YouTube-Video\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:8px;\">The Smithsonian&rsquo;s National Air and Space Museum, which preserves the Vin Fiz, on Cal Rodgers and his flight.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>When he reached Pasadena on 5 November \u2014 4,231 miles in 49 days by his reckoning \u2014 a crowd of 20,000 mobbed the field. Asked how he felt, the famously monosyllabic Rodgers played down the ordeal even as he cast doubt on Hearst&rsquo;s premise.<\/p>\n<p>He was not done. He insisted on flying all the way to the ocean. Days later, near Compton, the engine quit and the Vin Fiz slammed into the ground, leaving Rodgers with a concussion and a broken ankle. From his hospital bed, cigar in hand, he refused to quit.<\/p>\n<div style=\"display:flex;align-items:center;background:#f8f9fa;border-left:4px solid #1565c0;padding:20px;margin:24px 0;border-radius:8px;\">\n<div>\n<p style=\"font-size:17px;font-style:italic;margin:0 0 8px 0;color:#222;line-height:1.5;\">&ldquo;Oh, I&rsquo;ll finish that flight, all right.&rdquo;<\/p>\n<p style=\"margin:0;font-weight:600;color:#1565c0;\">Cal Rodgers<span style=\"font-weight:400;color:#666;\"> \u2014 From his hospital bed after the Compton crash, 1911<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<p>On 10 December 1911 he did exactly that, taking off on a repaired machine and rolling down onto the sand at Long Beach \u2014 where the crowd pushed the aircraft into the waves \u2014 then limping away on the crutches he had carried strapped to the frame.<\/p>\n<figure style=\"margin:24px 0;\"><img data-opt-id=912634311  data-opt-src=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg\"  decoding=\"async\" src=\"data:image/svg+xml,%3Csvg%20viewBox%3D%220%200%20100%%20100%%22%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20xmlns%3D%22http%3A%2F%2Fwww.w3.org%2F2000%2Fsvg%22%3E%3Crect%20width%3D%22100%%22%20height%3D%22100%%22%20fill%3D%22transparent%22%2F%3E%3C%2Fsvg%3E\" style=\"width:100%;height:auto;border-radius:8px;\" alt=\"The Vin Fiz today, preserved at the Smithsonian&rsquo;s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.\"><figcaption style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:8px;text-align:center;\">The Vin Fiz today, preserved at the Smithsonian&rsquo;s National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<div style=\"max-width:100%;margin:24px 0;\">\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"><iframe style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/JolvV33jRmI\" title=\"YouTube-Video\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:8px;\">A storyteller&rsquo;s account of Cal Rodgers&rsquo; daredevil first flight across the United States.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<h2 style=\"padding-top:22px\">Ein kurzlebiger Triumph<\/h2>\n<p>Rodgers had little time to enjoy his fame. On 3 April 1912, flying an exhibition at Long Beach in a Wright Model B, he flew into a flock of seagulls; one jammed his control surfaces and the aircraft dived into the surf, killing him. He was 33. The much-repaired <em>Vin Fiz<\/em> outlived him and hangs today in the Smithsonian, a patchwork monument to sheer stubbornness.<\/p>\n<div style=\"max-width:100%;margin:24px 0;\">\n<div style=\"position:relative;padding-bottom:56.25%;height:0;overflow:hidden;\"><iframe style=\"position:absolute;top:0;left:0;width:100%;height:100%;\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/0XKfxII6lOQ\" title=\"YouTube-Video\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/div>\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;font-size:14px;color:#666;margin-top:8px;\">A flight-simulator recreation retraces a leg of the Vin Fiz route across the American heartland.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p style=\"font-style:italic;color:#666;margin-top:24px;\">Quellen: <a href=\"https:\/\/historynet.com\/cal-rodgers-transcontinental-crashes\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">HistoryNet \/ Aviation History<\/a>; Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum; contemporary newspaper accounts. This article touches on fatal accidents and is presented as aviation history.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background:#f0f4ff;border-left:4px solid #5C91FF;padding:20px;margin:28px 0;border-radius:8px;\">\n<p style=\"margin:0 0 10px 0;font-weight:700;color:#222;\">Verwandtes Thema: Afterburner<\/p>\n<ul style=\"margin:0;padding-left:20px;line-height:1.8;\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/kingsford-smith-southern-cross-erste-transpazifik-kreuzfahrt-1928\/\">Der Australier, der als Erster den Pazifik \u00fcberflog<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/amy-johnson-first-woman-solo-england-australia-1930\/\">Die Schreibkraft, die allein nach Australien flog<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wiley-post-first-solo-around-the-world-pressure-suit\/\">Der ein\u00e4ugige Pilot, der allein die Welt umrundete<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Im Jahr 1911 flog der Zigarre kauende Amateur Cal Rodgers mit der Vin Fiz von New York zum Pazifik \u2013 und \u00fcberstand dabei einen Absturz nach dem anderen, um den ersten Flug quer durch Amerika zu vollbringen.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":26,"featured_media":7747707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"editor_notices":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[665,666],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7747865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-aviation-world","category-history-and-legends"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.3 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America | Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 1911 Cal Rodgers flew the Vin Fiz from New York to the Pacific, surviving crash after crash to make the first flight across America.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"de_DE\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America | Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 1911 Cal Rodgers flew the Vin Fiz from New York to the Pacific, surviving crash after crash to make the first flight across America.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Afterburner - MiGFlug&#039;s Magazine\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T11:43:08+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-07-29T11:43:42+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1920\/h:1073\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1118\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Joseph Duncan\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@migflug\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Joseph Duncan\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Joseph Duncan\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85\"},\"headline\":\"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T11:43:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-29T11:43:42+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":849,\"commentCount\":0,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg\",\"articleSection\":[\"Aviation World\",\"History &amp; Legends\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/\",\"name\":\"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-07-29T11:43:08+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-07-29T11:43:42+00:00\",\"description\":\"In 1911 Cal Rodgers flew the Vin Fiz from New York to the Pacific, surviving crash after crash to make the first flight across America.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/07\\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1118,\"caption\":\"The Vin Fiz Wright EX at the Smithsonian\"},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\\\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"name\":\"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine\",\"description\":\"for those interested in flying military jets and aviation related  topics\",\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\"},\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#organization\",\"name\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/\",\"logo\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\/\\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\\/cb:0e0_.b970\\/w:897\\/h:278\\/q:mauto\\/ig:avif\\/https:\\/\\/migflug.com\\/afterburner\\/wp-content\\/uploads\\/sites\\/4\\/2026\\/06\\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png\",\"width\":897,\"height\":278,\"caption\":\"MiGFlug GmbH\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/logo\\\/image\\\/\"},\"sameAs\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/www.facebook.com\\\/MiGFlug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/x.com\\\/migflug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.instagram.com\\\/migflug\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.youtube.com\\\/user\\\/MiGFlug\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.linkedin.com\\\/company\\\/migflug.com\\\/\",\"https:\\\/\\\/www.pinterest.ch\\\/migflug\\\/\"]},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/it\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85\",\"name\":\"Joseph Duncan\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Joseph Duncan\"},\"description\":\"Joseph Duncan covers breaking defence news \u2014 fast, sharp dispatches on the Pentagon, procurement and the world\u2019s air forces.\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/migflug.com\\\/afterburner\\\/de\\\/author\\\/josephduncan\\\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","description":"In 1911 Cal Rodgers flew the Vin Fiz from New York to the Pacific, surviving crash after crash to make the first flight across America.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/","og_locale":"de_DE","og_type":"article","og_title":"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","og_description":"In 1911 Cal Rodgers flew the Vin Fiz from New York to the Pacific, surviving crash after crash to make the first flight across America.","og_url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/","og_site_name":"Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","article_published_time":"2026-07-29T11:43:08+00:00","article_modified_time":"2026-07-29T11:43:42+00:00","og_image":[{"width":2000,"height":1118,"url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:1920\/h:1073\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Joseph Duncan","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@migflug","twitter_site":"@migflug","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Joseph Duncan","Est. reading time":"6 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/"},"author":{"name":"Joseph Duncan","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85"},"headline":"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America","datePublished":"2026-07-29T11:43:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-29T11:43:42+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/"},"wordCount":849,"commentCount":0,"publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg","articleSection":["Aviation World","History &amp; Legends"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/","name":"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America | Afterburner - MiGFlug's Magazine","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg","datePublished":"2026-07-29T11:43:08+00:00","dateModified":"2026-07-29T11:43:42+00:00","description":"In 1911 Cal Rodgers flew the Vin Fiz from New York to the Pacific, surviving crash after crash to make the first flight across America.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:auto\/h:auto\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/07\/vin-fiz-wright-ex-smithsonian.jpg","width":2000,"height":1118,"caption":"The Vin Fiz Wright EX at the Smithsonian"},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/cal-rodgers-vin-fiz-first-transcontinental-flight-1911\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Amateur Who Crashed His Way Across America"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#website","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","name":"Afterburner \u2013 MiGFlugs Magazin","description":"F\u00fcr alle, die sich f\u00fcr das Fliegen von Milit\u00e4rjets und verwandte Luftfahrtthemen interessieren.","publisher":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization"},"potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#organization","name":"MiGFlug GmbH","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/ml5psubhxdln.i.optimole.com\/cb:0e0_.b970\/w:897\/h:278\/q:mauto\/ig:avif\/https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2026\/06\/MIGFLUG_LOGO-no-background.png","width":897,"height":278,"caption":"MiGFlug GmbH"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/logo\/image\/"},"sameAs":["https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/MiGFlug\/","https:\/\/x.com\/migflug","https:\/\/www.instagram.com\/migflug\/","https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MiGFlug","https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/company\/migflug.com\/","https:\/\/www.pinterest.ch\/migflug\/"]},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/it\/#\/schema\/person\/b969321b26faa21775f0c40e141cdf85","name":"Joseph Duncan","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/cd6d4cc4c63e8c05a1f5db9308c285d6dd9753e6d076a39f8c5ed9a7d9f7c523?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Joseph Duncan"},"description":"Joseph Duncan berichtet \u00fcber aktuelle Verteidigungsnachrichten \u2013 schnelle, pr\u00e4gnante Meldungen \u00fcber das Pentagon, Beschaffungswesen und die Luftstreitkr\u00e4fte der Welt.","url":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/author\/josephduncan\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7747865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/26"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7747865"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7747865\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7747874,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7747865\/revisions\/7747874"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/7747707"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7747865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7747865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/migflug.com\/afterburner\/de\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7747865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}