Do Go On - 363 - The Deadly Dole Air Race

Episode Date: October 5, 2022

On a foggy Tuesday morning in 1927, 75,000 to 100,000 people stood at Oakland Airport to see off 8 planes on a daring air race from California to Hawaii. But the race was ill fated, before it even began - this is the story of the Deadly Dole Ari Race, the 9th most voted for topic for Blocktober 2022!This is a comedy/history podcast, the report begins at approximately 06:50 (though as always, we go off on tangents throughout the report).Support the show and get rewards like bonus episodes: https://patreon.com/DoGoOnPodLive show tickets: https://dogoonpod.com/live-shows/  Submit a topic idea directly to the hat: dogoonpod.com/suggest-a-topic/ Buy merch: https://do-go-on-podcast.creator-spring.com/ Stream our 300th episode with extra quiz (and 16 other episodes with bonus content): https://sospresents.com/authors/dogoon Check out our AACTA nominated web series: http://bit.ly/DGOWebSeries​ Twitter: @DoGoOnPodInstagram: @DoGoOnPodFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/DoGoOnPod/Email us: [e-mail] Check out our other podcasts:Book Cheat: https://play.acast.com/s/book-cheatPrime Mates: https://play.acast.com/s/prime-mates/Listen Now: https://play.acast.com/s/listen-now/Who Knew It with Matt Stewart: https://play.acast.com/s/who-knew-it-with-matt-stewart/ Our awesome theme song by Evan Munro-Smith and logo by Peader Thomas REFERENCES AND FURTHER READING:http://www.sfmuseum.org/hist10/27dolerace.htmlRace to Hawaii by Jason Ryanhttps://hiavps.com/Maitland.htmhttp://www.century-of-flight.freeola.com/Aviation%20history/pathfinders/Kingsford%20Smith.htmhttps://www.nla.gov.au/sites/default/files/crossingthepacific.pdfhttp://archives.starbulletin.com/2003/12/29/features/story2.html Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Melbourne and Canada, we got exciting news for you. And we should also say this is 2026. Jess, what year is it? 2026. Thank God you're here. Right now, I'm in Melbourne doing my show with Serengy Amarna 630 each night at the Cooper's Inn Hotel, having so much fun. We'd love to see you there. Canada, we are visiting you in September this year.

If you've somehow missed the news, we are heading up Vancouver, Calgary, Montreal and Toronto for shows. That's going to be so much fun. Tickets for all this stuff, I believe, are online. And I'm here too. Welcome to another episode of Do Go On. My name is Dave Waterkey and as always I'm here with Jess Perkins and you better believe it. Matt Stewart. I believe it.

I believe it as well. And how good is it to be alive? It's so good. It's so good. It is the best. And I appreciate the weekly reminder because sometimes every other day of the week, I'm like, is it good to be alive? I think it sucks.

And then I see you and you're like, it's good to be alive. And I'm like, that's right. It is. Because your memory lasts almost exactly a week. We record once a week, dead on. Yeah. Matt is keeping you going. Just for new listeners, I was wondering if you could explain how this show works and what it is even.

Well, it's good to be alive. And how this show works is one of the three of us goes away. Research is a topic, usually suggested by a listener. And we bring that research, that knowledge back to the other two, who listen politely, who don't interrupt and don't go on any silly little riffs. No. And we do that on a weekly basis. Jess, I'll stop you right there.

And Dave, it is actually the first week of a very special do-go-on celebration we do annually. Absolutely. It's block. It is the most wonderful time of the year. Welcome everybody to the first episode of Blockbuster Tofer, Grace, period, or Blockbuster Tober. Yeah. For sure. Officially, yeah, that's the official title.

We've copyrighted that trademarks that don't even try and infringe us. Happy Block, everyone. And a merry block to all. A merry Block, and what are you doing for Block? Um, Hamptons. Oh, fantastic. I've hired a marquee, uh, next to the Hamptoms. Hamptoms.

The knock-up? Yeah, buddy, yeah. It was pretty cheap. Yeah. I was surprised how cheap it was. Yeah, we'll drive in different directions, but it's just, it's just to get around a mountain in the Hamptoms. I was just thinking if I said about Marquis and the Hamptoms, maybe you could drop by.

Yeah, no, no, I'd love to. I'll be there. Because I'll, you know, I'll be right next. We'll be in the same area. Yeah, yeah, you're in the Hamptoms. And so am I in the hamptoms. Hampsons. That would be great.

That would be good. Yeah, perfect. Oh, great. I'm going to, I don't know if you want to join me in this, but I'm going to count down the nine most voted for episodes for Block Buster-Tober. So basically, at this might be the fourth year, the fifth year, I can't even remember how many times we've done this beautiful celebration where Matt's put together a massive vote of our most requested, our biggest topics.

Put it out there. We've had thousands of votes that's been tabulated in a supercomputer, the size of a bedroom. A large bedroom. The walk-in robe. My computer is very old. It's cumbersome. But he brings it every week. Yeah.

The votes been tabulated and over the next nine weeks, starting this week, we're going to count down in order the most requested, the biggest, the baddest of the topics. And that's right. You say nine weeks, obviously there's not nine Wednesdays in October. Like last year, we are annexing November into block. Yeah. Calling it Blovember. I think that's what we dubbed it.

So this is going to be a. two-month festival of ideas. Dangerous ideas. Yes. But I'm kicking off with the first report, the ninth most voted-for topic, and we always get onto the topic. A lot of pressure on number nine. Lot to pressure.

Oh, my goodness, top nine. Top nine is, you know that's annoying me. Yeah. Sorry. Nine. Tell it to Gregorian. Yeah, you're right. Greg, I guess.

And we always start with a question, is what you were trying to say when I interrupted. you. What is your question, Matt? My question is, who did Bill Clinton beat in the 1996 US presidential election? See, that would be, you would have been five or six years old at the time. It would have been front of mind for you. Yeah. Who did he beat? It was the talk of prep. I think I know this guy's name only because of the Simpsons. It's not Spiro Agnew. No, it's not Spiro Agnew. Is it Woodrow Wilson? It's not Woodrow Wilson. Bob Dole. Correct. Bob Dole likes to talk about Bob Dole.

Bob Dole. I do not know who Bob Dole is. I'm guessing based on the question. You're telling me the ninth-mast Request of topic is Bob Dole. We've really scraped that. This might be our seventh year. I don't know.

We've done a lot of things for this. This episode isn't actually about him, but it's about the Dole Air Race, no relation. And I didn't... I just thought it was a fun way to get into it. That really is fun. That is fun. That's fun.

A little red herring off the... It is good. All I think of doll is doll whip, which is delicious. Oh, I'm in the dark about doll whip. It's like a soft serve made with pineapple. Wow. In Hawaii. Oh, my gosh.

That may be connected. That may well be connected to this. Might be. Because this doll was a Hawaiian pineapple magnet. Yes, the doll plantation. Oh my goodness. How funny is that? I've been there.

I've never heard of him. All right. Well, you can throw some color in as we go. Great. Yellow mostly. And whilst we're talking about a beautiful hue. whilst we're talking about state-based creamy delicacies. Okay.

I just want to say that I was recently at a wedding where I met a guy from Vermont. And I blew his mind by being like, oh, home of the creamy. And he was like, what the hell are you talking about? As in he had no idea what he was. But he was like, why, how do you know what a creamy is? And I had to explain, look, I do a podcast, kind of obsessed with Vermont. It's the best state. Ohio is the second best.

And then did he know any Australian ice creams? Absolutely. I was like Bubbleau Bill, you went on board, gay time. Yeah, I'll split one. Let's go. It's gay time. Yeah, golden gay time. Oh, I didn't realize.

Delicious. Why isn't that one of the things that comes up when we're proud of stuff. You know, when we're proud of gay time. Bullshit stuff. Oh, uh, you're coming. Far lap. It's like, when Hugh Jackman's on, was on Letterman or something, he's like, I'll show you how to have vegamite on toast.

Yeah. So why isn't he going, I'll show you how to have a gay time. Yeah. Yeah. Uh, so this topic was suggested by Alex Bichet. from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Rachel Reynolds from Sydney, Australia, Stanley from Chicago, Illinois, the Windy City, Greg Knowles from London Town, Caroline Spencer from New Zealand, and Doug James from Chelsea Heights in Victoria. Nice to have one close to home. This is the opening of an article

written a few decades after the event. It's by Jane Eschelman, Conant, from the San Francisco Cal Bulletin. By the way, I googled Conant and found out she was a the pioneering journalists in the San Francisco area, writing from the 40s to the 70s. She's a big deal there. So every time I say that name, Conan, she can be like, wow. You're talking about that pioneering journalist? So Conant writes, it was a foggy Tuesday morning, August the 16th, 1927. The mist shrouded Oakland airport, drifting close above eight little airplanes lined up in a semicircle at the head of a dusty runway.

15 men and a girl were busy with their rickety craft. Attending to last minute details, adjusting bulky engines and tightening flimsy control wires. A crowd of 75 to 100,000 people or persons, as she wrote. I love the on days. Yeah. Clustered along the wooden fences. The chill breeze failing to dampen their eager excitement. I love that as a cliche in any sort of event reporting where the weather's a bit off.

I say, but they didn't let the rain dampen their spirit. Yeah. So good. Also, my mind, like, exploded because you said 75, and I thought you're going to say, like, oh, only 75 people watching, thousand. It just went, suddenly there's 75,000 people. You were about to say suddenly there's a million people. Yeah, yeah. I was like, oh, yeah, we've got a quaint little event.

75 people have turned up. This is lovely the 20s. Oh, my God, there's 100,000 people there. There's 4 billion people there. Conant continues. For everyone who was there, it was a great. day in the history of aviation and of the San Francisco Bay Area. For everyone there.

For everyone there. For anybody else who wasn't there, not a great day in aviation, terrible day in aviation. And as you'll hear, it wasn't a great day for everyone there either. Yeah, okay. For every single person there, it was the best day of their life. Someone might have had a headache or something. We did some exit interviews and they all said, wow. This the best day of my life.

This day was the day of the long-awaited doll race to, Honolulu. Wow, the conats really got away with the words. This day was the day. Okay, so some of those clumsy bits, that's me adding them in. You know, I don't want her to sound too smooth. It was a bright and thrilling adventure, the daring conquest of the Pacific by pioneers of the air. No one knew how close death was hovering over the rough surfaced airfield.

No one knew that the dull flight story, when it was all done, would be a classic of irony, of courage and folly or valiant imprudence and of tragedy. This is the story of the ill-fated, 1927 deadly dull air race. Okay. It's getting, giving a few things away there, isn't it? Let's just remember it was the best day. Best day of everyone's life. It's tragic, death-filled.

Best day. But they had lolly bags. And berry flowers. Popcorn was being given out by the bag full. Some of those kids had never tasted pop corn before that only had regular corn. They said, I can't believe that this is the same product that mum tries to get me to eat. Why don't you pop it, Mum? Pop it, Mum.

That's just one pop away from being delicious. I love corn. I love corn as well. Oh, my God. It'd be one of my favorite vegetables, but I'm only just remembering that. I think when I go, what's my favorite vegetable? It never comes up in the list. But I'm like, you idiot, Jess, you love corn.

It's so good. It almost seems like a separate thing. Totally. It's so versatile. I love it. You have it on cob. Yeah. Off cob.

Popped. Un popped. Yeah. List goes on. Candy corn. Uncandy corn. Uncandy corn. Those tiny little corns.

Baby corn. Baby corn. Oh, sweet baby corn. Delicious. That's one of my nickname. Sweet baby corn. Sweet baby corn. Speaking of babies, modern aviation was still just a little bubba.

The Wright brothers. as we heard on a previous episode, their first flight was only a couple of decades earlier, and that only travelled 180 feet. So now they're trying to go from mainland America to Hawaii. Obviously, it's come a long way in only 20-odd years. Things moved rapidly, though, and by early 1927, Charles Lindbergh, another previous topic, made aviation history of his own when he flew the spirit of St. Louis from Long Island to Paris, making it the first non-stop solo flight across the Atlantic. But at that point, no one had made it. across the Pacific.

Another ocean. That's true. That is true. In a lot of ways, a bigger ocean. A different ocean, for sure. At the very least different. At the very least different. Dave, can I fact check?

Big ocean? How do you measure an ocean? Do you know what I mean? Yeah. Like, aren't they all essentially all one? It's like how wet is it? Yeah. They're both very wet.

Very wet. You know? How blue is it? They're both right off the wetness scale. Yeah, yeah. They're blowing up that little wet ball at the top of the wetness scale. It's like if you were hoping.

hoping to just get not get too wet, don't go to the ocean. Very wet. On the wetness scale, both the Atlantic and the Pacific rate, sopping. That's at the top of the scale. Wow. You cannot get wetter. You can't get wet up. The only thing higher than that is ocean.

Yeah. Which they already are. Which they already are. Yeah. So it's a comfort circle. Yeah, it's a confusing scale. So no one had made it across the Pacific. According to Coneya, that was what impelled the Hawaii pineapple magnate James D.

D-Dol to put 35 grand in prizes for the first planes to make the Pacific crossing. Immediately after Lindberg's feet, he offered 25 grand to the first ship to make it and 10,000 to the second. Wow. So this is big. That's huge money back then. Big money, yes. Ship or plane?

Like an airship. Airship. Okay, right, because I was like, I reckon they can do that. And they have been doing it for centuries. Yeah, but can they do it without getting sopping waste? Yeah. That's the challenge. Hey, if you can fly that ship.

Over the ocean. You can get 25 grand. He's like, no one will ever, I'll get some publicity, but no one's ever catching that check. This is going to be good for pineapple business. So the response was huge. Many pilots quickly announced they were up for the challenge and keen to have a crack at the massive prize money. And like just said, in today's money, 25 grand is around half a million in today's money.

Jesus. Big dollars, life-changing money. It soon became clear that so many pilots were going to attempt defeat. that rules needed to be written up. They're like, oh, shit. Oh, no. I hadn't thought about this. And they wanted to make it fair.

A start date was agreed upon by all competitors, meaning anyone who left early would be disqualified from winning the prize money. For many of the competitors, the money was almost secondary to the potential glory of being the first to complete this history-making flight. Well, then why would you wait for the start? Go early. If money means nothing, go now. And that's what happened.

A couple of young pilots from the US Army decided to have. head off early outside of the competition on June the 28th, forfeiting their chance at the cash. The articles I read put everyone's ages in. These guys were 29 and 32. Everyone was somewhere between 22 and 32, okay? Okay. I don't need to tell you all their names. They're all very young.

So, yeah, even the old... I think of them as all very young. Even the oldest ones. The oldest ones, they're very young, we could agree. A 32-year-old is incredibly young. But just starting out at life. Has their whole life ahead of them? And if they haven't achieved anything, it doesn't matter.

Yeah, it's fine. It's okay. And then mummy still loves you. Yeah. Right? Yeah. That's fine. Yeah, mommy still loves you, Boppa.

I know, I know. I'm not talking about me, obviously. I'm fine. You're very secure. I'm incredibly secure and much younger than 32. Much younger. Much, much, much, much younger. Never ask a lady her age.

But yeah, if you haven't achieved everything you wanted to achieve by 32, it's like, who cares? Yeah. Like, if anything, if you've achieved heaps by 32, it's like, I don't know a loser. Leave something to do. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. You've got centuries left of life. What are you going to do, twiddly your thumbs?

And it's all downhill. Have a goal, you loser. Yeah, have a goal, loser. Well, unfortunately, these two pilots who were 29 and 32, Lester J. Maitland and Albert F. Heganberger, they were about to achieve something at an age, I would say, is too young. Okay. 2932.

They had any more experience. They took a Fokker military monoplane named Bird of Paradise, from Oakland Airport heading west across the Pacific. I've got to compliment you too. I know you've had recent birthdays, just letting Fokker slide, and I appreciate that. We're more mature now. Yeah.

Compared to other... But if somebody's name is like, poop-pantz, you best believe we're jumping on that. I mean, we're only so mature. We can leave Fokker alone. I think, you know what? I think if the movies, like, meet the Fokkers and stuff, hadn't been out for a very long time.

But now I'm like, Yeah. Compared to other significant flights from the same period, such as Lindberg's, this one with Maitland and Heganberger. And they're flying a Fokker. In the Fokker. Okay, now I get it. That's funny.

This one does not seem to be as well known or remembered. Lindberg gets all the press. This one happened like months later, and it was significant as well, but there's really not that much info on it. Because the new cycle moves on. It's like, great. He's already done it the other way. Yeah.

Whatever. Oh, you're trying for the other ocean. Cool. Whatever. An ocean's an ocean. Cool. How many are there? There's like six or seven.

They're both sopping on the scale, guys. Like, who cares? You swim in them, you get all salty. Yeah. Like, what's the difference? Maybe one's a little bit colder. Oh. Like, I don't give a fuck.

Yeah, people don't think about water based on temperature. It's about wetness. Ocean is ocean. Can we just fucking chill? Please? I'm sick of this. Yeah. Unlike that other.

famous. Why do we have to have labels for our ocean? It's just an ocean. I look out there, I don't see different types of ocean. I see ocean. Yeah. Water is water. Water is water. Salt water is water. And water is drinking water. Drinking water. His drinkies. So I did find one cool article about it though on the Hawaiian Aviation Preservation Society website. And they write the following about Maitland and Heganberger. Their intended destination was Wheeler Field on Oahu, crossing 2,300 miles of Pacific Ocean with no possible landfall until the Hawaiian Islands. The Fokker C2 airplane had three 220 HB Wright engines and had a theoretical range of 2,500 miles.

So it was a 2,300 mile crossing. They had a theoretical range just above that. A little buff, I'd a spin. I imagine they only filled it to 90% in the tank. We don't need a full. We'll just go straight there. I don't need 2,300. That won't be any wind or anything.

I'm not going to waste money. Yeah. We're not stopping a piss. Yeah, and wind doesn't change the distance, Matt. You just got to go 2300 miles. Who cares? It might blow off course, but it's still 2300 miles. Yeah.

You could go on a big circle. We're still talking about the distance as the crow's flies. Exactly. Which is the way we should go. We should just follow the crow. Follow the crows. Slow down, crow. Don't worry about navigation.

You just follow that frickin' crow. He knows where to go. It's wearing a Hawaiian shirt, for fuck's sake. I think I know where it's going. The amount of people on a plane to Hawaii already in Hawaiian shirts, I was like, Jesus Christ, that's good stuff. I mean, but they're leaving nothing further the experience of the island. They're already, they've already bought the souvenir before going.

Yeah. It's possible that crow just went to shop at Lowe's buying where the big men buy. And they're big on Hawaiian shirts. So it's possible that's just casual. crow wear as well. Yeah, that's just a very cool casual crow. Excuse me, where's your casual crow wear section? And they look, yes, I'm a crow.

Do you have a problem? I'm my crow dollars not accepted at this shop. No, I do not want to talk to see, I want a casual crow wear. Let me speak to Mr. Lowe. Get him down here. Get Lowe down here, please. There's a crow to see Lowe. If not, if Lowe's not in, I'll speak to Daryl Broman, the old rugby player on the ads.

Is he in? The article continues. In 1923, Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland became the first pilot to exceed 200 miles per hour, reaching the speed of 245 miles per hour. So he smashed it. Can we bring back the name Lester? Oh, Lester's a great name. It's really good.

And it works so well as a lieutenant, Lieutenant Lester. Oh, that's good. Yeah. He was later assigned to the 6th Aerow Squadron at Wheeler Field. Maitland was designated the pilot for the flight. Lieutenant Albert F. Heganberger, a World War I flight instructor, and MIT graduate was the navigator. Bit of a dream team.

I mean, yeah, it's funny. This guy's about to go for this record breaking flight, but he's already broken records. He knows what he's doing. Breaking records is just like, whatever to him, you know what I mean? Yeah. Once you've broken one, you know, it's like having a piss. Once you've broken the seal on records, it's just like,

oh, I'm breaking records every fucking five minutes, all of a sudden. Just like getting married. You do it once. You're like, oh, that's boring and easy. I can do that. That's why Dave. Eight more times. Already says my first wife.

Just in case. I don't want to look like a fool later on. You don't have to go back and change old diaries and stuff. Just that's bad first wife. Actually, I think you'll see that I always referred to as my first wife. It's so funny, like getting married and then still being that insecure. No, actually, I was prepared for her to leave me at any moment. I said I was committed.

but, you know, how committed can anyone really be? It's like committing to a bit. Yeah. It's just a bit. Yeah. Yeah, and it's gotten out of hand. Back to the article. The aircraft was outfitted with a radio direction finder or an RDF, which failed a few hours into the flight.

Oh, God. Good, good. This is why I was lucky that had that crow followed. They've got the backup pro. The crow's a backup. The original plan was to use it to home in on a new radio beacon on Maui, thus greatly aiding the navigational task. With the failure of the receiver, they were a.

reduced to dead reckoning and celestial navigation in order to arrive safely. I'm sure I don't have to explain what those things mean. I really hope I don't have to. Just looking around, using the stars, maths. Yeah. And being like, we've been travelling in this direction for two hours, we must be here. Yeah. I dead reckon that's probably that right.

Running low on fuel and with no side of land, Maitland saw a flash of light off to his left, which turned out to be the Killer Wayer Lighthouse on the, island of Kawahi. Circling the lighthouse, waiting for the light of dawn, they finally oriented themselves and headed for Oahu. Jess, feel free to pull me up on any of these pronunciations. I mean, Oahu's right.

I don't know about the other one because I did not go to that island, but it sounded about right. The vibe was about right? The vibe's right. I did like, I mean, I've looked up as many of the pronunciations as possible. Hey, believe in yourself. Don't let that stop you from believing that. I can butcher it. And me, having been on a 10-day holiday there, I'm an expert.

But you're the closest thing we've got. That's right. But I can be reading a phonetic spelling of a word and still butcher the pronunciation. That's true. I've got a rare skill. You are incredible. I can add syllables in. Someone was pulling me up on a word I say recently that I lose one syllable and add an extra

syllable. Ah. And I think we figured out that was, I picked it up in my six years in country Victoria. All right. You can't remember what the word was? I can't remember. But it was a, I'm like, I don't know. I'm like, I didn't realize I said it like that.

The only word I can think of that you say differently is interesting. That might have been for me. How do I say it? Interesting. And that's wrong. It's not wrong. We would just say interesting. Oh, yeah, mate, that was a word like that.

Yeah. Inter. So I put the er in. Interesting. And I would lose some of the end. It's like how Americans would say it. Right. Maybe it's from my six months in America.

Yeah. I was trying to give a nickname for America. America. What do you call it? USA? The old US of A. The land of the free, baby. Thank you. I knew there was one. It's a pretty famous country. I thought that would have had a freaking nickname, surely. Land of the free. God bless them. Everyone.

Anyway, so this air race. So it sounds like this lighthouse basically saves them. Just right off in the distance. If that lighthouse wasn't there, I don't think we would have ever known what happened to it. Take that people who say we should tear down all lighthouses. Yes, shut up. Shut up. They save lives. Shut up.

They're important. How dare you? So, yeah, it saved them and it led them to being the first to complete the journey. The article continues. They arrived at Wheeler Field after flying 25 hours and 49 minutes and 30 seconds to be precise. It's very precise. Flying 2,416 miles in the process. Took them 25 hours.

Yeah. Wow. It's pretty slow going. But it's also, there's one pilot. There's, I don't. I don't think there's autopilot or anything like that. Really? Is there a toilet up there?

Is there a toilet? I think they're pissing in bottles? I think they're pissing in bottles. Maybe buckets. They're shitting in bottles? Yeah, what are they shitting in? Probably bottles. Wide neck bottles.

Honestly, I don't think I could hold it for 25 hours. I'd have to shit. I've got to say, Jess. Funnel? These two pilots were gentlemen. Oh, gentlemen never shit. Of course. Also, you've said that so it's why women can't be pilot.

That's true. They traveled 2416 out of 2,500 miles. Yeah. Whoa. It was cutting it pretty fine. But they do a 74 mile, or 84 mile victory laugh. Yeah, that's it.

Let's get this back up. They did the victory laugh until they crashed in the ocean. And they went, yeah. Yeah, well, hey, we went out doing what we loved, crashing into the ocean. Both airmen were awarded the distinguished flying cross for their feet.

And then after this great flight, during World War II, Maitland, then a lieutenant colonel, was the commanding officer at Clarkfield in the Philippines when it fell to the Japanese in 1942. He went on to fly 44 combat missions in medium bombers in Europe, won another distinguished flying cross, a silver star and five air medals. He rose to the rank of Brigadier General and retired from the army in 1943.

He became an Episcopal priest in 1955 and remained active until 1985, dying in 1990 at the age of 91. Wow. Pretty hectic life. Hell yeah. I love that as a career change. Yeah. Like, fighter pilot.

To priest. That's nice. I mean, logical step, let's be honest. Both of them, you know, what are the things you got in common here? Start with P. Both of that. So is that. You're in the air.

You're close to God. Yeah, that's right. At all times. It's up in the sky. So, you know. You've been close to the most. Yeah. Being close the most.

You've been close the most. I'll bring it back to both. Start with P. The priests. Do they weigh medals? Yeah, I think they wear medals. I'm not a religious man. They both wear a uniform.

There's uniforms involved, yes. There's ceremonial garb. But I was wondering, Dave or Jess, died in 1990. Is it possible that one of you is the reincarnation of Maitland? Yes, it is. And here she is. Yeah. Jess, who has been getting a lot of air sickness.

Yeah, I get really sick on planes. But you've been to Hawaii. I have been to Hawaii. I flew to Hawaii. That's true. I sat on a plane for. 10 hours. And you felt a calling really there. A calling to fill a little paper bag with the contents of my stomach. Yes. Did you shit into that bag? I did. Just like they had to. I shed in a bag.

Okay. Okay. I think you may be him. They have toilets on planes now, but I was like, no, no, no. I like to go in a bag the way I used to do it. Well, perhaps then Albert F. Heganberger is Dave. He rose to the rank of major general and won another distinguished flying cross for his first solo instruments only flight at Dayton, Ohio in 1932, God's Country. Was he playing slap bass up there? Yes. Solo instruments only. You think of the bass as a classic solo instrument.

Yeah. Is it two people play bass? Yeah. What a dumb thing to say. Yeah, that is. I feel silly and I'm glad you call me out. It's not a, it's not a, it's. Oh, you see the bass as a solo instrument.

Okay. Not the way we play it. All of a sudden was my arm around Dave's waist. So all I'm doing is holding it up and you're plowing both hands. I'll probably be the other way around. I'm doing it for shoulder strength and you're doing it for a guy who knows out of play. People just keep yelling at, just get a strap. Dave, I can play bro him, okay, by Pennywise.

And he's doing it for us right now. That's us together. So I can play the bass. I just can't hold it up. No. Okay. And that's where Dave comes. I can hold that up for hours.

I guess the standard, like the bass guitar is kind of like the solo bass and then you've got the double bass. So you've got the single bass and the double bass. Is that? Oh, that's nice. Is that where that comes from? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

And then they went, you know what? We can make this bigger. Has anyone invented a triple bass? Yes. Oh, my God. It's very deep. So deep that the human ear can't even hear it. You can't actually hear it, but whales hate us.

And I promise you, I'm playing this in tune. Are you trying to do it or are you trying to move on? No, that was me doing it. That's what it sounds like, to the human ear. But to the whales. Oh, they love it. Don't the whales do high pitch? No, I panic.

But they're deep in the wetness. Exactly. Yeah, they're further from God than most of them. They're really strayed from the line. They're probably the soppingest mammal there is. Whale off the scale. They're at the other end. What are you wrong with us?

We're talking about my guy, Mr. Berger. Yeah. That's right. That makes sense because he's the navigator, right? And you're essentially navigating me through life. Every day, Dave. And you look back in the sands. How do I tie a tie?

There's only one set of footprints. Because I carried you. No, I thought I was carrying you. No, mate. Let's get real late. There's one set of footprints in about 200 kilometres back. There's me lying on the ground going, my back. I couldn't carry her.

I'm just going, look. I waited for five minutes. Yeah, she left me. She left me for dead. I was just trying to carry it. You're dead to your waist in the sand. Their little pin legs just couldn't handle it. They're acting like pins that just snaps to the same.

Jess has got great pins. You've just got literal pins. Dig me out, Jess. Dig me out. You're like, nah. And like Jess said, there's no bad riffs on the show. No bad riffs. Yeah, so talking about Hegenberger,

his work in developing blind flying instruments and techniques that allowed pilots to fly in any kind of weather, paved the way for today's modern aviation instrument flying. He passed away in 1983 at the age of 88. So they both got a lot done, lived long lives, a couple of legends. Their plane, the bird of paradise, never left Hawaii. It flew as an inter-island transport until the late 30s when it was dismantled and shipped to Dayton, Ohio,

to be put into the Air Corps Museum. So it did live. It did live. It never left Hawaii until it did. Never left Hawaii, and it's now in Dayton, but it left in a box. But it was destroyed in 1944 because of a lack of space, probably because of the war effort, but still, it's like, oh, what a shame. What do you mean like something expanded so much that it just crushed it?

Like, how did they? You let an elephant loose in the museum. Yeah. It's very fun. For the last time. We keep saying, oh, that's right. That's why we don't do it. That's why they destroy everything.

I kind of assumed they must have used the scraps of it to build other planes or something, but, Yeah, it does feel like slightly short-sighted. I mean, the war was almost over. If only they knew. Damn. So by the time of the race, being the first to fly from mainland USA to Hawaii was no longer on the cards. But contestants consoled themselves with the fact that there was still a chance of a big pile

of cash. Remember, it wasn't about that before, but now it's something that is. Yeah. And then some of them, the non-army flies, were like, well, we can still pride ourselves with being the first civilians to make the crossings. Unfortunately, that also wasn't on the table anymore either, as according to Conan, a young airmail pilot named Ernie Smith and his navigator Emery Bronte, which is a fantastic name. Emery. Bronte, what a great surname, but Emery Bronte. That's good. Your whole life, people would be like, sorry, did you just mispronounce Emily Bronte?

Yeah, that's true. I'm a man. Sorry, Emily Bronte. Did you say Emily Bronte? I'm a man. Yeah, that's not what I asked. It was a yes or no question, dude. Emily Bronte, man! I'm a man. So, but Emery Bronte, the man, was the first civilian.

So Smith and Bronte in a monoplane called City of Oakland made a lurching takeoff on the rutted Oakland field on July 14th, about a month before the doll race. And then out of gas, they crash landed into a thorn tree on the island of Molokai, 26 hours and 36 minutes later. It wasn't exactly Honolulu where they're aiming for, but it was Hawaii making them the first civilians to make the trip. So it counts.

The crash landing counts as a landing. Wow. But why don't these people just wait a month and get half a million dollars? Yeah, I wonder. I guess it's their like history is more important than the cash. Right. But now it feels like everyone's going to be like, all right, civilians have done it. I'm the first person to do it wearing blue shoes.

Yes. I'm the first left-handed to do it. Yeah. Yeah, it's a bit really scraping the barrel. I'm the first man whose name sounds a bit like Emily Bronte. Oh, no. That's one of the few names that he's... Imagine that was like, well, at least I'll be the first man

whose name sounds like Emily Blonty. Yeah, Ennally Bronte's really pissed off. God damn it. He reads the papers like, you would have. Bloody read about it, but I have. His brother Carlett Bronte. So a lot of the glory had already been taken, but the cash was still there, and so were many competitors. And as we heard, there was still a lot of public interest.

Maybe 100,000 people were there to see these planes take off. But it was a bit unfortunate there were still so many competitors, as Conan wrote. Perhaps they should have sensed well ahead of time that their bright and adventurous dream was going to be a nightmare. There had been plenty of forewarning. On the happiest day of everyone's lives. That's true. On August the 8th, when the entry list closed with 15 planes in the competition, the official drawing for starting positions took place in the office of Captain C.W. Saunders,

California Director of the National Aeronautics Association. Position number 13 went to Navy lieutenants George D. Coval and RS Wagoner, both of San Diego. They had an unnamed mystery monoplane reputed to be one of the best in the race. Two days after their number was drawn, the unlucky thing. Lieutenant's Coval and Wagoner died. What? They took off from San Diego from Oakland, flew into a fog,

and slammed into an ocean cliff 15 minutes later. They were dead when it struck the beach 75 feet below. 15 minutes later? Are they on their way to the race? Yes. Oh, that's not a good start. So a lot of the planes had to fly to the starting line. Yeah, well, yeah.

How else do you get a plane there? Put it in a box, apparently. Oh, yeah. To it. So before the race even began, two lives have been lost. Oh my God. And they were supposed to be in like this awesome plane that people were like, you've got to see this.

Yeah, they're not even naming it. It's mysterious. Turns out it wasn't a plane and that was their problem. It was a Birdman rally type plane. They were holding onto a duck. And they fell on next door cliff. Quick, you grab the beak and I'll grab the feet. The duck couldn't see in the fog.

But the duck flew just above the cliff. Yeah, the duck's full. fine. The duck is fine. Duck just landed on the cliff and went, I feel a bit lighter. Yeah, that's better and took up again. Yeah. So the race already claimed a couple of victims a week before it even began, but unfortunately that tragedy was not enough to put off other contestants. According to Conant, the race claimed another victim the following day. Captain Arthur V. Rogers, a flyer and decorated veteran of the Lafayette Eskidril in World War I, took his monoplane, angel of Los Angeles up for a test flight at Western Airfields at Montobello. He circled,

looked as though he was preparing for landing, and then suddenly plunged 125 feet to the ground and his death. Looked fine, just all of a sudden just dropped out of the sky. But there was no stopping the dull flight. The tragic forewarning seemed to give a new edge to the fly's appetite for the adventure. Apparently, the crashes only further captured the public's attention as well leading up to the event, according to Conan. By the thousands spectators gathered every day at the airport. cheering each arriving contestant and observing with interest every detail of the little planes. Almost all of them ran into grief of one sort or another. Mildred Doran, a Michigan State College graduate who had been teaching the fifth grade

until the Dolphibir quarter. I love how you notice that Conant calls them Little Plains and stuff. She's writing from the 50s. He's like, it's funny the little planes that used to fly. I like our big beautiful planes now. I love it. I read a great book as well called Race. to Hawaii by author Jason Ryan, which I'm going to be quoting from a bit from now on.

I also listen to the book. Fantastic. You know how you can get it? It's a mixed bag with whoever reads it on Audible. I love this guy's style. And it also tells the story of Maitland, his crossing in more detail as well. So if you want to hear this story over 10 hours. Strap in, here we go.

I'm just going to plug in the audio book now. There is a booking after us in the studio, but we're going to tell them to fuck off. I'll just play it on quadriple speed. Yeah, that'll be right. Here we go. Oh, I'm going to fucking poem. Oh, wow. And I'm also getting Mickey Mouse to read it.

Hey, Pluto. So according to Ryan, Doran, the Michigan State College graduate, who was 22. She was probably the youngest, I think, in the race. Baby. Is that the one that they refer to as And a girl? I forgot there was a girl. Okay, I wasn't sure if that was like a seven-year-old

like helping like clean an engine or something. No, I was a 22-year-old. Okay. Two-year-old woman entering the race. Girl. Sorry. Just remember this was pioneering woman journalist Conant who called her a girl. Yeah, I'm correcting Dave.

He's saying woman. No, Dave. I'm like, no, girl. I think you don't become a, you're a girl even at 32, is that right? Correct. Because you're so young. I'm a little girl. you become a man?

I probably won't. Me personally. When you become a woman? When I feel like it. Okay. How about that? Can you let us know? Yeah, I'll let you know when to.

I've got a card signed and ready to hand over. You've written me a woman's card. Girl, but dum, dumb, this is the inscription. You'll be a woman now. It's good to be prepared. I'm losing it all. Aulie and early. Losing it allie.

According to Ryan, Doran loved airplanes. Among her favorite aviators were EL Slonnie Slonigua. Slonis Slonaga? Slonislonaga, who flew for the Army Air Service in World War I and John A. Orgy Pedlar, a young pilot and wingwalker, who performed with handcuffs around his wrists, and who had a talent for diving off moving airplanes into the ocean. Talent for it.

He had a talent for it. So just like looking down and going ocean and then jumping up. an airplane. If he had a talent for falling off an airplane. With a little splash. How sopping was he? Ah, super sopping. Yeah.

Yeah, I think there is some talent in that. Oh, yeah. Just completing the dive. Yeah. I once tried to do a pin drop off a cliff. You know, I'm like, you're just dropping straight, how hard could it be? But it was quite a high cliff. Oh, my God.

And I lost control of it. Like, just because of the, you know, the air or whatever. Yeah. I almost landed horizontal just on diagonal. I landed diagonally just enough for my legs to take the water first and my back to be wrenched. I'm thinking I'm just doing an elegant pin drop here. Just a little splash and in I go and I hurt my back for like the next couple of weeks. Yeah.

I don't think I'll do that again. Yeah. Next time, head first. I generally, I love the idea of jumping off cliffs. I haven't done it since because I'm like, I just don't think it's worth. idea of jumping off cliffs. It's a bit of a thrill, right? Oh, there's a thrill. It's not worth, it's not worth feeling agony for weeks.

Yeah. But I was just like, I just couldn't hold the form. Yeah, no, it's hard. So this guy's... And you're weak. This guy's diving off a plane. Yeah. I'd be like, I'd, I reckon...

Planes are slower back then. If I tried, slow than cliffs. Plains are slower than cliffs back then. Yeah, they were real slow. Cliffs were actually pretty fast. Now, really slow. Reverse. Back to Ryan.

Pedlar learned to fly in the west. This is Augie. Augie Peddler. Orgy Peddler. He peddler. He peddles orgies. Yeah. Petlard learned to fly in the west, though he was badly, though he badly crashed one airplane,

walking away from the wreck with a lasting and pronounced limp. Friendly and well-like, peddler was recognizable at the Flint airfield. Because of the limp. Because of his limp. And his toothy grin and his beloved head wear, a straw hat. What does toothy grin mean? Yeah, I guess they've just, like, got, you're just showing them all. If you've got teeth and you're grinning, it's toothy.

People didn't have teeth back then. Oh, okay, he had teeth. He was one of the first half teeth. One of the few. One of the few. One of the few without wooden teeth. Yeah, okay. No, that makes more sense. And also he's wearing a straw hat on a plane. Yeah, he flies with a straw hat.

Was he strapping that down? He must do, because it wasn't like he was inside an airliner or something. No. They were open-topped. Oh, yeah. He's diving off a plane. You can't really chat, can you? No, you can't.

You'd lose your voice instantly. You can't communicate to each other. So it's pointless you're both being there. I talk about a bit later, but the navigator and the pilot, they're so far separate. They even yelling at each other, they wouldn't even hear it. So how's the navigator navigating? So they have a pulley system, like a clothes line where they've got a string and they peg a note onto it and then pull the string across.

You're shitting me. No, she said the pilots were writing down handwritten notes. Like, how are we going? Are we traveling the right direction, you reckon? Peggs it, swings it down. He goes, yeah, looking pretty good, maybe turn three degrees west or whatever. Yeah. And then when they ignore, I said turn, you fucking dog.

Turn. Why ask me if you're not going to listen to my advice. Real backseat flying stuff. That's it. I'm giving you the silent treatment. Peg, please tell the pilot. So Doren was super excited by Lindbergh's soon to happen crossing of the Atlantic, and she was like, I want to be the first woman to cross the Pacific.

And the two pilots, her mates, they both went, we're on board. And they both said, I want to fly the plane for you or with you. William F. Maloska, Doran's godfather, a wealthy businessman, overheard this conversation, and offered to buy a plane. Doren did not hesitate to accept his proposition. I've got a phone call to make to my godfather, Steve. Yeah? Has never bought me a plane?

Really? Never even offered. And I, you know what? At this point, I wouldn't be like, yes, please, Steve, buy me a plane. I would be like, no, thank you, but thank you for asking. Yeah. Never even offered. It's nice to be thought of.

God damn it. I didn't know you had a wealthy businessman, Uncle Steve. I never said he was wealthy. He's just like, or a businessman. Steve, mortgage that house and buy me a plane. But he's my godfather. Steve, how dare you. I should get on to Gregon, my godfather, which I think is one of the great names.

Gregon. You go, how do you improve on Greg? Well, you just watch me. That is good. Is it Greg with Ian on the end? Oh, A.N. Just Ann, I think. Beautiful.

Gregon. I should really know how to spell. I'm pretty sure it's A. I know how to spell Steve. So, idiot. Do you? So we're going back to Ryan's article here, and this is now quoting Moloska. I told Mildred that if she was serious, I'd finance the plan and would order a plane built

tomorrow. She snapped me up immediately, and the next day I made a deposit with the Bull Aircraft Company of Marysville for the construction of the plane. This was the day before Lindberg took off for Paris. Wow. While some people believed an airplane was no place for a woman, others She had Doran's ambition to make the Hawaiian hop if only as a passenger. So she became the most famous contestant in the whole flight.

She became a celebrity overnight. And people said like the plane was no place for a woman because of the shitting and bag thing. Because it's like, get over it. It's a natural thing that just women do. It's shit in bags. It's fine. Get over it. You know.

And it's so windy. It's open-topped. Yeah. It wouldn't even be a smell. Yeah. They'll be in their own cabin with their own pile of bags of shit. It's fine. You guys have travelled with me.

Yeah. It's fine. It's fine. I mean, it wasn't fine. Time heals or wounds. Ryan goes on. American women had made great strides in the last decade when it came to gender equality, including earning the right to vote,

obtaining access to birth control and securing greater social freedoms. It's gotten even better since. I think that's true, right? Yeah, it's true in a lot of ways. Like back then, women couldn't host podcasts. Oh, true. Really? That's true, yeah, you couldn't.

Men only. Men only podcasts. Yeah, I assume. All I know is women couldn't. You guys are one of the, yeah, the front runners of allowing a woman on your podcast. Well, we allowed a girl. That's true. True man and a girl.

Yeah, you really broke a barrier there, Jess. Before you, all podcasts were three white men. That's right. And I said, what about a white lady? Hey, what do you call a group of white men? A podcast. Oh. That's a good joke.

Someone should tweet that. That is a funny joke. Yeah. It was the first time. Yeah. One of the first decisions to make about the journey was a hard one. Which had what brand of shit bags? Yes.

And once that was sorted, they went with, I can't think of a single brand of bag. Charlesteron. Coco Chanel. Yes. bag. I'm trying to think of a garbage bag brand. That's not, neither of those are... Charlize Serrott is not a garbage bag brand.

Glad. Glad. Glad bag. That's what I was thinking. But Chanel is. Cop that. Fuck that. Yeah, cop that Chanel.

You dogs. You shit bags. And once they sort of that out, the next question was, who would pilot the plane? There were two guys who were keen. And that was peddler and slonny sloniga. Ordi peddler and slonny sloniger. Man, I was a little. all in on Sloney. Who you got hoping for here? I'm going for peddler.

Remembering that whoever does it is going in a race that they might, may die in. All right, probably peddler then. Is it or ordi orgy? Or it was Orgy Peddler. Orgy. Is it an orgy peddler? Is it an orgy peddler? Is it an orgy peddler? Come on down, he's a flyer. It's Augy peddler. Yeah, I'm going augy. I'm hearing pedlar. I'm just imagining him up there. Pedaling it by foot. Flintstone. style. Yeah, I mean, that can't have been far behind. Did pedal power was that in yet?

Is that coming by the 20s? I can't remember what year that came in. Yeah. So both guys were very keen. They're like, all right, the fairest way to figure out who gets the pilot of the plane is to toss a coin. Doran flipped a 50 cent piece into the air. Sloniga called heads, pedlar tails. Tales never fails. That's what I always say. Uh-huh. The coin dropped to the ground, rolled across the floor. And under a cabinet And disappeared under a desk Under a desk They're in an office

Yeah but parts of desks are open But they're like I can't be like If this is gone under this table We'd be able to get it Yeah but who can be bothered Yeah true Get another coin

You're thinking about a 22 desk This is a 1927 There was nowhere for your legs to go And figure it out To hollow out a bit Yeah That's it Haven't you seen any like

Mad Men style shows they've always got their feet up on the desk going, make me a martini, or something like that. I haven't seen me. Make me my pinie. Make me my peony. That's what they used to say. You wouldn't get it if you weren't around then.

I was. So it fell under the desk. They had to move the desk. So the tension was building. But the corn was revealed to show tails side up. Never failed. Orgy Peddler would be flying to Hawaii. Yes, Augie.

Doren, meanwhile, glowed with excitement for the coming race, saying, I simply desire to do something different and to be the first woman to do it. I'm sure we will win, but if we don't, life is nothing but a chance anyway. I'm sure we'll win, but if we don't. How sure are you then? Yeah. How sure are you? Doubt's creeping in, mid-sentence.

It's okay to be confident, but don't be like, I'm sure, but then I've lost all confidence in you. That's true. It's interesting she refers to herself as a woman, whereas Conant doesn't. She's a girl. Better girl. That's a girl. That's a girl. How old was Conat when she was writing about her?

She would have been in her, probably in her 30s by then. Oh, yeah. It was a 22-year-old. A 22-year-old, to a 30-year-old. That's a girl. So you see Jess as just a girl. Of course. She is.

Is that right? What do you see Gwen Stefani as? Just a girl? Or more than that? I know she ain't no holoback girl. Yeah, that's true. I know what she's not. But I don't know what she is.

I'm just a girl, not yet a holler back girl. Just taking swings here. By singing your Britney Spears song. Yeah. I guess he gets it. I guess. Rather than explaining it back, just laugh, mate, like everyone else at home. All he needs is time.

You'll be getting tweets. A moment that is mine. Thank you. That means a lot. Within a few months, Doran had a plane, a brand new plane. and they named it Miss Doran, which is pretty sweet. I think it was named after her. Some relation.

No relation. It's just coincidence. And she was on her way to the California starting line with pilot Orgy Pedlar. Back to Conan. The Miss Doran's navigator was Lieutenant Villis Arnob. So this is the only plane, I think, with three. It's the only plane with a passenger, basically. Bit squished, hey?

Yeah. Why didn't she just learn how to navigate? instead of just being like, I've got access to rich people. Fit me in there and fly me. Yeah, that's true. If she could just learn to navigate in a week, that would have been a better scenario. Well, if this is like a dream of hers and she's admired pilots for such a long time, it's like, I don't know, read a couple of books then.

I think she was probably pushing it just to be allowed on the plane. They're not going to let her do a job as well. Yeah, true. She allowed in the plane or just on the plane? She's on the roof. Yeah, she's sitting on the park. There's actually a third, third and four. There's a women's only section.

It's a ladies' lounge is up top. Oh, it's open air shitting. Yeah. Great, just don't wear pants. Well, she couldn't anyway. Not allowed. No. Ugh.

It's ungodly. It's very unbecoming of a lady. Especially when you're up in the near God. Very unlady-like. Yeah, we don't shit near the Lord. As well, because lady's the only ones who shit. Yeah. That's why pants don't make sense.

That's why dresses were invented. Exactly. On route to Oakland from the east, the Miss Doran had spark-plugged trouble over the San Joaquin Valley and came down in a wheat field. Doran blithely set the casual tone of the whole affair by explaining they had a little trouble making repairs because they had no tools, saying, we threw them off at Long Beach because they're in the way and cluttering things up. So I think they had their priorities right. I don't have a lot of leg room. Should we ditch the tools? Because this engine's in the way.

Yeah. Get it out. But it's funny, they're like, we'll put a passenger in there. Yeah. And we'll get rid of the tools. She's like, I can't put my seat back. Can we get rid of some stuff? I want to have a nap.

It's a long flight. I want to have a little sleep. So this is just on the way there? Yeah, this is on the way to start long. I mean, this is bode well? It's not promising that, but luckily they have a wheatfield to land in. But when they're over the ocean, how many wheat fields are there between California and Hawaii? Is it many?

No. There's wet fields. No weight feels What is an ocean if not a wet field? Exactly, thank you. You're right. Yeah, absolutely right. This has changed the way I view oceans now.

And what about submarines? Still silly. Fuck, they're silly. They're the wettest form of transport. They are the wettest form. Externally, internally, very dry, I assume. Yeah, the driest form. They're just funny.

Why did we think, let's just go underwater? I think they're dumb. There's no crash landing, though, in a submarine. That's true. You could crash into a, Crush into things. Yeah. Yeah, actually right.

There's still stuff you can hit. A whale. A whale. A big whale. Big whale, a little while. I meet himself well. We should take them all out. They are not godly enough.

Whales or submarines? Both. Yeah, get rid of them. They're both too far away from God. I think, yeah, submarines are really the whale of the transport world. Yeah. Yeah. Interesting.

They also evolve from hippo-like creatures. Hippo-like transports. What are we doing? What are we doing? I don't know. Back to Conan. Other mishaps cut the entry list substantially before the fateful day. One would-be competitor was pride of Los Angeles, a plane with three wings. Its pilot was Captain J.L. Giffon, a Long Beach attorney.

And the plane's navigator, Theodore S. Lundgren, Bondbroker and former Army Flyer. The names just don't stop here. They're all so good. And they're all mouthfuls. Yes, they are. That's a lot. I'm gripping on for dear life. But on August 11th, as Giffin and Lungren flew in from Long Beach,

the unwieldly aircraft began its approach to the Oakland Field and fell clumsily into the bay 100 feet off the airport shore. Oh no, that's Birdman rally style for sure. Amazingly, Giffin and Lungren were unhurt, but the pride of Los Angeles did not make the starting line. So you might have heard earlier, I said eight planes are at the starting line. 15 planes tried to make it to the starting line. starting line.

Oh my God. I lost nearly half the field just... Just trying to get there. Trying to get there. It doesn't bode well, doesn't it? I can also see now why such a big crowd has gathered. Yeah. They're just waiting to see the plane crash on the way in.

Yeah. Hopefully not into them, right? That would just make you really anxious. No, who, yeah, it's such a weird thing to want to see. I can understand Birdman rally, which is just people jumping into the Yarra River in some sort of flying apparatus they've made themselves. And the apparatus often hinders them more than aides. Yeah.

That's a bit of fun because they're jumping off a little ramp into a river and there's little boats to get them. That I'm okay with. Yeah, that I'm fine with because I'm like, everyone's safe. Yeah. This I don't love. This would make me really anxious. Yeah, I know. Even like, even the idea of the air show and stuff, I get a bit nervous about it.

I just don't want to see anything happen, anything bad happen. I only like going so I can hear scorpions rock you like a hurricane. The soundtrack to every air show. It's the only place to hear it. I know it's online, but are you really hearing it if there's not a couple of big jets flying by? So by the time race they rolled around, the field was down to only eight entrants. First up, we had the Woolarock, whose pilot was Art Goebel. It's amazing.

Art Goebel. Fokker gave you nothing. Art Goebel got a chuckle. Come on, that's funny. That's a great name. Art Gobble. Gobble, Gobel. Goebel was a World War one flyer and stunt pilot,

and his navigator was Lieutenant William V. Davis Jr. William V. Davis Jr. I can't help it feel like the people that are either professional pilots, people that have been in the war, stunt pilots have an extreme advantage over the guy who was just an attorney who crashed on the way there. You had no hope. Why were you even there? There was a bit of criticism after the race that the bar for entry was too low,

and there weren't enough tests on them and stuff. Because anyone could say, all right, I could do it. I can give it a crack. They did have some, like that, to pass tests and stuff, but apparently they were, you know, they could have, it could have been more stringent, stringent. I'll say that? And stridgent.

Strudel. Strudel. That had to be a little more strudel about it. If you would like to enter this race, eat this struttle. Okay. You're in. Huh. Well done.

According to Ryan, Goebel was known in Hollywood by the nickname Upside Down. Okay. Which I think is a fun nickname. This is back in a time when none of the nicknames were taken. You could have had anything. You got about anything. Upside down. It's so funny.

I would call him flippity flop. That's better. It is somehow better. Yeah. He got this nickname because of his ability to pilot an inverted airplane for minutes at a time. I mean, even invert is better. The inverted pilot, something like that. Goebel was a member of the 13 Black Cats,

the famed flying troop from Los Angeles that made death-defying aerial stunt services available to the Hollywood movie industry. Promising they would do anything with an airplane. Anything. We'll fuck it if you want. For the right price. I've read that sentence multiple times writing this. And I never considered that it. As soon as I said it, I'm like,

that sounds like they'd fuck that plane. Oh, yeah. Upside down, man. He'll do anything. Promising they would do anything with an airplane, the flying circus thumbed its nose at fate and doubled down on symbols of bad luck, which is why they called themselves the 13 black cats.

Ryan continues, The troop published a long menu of stunts and prices. For 50 bucks, that would make a plane catch fire. I'll have a night. Number four, a plane on fire. For a hundred bucks, a member of the 13 black cats would amble from one airplane's wings to another mid-flight. For $450, the 13 black cats would loop a plane while two men stood on the wingtips.

Oh, my God. And for $1,500, the flying troop would blow up a plane mid-air just after the pilot bailed out and floated down to Earth in a parachute. Oh, thank God there's a parachute. Yeah. He said floated down. Yeah. Is that more than the, like, as a cost effective, how much is a plane cost?

Yeah, I wonder if surely that's just for the service and the studio have to supply the plane as well. Yeah, okay. Right? I did see, somewhere else they said it was $15,000 for that one. But, yeah, I think it makes more sense it would be $1,500. But $50 to set a plane on Farras. What a bargain. Yeah, that's a bargain.

50 bucks. You'd do that for a bucks party or something. Fast that around. All right, guys, five bucks each. We get to see this plane on fire. Who wants, who wants to see it? I'm going to give you 10 bucks, and I want to set two planes of all. Back to Ryan.

Do it for a box party. I mean, that's a fantastic joke, but also you would absolutely do it for a bucks party. Fuck yeah. I would try to get my hens party just do it. They'd be like, do you want to just go get a nail start? Do you want to like, oh, there it goes, up and flames? You want to get some pantsless waiters or something? I'm like, no, I want to sit a plate.

Panceless waiters. That's so fun. We need the poo waiters. You know, Paddington style. Back to Ryan, on one occasion, Goebel witnessed a wheel fall off a plane right after it took to the air. He sprang into action, taking off it in his own plane, while carrying a wing walker lugging a spare wheel.

Goebel caught up with the disabled plane, allowing for the spare wheel to be transferred and installed in mid-air. Isn't that hectic? He's like, oh shit, they won't be able to land. He runs to his plane with a spare wheel and someone who can get out on the wing, walk it over to the other plane and go, here's a spare wheel, hand it,

and then they've got to get out and install, like, fix it. That is so amazing. Isn't that just, I can't get my head around that? But then someone had given him 50 bucks to set the other plane on fire. While you're up there. There's your wheel also. With the fire.

After saving the day, Gobel and his daredevil companions didn't count their blessings. Instead, they decided to replicate the incident as a stunt for their audiences. I put it on the menu. Oh, wheel off? Yeah. What's that 80 bucks or a wheel off?

Soon enough, he and his stunting cohorts were purposely shaking loose a wheel after takeoff and then while onlookers watched nervously, waited for a rescue flyer to bring them a spare. According to Ryan, Goebel was proud to state he had never crashed an airplane. But when coming in for a landing on a beach in Hawaii, the plane's landing gear caught in the soft sand, snapping it from the fuselage. That night, while sitting around a campfire, his buddies ribbed him about the incident. He ignored their kidding, though, and made a bold prediction. The next time I come to Hawaii, I'm going to fly there. Four months later, the doll race was announced, and Goebel was the first to pay the $100 entry fee. Just a couple of

burnt planes. Yeah, I was just thinking of that. I only got to burn a couple planes for that. This was before he even found a plane that could make the journey, because obviously the still Some planes aren't long-distance planes. Yeah. So he didn't have... They don't have wheels. They're just very flammable. Yeah, that's true.

So he signed up and he's like, all right, I better find a plane now, which he obviously did do. He didn't have money to pay for it either. Probably had to get a few stunts done. But he found a plane called Woolarock, and he was there on the starting line. He was one of the eight. Next up, we had Golden Eagle piloted by Jack Frost from New York and Navigator, Londoner Gordon Scott.

So that's plane number two on the starting line. Then we have Aloha, piloted by Martin Jensen. According to Ryan a few years earlier, Jensen had joined the Navy and worked as a mechanic, transferring to the naval air station in San Diego following basic training along the Great Lakes. He only dared ride in an airplane after being ridiculed by his peers.

The day of his first flight, he was among a group of 15 young men watching an airplane and taking turns hitching a ride into the sky. One by one, the other fellows went up. up in it until I was the last, he recalled. I was afraid to try it, but they made such fun of me that I finally went up and then I realized what a chump I'd been to remain on the ground. Peer pressure. It's a beautiful thing. It's a beautiful thing. And I can't think of examples where it ends badly. It's always your friends pushing you into something that's going to be beautiful and transformative

for you. Yeah. How many nerds started looking cool because people pressured them into smoking? That's right. Et cetera. I smoke two packs a day. And I think there's bullies for it. Fuck you're cool. So cool. You're so cool.

A pack up, up each sleeve. Yeah. Hell yeah. He's very cool. You're cool. And you stink all the time. You stink and your mouth is yellow. So cool.

So cool. And you're going to die young, but yet so cool. Oh, so cool. Yeah, live fast. I love kissing him. I love just tongue kissing day. Yeah, you guys never kiss me before I started smoking. You can't keep out of it.

Can't get out of there. Now I know half our audience do love smoking the old tobacco. And we're only mucking around. You guys are cool. What do you mean we're only mucking around? I'm cool. That was sincere. Ryan continues.

Martin was impulsive, scrappy and unflappable. These are great qualities for someone who... Completely unflappable. A man who was bullied into taking a plane. I love unflappable. And also a man who's flapping his wretched. wings over the fucking Pacific Ocean, if I understand correctly. I've only read about it.

I haven't seen any footage. Sorry, Bobba. No, I just like, I like unflappable as a way of describing someone. Yeah. And my dream is to be unflappable. I'm very flappable. Oh, I'm extremely flappable. I'll flap at the earliest convenience.

Oh, so easily flustered. Can't stop flapping, can't stop flapping my gums. Yep. I'm flapping all 24-7. Mm-hmm. So impulsive, scrappy and unflappable. seemingly incapable of losing his nerve no matter what went wrong

unless of course there was peer grip pressure. Then he goes, fine, fine, I'm not a wuss. I'm not. As might be expected, the trim and fearless fly's hair was constantly windswept. This hint of dishevelment was counted by a small, neat and fashionable toothbrush moustache that Jensen kept neatly trimmed

in the style favoured by celebrity comedians like Charlie Chaplin and Oliver Hardy, and no one else, I'm pretty sure. A chaplain mustache. Yeah, famous chaplain. Chaplain. Wow. I looked it up. Hitler already was wearing that mustache in the 20s, but I guess he was, when did he become

a big deal, Dave? When was he sort of famous? Well, obviously, he was an artist. Yeah. Selling paintings, very famous. Famous is the wrong word, isn't it? Infamous? Infamous.

Yeah, a little bit later. So it was probably fine that Charlie Chaplin had it. Yeah. But it was weird when Michael Jordan had it. Yeah. Hitler had already. Chaplin was way out. Yeah.

I'd say, oh, you still like Chaplin movies? Yeah, great. But I'm vaguely remembering that Hitler might have even been a fan of Chaplin. Is that where he got the mustache? I don't know. It's possibly true. Look forward to the tweets. According to Conant, Jensen's plane, the Aloha, was a lemon yellow monoplane with a pink flower lay painted around the nose.

Love that. I think it just sounds beautiful. Sounds so good. Was it painted this way just for this Hawaiian event? I think a lot of the, I think it was named Aloha and every, I think most of these planes, you know, at least been put together for the race or modified for the race or whatever. Gotcha. They went on Pimp My Ride Exhibit.

Yeah. Pimp their babies. I'm assuming that. There's a TV and a hot tub in the back. We've replaced the engine with seven Xbox 360s. It doesn't go now, but. Yeah. Thanks so much.

One would have been excessive. You and the boys are going to have a great time. At the bucks. Look out the window. plane will catch fire in about 20 minutes. The plane was purchased by Jensen after his wife Margaret managed to raise 15 grand in a frantic last minute effort in Hawaii. God bless that darling wife of mine, he cried when he learned of the financial success.

What frantic? Was he running from house to house? I said, I was just raising cash from everywhere. He said, I've got to make it now. I'll make it or I'll die in the attempt. Right. And apparently he was. getting money. Someone was trying to send, a market was sent money over to him via a courier

on the day, like the last 300 bucks money he owed to the mechanics. And the courier, the security weren't letting him in. He's like, no, I'm the money man for one of your flies. I need to give him this money. And it took him all day, apparently, to get past security. I'm like, what a courier. Yeah. I know, like, so often a courier would be like, oh, I almost knocked. They don't seem to be home. I'll leave that note saying come collect it. There was two people home all day at my house yesterday and I got a text message saying your package is a waiting collection. Yeah, yeah. The post office up the road, why don't you go get it? And fuck you. In 1927, they haven't punch ons with security just to get to you. I got to bring someone some cash. So Jensen's navigator was a seafaring man

named Captain Paul Schluter. And you might be thinking a seafaring man. We're going to on a Above it. That won't make for a great navigator in an airplane race, and you'd be correct. Next up, there was the Miss Doran, and despite their trouble with the lack of tools, they ended up making it to the start line with pilot peddler, Navigator Nob, and the titular Mildred Doren. Mildred. Oklahoma, a sister ship of Woolarock piloted by Bennett Griffin, former Army Flyer with Al Henley as the Navigator, was the final of the eight. I believe.

Is that how old way? So we got Oklahoma, Miss Doran. Aloha. You've got Aloha, Golden Eagle, and you've got Woola Rock. So that's five. That's five. Oh, no. No, there's more.

I'll tell you about them now. Let me tell you about the Oklahoma first, though. Like many of the other entrance, Oklahoma hit trouble before even reaching the start line. Gordon Ryan, Griffin and Henley had hoped to fly the nearly 1500 miles from Oklahoma to California in a single hop, essentially staging a dry run of their upcoming trip to Hawaii. But at takeoff, they lost a wheel, and then several rivets sprung loose on their plane. Later, after somehow landing safely and restarting with repaired landing gear, they didn't lose their tools.

Oklahoma was forced down at the border between Arizona and California on account of overheated exhaust pipes that threatened to burn the plane. After making more repairs, the duo continued up the California coast to Santa Monica, where fog grounded their plane. Finally, though, they arrived in Oakland in time for the race. So they'd be feeling pretty confident. Do they have to stop three times? Yeah.

Which you can't do over an ocean. No. So they're... If the plane starts to catch fire, what do you do? Yeah, don't you feel like that... Into the ocean, Dave. What's the mortal enemy of fire? Water.

Wales. He's an idiot. Wales. You know what the perfect plane would be? Seaplane. Yeah. Get Baloo from... Oh my gosh.

Why do they think... Why did nobody get a seaplane? Blue from, what's that show that you guys have never heard? Tailspin. Get Blue from Tailspin to fly. He would have done it easy. If I could seaplane, then you want to stop and have a nap or something, you can. Oh my gosh, go for a fish, have some lunch.

Delightful. Take off again. Yeah, foolish. Yeah, it does seem silly now that you mention that. They're going across an ocean, use a seaplane. Yeah, all better. Why don't they use a boat? Yeah, use a boat with a little propeller on it.

There's heaps of them. There's heaps of it. Even back then. Yeah, they're not. accessible. Get boat. But yeah, I can't believe that I think there was, there was something back then about, and probably still today, I guess, but something about pride, like, no, I've said I'm going to do it.

This plane does not seem like it'll make it, but I said I'll do it. All right. We had this big farewell in my hometown. Yeah, I better die. Yeah. Oh, well. I would rather die than go back there, having not died. That was a lot.

That does seem like that's the vibe for a lot of these. They're like, oh, you're back either. You made it? Or you didn't die. Just the fact that their pilots in these days means they're not risk averse, right? Because it's a very new technology, super dangerous. But yeah, even with logic on their side going, this plane is not up to it. They're like, well, we made it.

Let's go. Next up was the Dallas Spirit, flown by Captain William P. Irwin, another World War I vet, and navigated by Alvin Eckfeldt of Hayward, a one-time Navy seaman, who survived three He ship explosions during the war. Yeah, but how many plane explosions? Yeah, that's it. Hasn't survived any of them, has he? Not.

Or has he? Maybe he went. You tell me. I don't know. Strike three for planes, but he's for boats, but zero for planes. So he's like, I've got a clean record. So again. And he survived him all as well.

He'd be feeling like, I can't be. I'm bulletproof. I can't be done by a boat. And explosion proof. Yeah. Two of the best proofs to be. And 101 proof like my bourbon whiskey. He was also in alcohol.

It helped. That was what the explosions had happened. Drinking on the job. According to Ryan, Erwin unveiled his airplane from beneath a white cloth during a ceremony in front of 10,000 Texans. So he's got a huge crowd just sending him off. A white cloth, people are like,

what could be under there? Wow. At this airport. An elephant. Wow. He's going to fly an elephant. Wow. It's just a plane.

It's a classic sort of uncool joke at Chris. Christmas when you're a kid. You know, it's clearly a shape of a cricket bat. They're like, ooh, I've heard it's a book. Yeah. No, John. No, it's not a book. So he unveiled the plane under a white cloth.

The governor of Texas and the mayor of Dallas were both on hand to praise Irwin before a band played the Star Spangled Banner and the silver and green Dallas spirit was undraped. It was a big event. All right. You see that happening, you think, all right, I'm going to get there, I'm going to die. They're the only two options. You can't go back after that.

The mayor and the governor's come out. He's like, oh, yeah, had a little engine trouble, so we just pulled out. We just thought, worry about it. Irwin's journey to start on these guys, I believe, we're just seeing the trip to Hawaii is their first thing. They were going to go on to win some more money on some other first time flight after that. So I had high hopes. They're like, oh, yeah, the first bit, just, yeah. California away. We'll get that done and then we'll go on.

It's like a full circuit going on. Yeah, yeah, there's a few other things happening. And that, yeah, it's amazing how confident they were that they could just hop around the globe already. Erwin's journey to the start line was also perilous. And he said after arriving that the hardest part was over. Just getting to the star line, that's the hard part. And that he'd prefer to fly over oceans than from Texas to California.

Cop that, all the states in between. Next we have El Enkanto, the metal monoplane, of Navy Lieutenant's Norman A. Goddard and Kenneth C. Hawkins of San Diego, a beautiful plane and one of the pre-race favorites. And finally, the PAPCO Flyer, whose pilot, Major Livingston Irving of Berkeley, chose to fly alone, Sands Navigator. He's like, who needs him? Just follow the crow.

He's going to weigh me down. Yeah, he went the other way. So one plane's taken a passenger. Yeah. He's like, ah. Why didn't he take the passenger? Yeah. You got a spare seat back there.

Yeah, that's right. Come on. Yeah, I wonder if he chose to go solo. He's like, I can navigate and I'll just save a bit away. I don't know. Because you get a little bit of extra fuel on board instead. He's just a lone wolf. Yeah.

Hates people. Oh, my God. He's like, I work alone. Yeah. Yeah, they keep trying to assign him a partner. He's the grizzled old pilot who's seen everything. Yeah. I don't do partners.

I got nothing against you. But I work alone. Also, I'm troubled in my love life. I'm talking about that to you. You brought it up. I actually haven't got a word in you. Okay. I got to spell my guts.

I'm having a lot of trouble at home. I don't. I'm sorry to hear that. I need some advice, kid. No, I don't. Can we just keep this relationship professional? Let's go to the diner. No, I'm actually, I've brought lunch home and I'm going to go also work alone over here. I think, I forgot our anniversary again.

Okay. I'm just going to head to the kitchenette. My phone's ringing. Meet you when the shift starts. I've got to go. Please, I need a friend. No, no. I'm so alone.

I can't wait for you to be old, Dave. You're going to be so weird. Why am I getting weird as I get older? Well, I think that's how it's tracking, so. Oh, no. So, we've got eight planes. Who are they? Name them.

I'll name them. No. Oklahoma. Oklahoma's one. Aloha. That's two. Golden Eagle. That's three?

Willa Rock is one you probably won't remember. Dallas something. Spirit of Dallas, yep. Oklahoma. I said Oklahoma. Did you say Golden Eagle? Yes. Then, of course, are you forgetting the old...

Old... Miss Doran. Yeah, we know Miss Doran. That's a main character, surely. And then there's also, of course... El N canto. Which is one of the great names. And that's one of the favorites, the metal one.

Yeah, beautiful plane. But you didn't say much about it. So other than the favour, it's metal. And the Pabco Flyer. And which is the one? Don't. Okay. I've got to scroll so far back to figure these out.

You know how biggest text is. I've got three words on the screen at any one time. Who are you asking about? I think my favourite is The Stunt Man. Oh, yes. Let's not worry about it. It'll come up. Ah, the Stunt Man.

Yes, yes, yes. Which one? I see you know your stunt men, well. You can't even remember him. We meant to remember him. The one who flew for the 13-buck cats. Love that guy. That was Goebel in the Woolowoc.

Yes, Artie Goebel. Art Goebel with Navigator, Lieutenant William V. Davis, Jr. That's my prediction. Yes, you have a prediction? Nah. Just want to see what happens. Yeah. Fine.

I'll take that bit. Aloha's my favourite, just because it seems like it's cute and yellow. Yep. But obviously I want Ms. Doran to do. well, but also I've never heard the name before, so. No, either. I also am big fan of the lone wolf.

Yeah, we know. I hope he makes it. We know. I see a lot of myself in that character. You are somebody who needs people around more than anybody else I know. Please don't let me alone. Not with my thoughts.

Oh my God. I love to be a lone wolf, but around plenty of people. A lone wolf, and a big pack of wolves. We can all do our own thing, but nearby. Yeah, that's right. Just sit near me. Touch my leg with your leg.

I need to know you there. But shut up. Shut up. But touch me. Oh, for the sound of your breathing, I know at night that someone's there. It's very soothing. I think that's a good nickname for you, the Pabco Flyer, the lone wolf. I want my nickname to be Miss Doran.

Or the flying school mom, as she was also known. She was a teacher. Some people dubbed her the flowing school world. Again, all the nicknames were available. Sorry, I'm just heaving into a paper bag. I like to think, I feel like she just quit her job midterm. Yeah. She's like, there's a race.

See ya. I'm in. And the kids are like, how do I multiply? I also like that the race hasn't started and we've been going for an hour and a half. That's exciting. That's kind of my classic form lately. And then the race itself we'll talk about for five minutes. Yeah, that's not far off the truth either.

According to Ryan, all eight planes were powered by the same type of motor that pushed the bird of paradise and the city of Oakland across the Pacific. Feet. They're the two that. Pedals. Yeah, the pedal power. Yes. The type of feet.

Like your feet. Like that. Like a foot. I thought you're going to be like feet, Rihanna or something. But I mean, for them, before they all. half the field crashed on the way there. The two people that have attempted it, all the two groups, have made it.

Yes, that's right. Piece of piss. Yeah. That's the flying over land that's proved it. So the kind of motor was the reliable right whirlwind J5. All these planes flew on a single wing, apart from Miss Doran, the only biplane in the race.

In an effort to minimize the... There was also a try. There was one that had three wings. That pissed me off. And it didn't make the start line. Oh, that's right. But where does it? third wing go.

I think it's just on top of it. Yeah, they just stack them. So the biplane is the double, yeah, it's not. You know what I'm thinking? So you were thinking all the mono. I'm thinking there's one wing on one side and two on the other. And I was like, that's fucking dumb. They're going to be flying in loops.

We can only fly left. I was like, that doesn't make sense. I understand now. But that means you thought the bioplane was the two, which Miss Doran was the only one and the rest only had one wing? No, no, no. I thought all the others had a pair of wings and she had two. Two, right.

But three, I was like, well, that doesn't make any sense. Look, that's a me problem. You thought the two meant four and you thought the three meant three. Correct. Yes. So the two did meet four. Two meant four.

The three meant six. Yes, that's correct. Yeah, yeah. I'll, um... I can see where you went wrong. I'll loan up to that one. That was on me. That was on me.

In an effort to minimize the chance of failure, race officials set forth a number of requirements to be met before takeoff. Pilots were required to undergo a physical examination and submit their flying credentials for review. Yeah, this race was run by perves. Just stand there, do a little turn. Nice. You're in.

Hands above your head. Hold it. Hold it. Yeah. Take your pants off? Very good. Now let me take your pants off. Now take my pants off.

And navigators had to fly a compass course above the Bay area to demonstrate their abilities. But as race day quickly approached, few of the airplanes were qualified. to compete. The majority of the competitors had only arrived in Oakland in the last few days and their planes were in need of repairs after tough flights across the country or up the Californian coasts. The hazy atmosphere worried race officials in San Francisco so much that on the eve of the flight they cabled James Doyle, the Pineapple King and their race committee counterparts in Honolulu recommending the race be postponed. The planes and participants which have thus far presented themselves are not now properly equipped or qualified.

said the San Francisco Race Committee. To start August 12th, the scheduled date would present hazards never contemplated by the donor or the committee, and the result could easily be unfavorable. Privately, committee chairman C.W. Saunders used much stronger language, like freaking and bloody. Big bloody madness! You can't do it! Apparently he said it would be nothing short of suicide to start the race.

Nothing short of bloody suicide. But hours before the noontime race was to begin, San Francisco officials received a message from the islands. The dole air race would go on. Race officials in Honolulu decided to ignore the recommendation from their California counterparts. Prize money was now available to the first person to fly nonstop to Hawaii. And is it like they think they're unprepared or they just haven't had time to do these tests?

Both. I think the planes are still, they're still trying to get them together. but they also haven't tested to make sure the navigators are up to the job. They only have half a wing. Yeah. But luckily, the pilots came together and just before the race was going to start, the competitors themselves decided to delay the start of the race for a few days. Cornyn O'Ryan, rather than have a chaotic and controversial beginning to the race,

for which many planes and their occupants had still not officially qualified, the pilot struck a gentleman's agreement to delay it for four days. The Dold Derby, or Derby, they decided, would now begin at noon on Tuesday, August 16th, 1927. Every pilot signed onto the agreement. So it's delayed by a few days. And why take off at noon? Good question. You know?

So then you wake up early, you can't sleep. You wake up early, you got all that time to kill. I think a lot of it was... Before boarding your flight. A lot of it was sort of designed around when they'd drive. arrive in Hawaii for the crowds when Dahl was there. Yeah, so I guess they didn't want them to arrive too early.

And also, like baggage chaos. Yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah. Got to go through customs. You don't want to go peak time. Yeah, I'd rather get to the airport early and, you know, have time for coffee. Just enjoy the lounge. Yeah, enjoy the lounge.

Yeah, enjoy the lounge. Yeah. You never enjoy the lounge. You're part of that lounge life now. Yeah. Are you part of the lounge life? I'm part of the lounge life. Bloody hell.

He loves to lounge. Frequent flyer. But also, like, when you fly domestically and you can like rock up fairly, like, you don't have to get there hours and hours early. The lounge feels a bit pointless. Yeah. It's like I'd be getting there early just so I could go to the lounge. I think about it. I've never been in one.

Is it nicer than like it, your lounge? Nice than my like living room? Yeah. Absolutely not. Doesn't have all my stuff there. Yeah. It's got my stuff though. Dave's moved into the lounge.

You've paid for a storage locker in the lounge? Okay, that works I think you've got a plus one If you want me to take you in today, Matt We're going to fly to Brisbane today Holy shit I can see the inside of a lounge Yeah

That would be awesome Last time I was there It blew my mind Because it's the first time I'd ever been to a lounge You get to make your own toasted sandwiches What?

Pretty cool Next you'll be telling me They have an omelish station Omelette station You can make your own Toastage sandwich at home I'm not allowed It's not a creed a mess

His sandwich maker Is jaffeline license was revoked. Yeah, that's fair. That's exciting. Something to look forward to? Yeah, holy shit. Very cool.

We will be getting to the airport four hours early to make... I've got to recoup the cost of this. And you two probably know this about it. I mean, my preferred way to fly is to rock up, walk onto the plane. Yeah. You know, I don't really get the hanging out for hours beforehand. No. But I've done it a few times lately, accidentally.

We've got the time wrong. I'm here an hour early. This is not bad. Get some food. And hour was fine. Play wordle. Take my time. Yeah.

Have a leisurely boy. Yeah. Oh yeah. Anyway, so the delay in the start meant there was extra time for competitors to get their planes in order. But race day soon arrived. An article at the time in the San Francisco Examiner wrote that the event was the greatest race in the history of the world. Wow. San Francisco.

to Honolulu by air? The biggest sporting event ever since the Roman gladiators went into the arena. Wow. A score of men and one woman playing on a tenuous line between life and death. Okay, so now she's a woman. So that's the point where you become a woman. Yes. Is when you sit in a plane that somebody else flies across the Pacific.

Great. Have you ever done that? I think so. I mean, I don't see oceans. I just see one big ocean, as you know. But I'm assuming I had to cross some of the Pacific to get to and from. And someone else was flying. Hawaii, yeah, an island in the, or a group of islands in the middle of the Pacific.

So surely at some point, I was atop the Pacific. Surely. Don't we? We also border the Pacific, don't we on the East Coast? Yes. And what are we on the West? Yes. Indian Ocean.

Indian Ocean. Southern Ocean below. What do we get above? Doesn't matter. All right. You were doing really well, though, Dave. I just assumed you'd have all those answers for me. I had...

I had... He's killing him that he doesn't know. I had... Timor C.? Okay. I answered you. He went quiet and got really nervous. I mean, you're our geography buff.

Because I'm a woman now. You are congratulations. I'm a woman. That's when... Yeah, is that someone with the wetness of the ocean? It's in the mail. Your W card. I'm still waiting for that mist to come.

coming any day now. Still a master on one of my credit cards. I can't believe it. I think it is funny that Conant seems to be the only one who called her a girl. But yeah, it's 22-year-old. She's flying across a body of water that's never been flown across until a few weeks ago. She's a fucking woman, all right? But I love how hyperbulous, if that's a word, it's probably not.

But is that stuff about the Roman gladiators. Yeah. Oh, so good. So good. According to Ryan, the night before the race, some competitors slept more soundly than others. Jensen and Navigator Schluter had spent the night at the Clift Hotel in San Francisco. Schluter couldn't catch a wink of sleep and paced the hotel room all night. But Jensen slept solidly, waking up energized and giddy.

Leaving the hotel the next morning with 16 sandwiches packed into a bag for the flight. Apparently, no plans to eat them. They were just in case. It was so strange. The upbeat pilot, crowed. Okay, but just in case, would they eat them or they were to be like projectiles in case of combat? Yeah, yeah. Like 16 sandwiches.

It's strange. It's a strange amount. It's a 25-hour flight. Yeah. You know, like, it's not like, oh, if we get lost, it could take days because it can't. You run out of fuel. At most, you're going to be flying for, like, 20-something hours. Eat some sandwiches.

Yeah. It's funny that he didn't really plan on eating him. That's so funny. I filled them with stuff I hate. That's a very quirky little detail. Yeah, gravel. Yeah, gravel sandwiches. Better projectile.

Better projectile. Anyway, that was odd. In case there was another bird trying to attack their navigating crow. Yeah, for ducks or something, you know. So, yeah, he was chirpy in the morning. And apparently he said to the front desk clerks, at the hotel as he was leaving, I'm a homing pigeon going home.

What's a strange thing to say. It sounds like he's lost his wife. And they're like, okay, sir. Is that with his 16 sandwich is under his arm? How is the stay, sir? I'm a homing pigeon going home. Very good, sir. As soon as I read that, I started picturing old Australian politician

Christopher Pine. I'm a fixer. I fix things. I'm a hoping pigeon. Game of ham. His confidence was just as pronounced at the airport. When asked if he had bought life insurance or made a will in preparation for the flight, Jensen asked,

What the hell for? For life, for, what do you mean? What for? He's never heard of life insurance? He's like, what's that for? Anyway, got to go. Anyway. Why do I need life insurance?

I'm about to die. I need death insurance. It is nice that we call it life insurance, but it is essentially death insurance. That's a real glass-affles. Yeah, that's nice. But I don't know why, but when I read that, I read that in your voice, Dave. It feels like a real Dave phrase, what the hell for?

What the hell for? I'm a homing pigeon. I'm going home. I've got a bit of the Christopher Pines about it as well. Wow, thank you. I don't mean that. I don't mean that. He's way funnier.

The first plane to take off was Oklahoma, the massive. The massive crowd cheered. The doll race had finally begun. Woo! Next up was El Enkanto. I'll let Ryan tell you how their takeoff went. Oh, this is the favourite, the metal one. Yes, that's right, the beautiful metal plane.

Shiny silver eye picture. Okay. El canto was wheeled into place at the start line. At 12.03pm, the silver plane tore down the runway. Piloted at takeoff by its navigator Kenneth Hawkins, who possessed a set of controls in the rear cabin. Hawkins had a superior view of the takeoff from his cabin, as well as better control of the rudder. So it's weird the pilot didn't do the takeoff, but...

The navigator does the takeoff? That was a practical reason for that. But as L. Encanto gained speed and lifted slightly in the air, it was buffeted by a gusting crosswind that caused the plane to falter. Oh, no. Returning to the runway, the plane hit a bump, tilted to one side and veered sharply towards a group of newspaper men standing along the sidelines of the runway. The journalist scrambled to evade the out-of-control plane, some reporters falling flat on their stomachs to avoid being swept by El Encanto's wings. The plane narrowly missed the newspaper man and then entered a ground loop, turning so sharply

that its left wing dipped to the ground and crumpled. Meanwhile, the plane's landing gear tore away from the fuselage, causing El Enkanto to plow nose first into the dirt runway. Its motor burying itself as the plane ground to a violent halt. Miraculously, the large fuel tank, which bulged below the fuselage, did not explode. moment's later Goddard and Hawkins crawled out of the wreckage and waved to an astonished crowd signoring they were without injury. That took a bow.

I meant that. Tadda! Oh dear. Yeah, they'd pull out an envelope and it says, We crashed on purpose. Goddard extended both arms upward in a gesture of surrender. A pain smile across his face. and canto for which the Englishman that sold his airport in San Diego would not be flying to

Hawaii if ever again. He sold his airport. He sold an airport? To buy this plane that's stacked on a runway. He sold an airport, Jess. All right. Yeah, that detail. We've all been there. That detail just slips in there and you're like, what? He was so stunned and saddened, he could not speak. Hawkins found some words, which he grumbled while tears fell from his eyes saying, I would rather have crashed in mid-ocean than to have had this happen. Yeah, men are odd. What's wrong with men? I'd like to say these men are odd.

I feel like Dave and I would prefer to have this happen. Oh, yeah, he's a real not-old man kind of guy. Well, I'm just saying, just in case you think I'd prefer to die, than be slightly embarrassed, which is what he's saying. I know, it's so weird. It's so strange. Then their wives consulsed them before Ellen Cantos pilot and navigator started to bicker and assigned blame to each other for the crash. Honey, I would rather never have seen you again and see you right now.

He said, I was just like, what? Yeah, amazing. And then they start fighting. But it shows the mindset. And because the navigator was in control and the takeoff, that would have led to, like, the pilot be like, you just had to get in the air and then I was going to do the rest. But the navigator was the Englishman, right? the one who'd sold. I think when you said it earlier,

the Navigator was the one who'd sold his airport. So that's interesting. The stakes were higher for him in a lot of ways. And it's, yeah, it's just, it's funny. Like, surely afterwards, because, you know, I think I've foreshadowed enough that some of these people are going to die. In the end, surely they were like,

well, I lived a life that went beyond my 20s or early 30s. Surely that little stack. Yeah. While embarrassing. in the end was probably a blessing. Probably okay. Or maybe the pilot might have gone to his death going. If you just got in the air, I would have got us to Hawaii.

I would have got that glory. I would have crashed us in the middle of the ocean, like real men. That was the plan. We would have plunged to a fiery, wet death, like men. Yes. Like real men. Real men get sopping. Instead, here I am having photos with my grandchildren.

Yuck. Disgusting. Who wouldn't have existed. What kind of weak man am I? Next up was the Pabco Flyer. This is Dave. Flown by Solo Major Irving, the lone wolf. He took off, but only momentarily.

Oh dear. And ended up getting bogged in Marshland, a mere mile or so from the starting line. Hey, don't help dig me out. I can do this myself. It's a little bit of mud. Don't worry about it. work alone.

Okay, all right, well, as long as you're okay, then I'll head back to the airport. Actually, if you can get a tractor, that really helps. Sorry, I can't hear you over the left out of my car. I'm driving out. I think I've made it up with my wife. You can picture the navigator that was trying to say,

hey, I'll navigate for you. Being like, I reckon I would have to navigate you away from that bog. Exactly. You fucking idiot. Oh, so is that easy? Yeah. I basically flew directly into a box. No, he was.

He was going to get it out and try and try again. Okay. Then came the Golden Eagle. According to Conan, Jack Frost. We didn't even mention that. He's name Jack Frost. I know incredible. Jack Frost plane gave the spectators a big thrill.

True to pre-race form, the sleek and handsome ship got off smoothly and went streaking off to the west. A big roar went up for the trim and able craft. And Miss Doran, the next in line, looked almost pathetic by contrast. Battered, flimsy and clumsy. The little biplane managed to rise, but no spectator was surprised when it came. back in just 10 minutes. So I went out, hit a bit of trouble, flew back to the airport. Oklahoma came back too. Something ripped in its fuselage over San Francisco and her crew figured

it was better to be safe and sorry. Yeah. It might be too late in the episode to check. Am I saying fuselage, right? I think so. Yeah. Or fuselage, yeah. Yeah. In the ballpark. People know what I mean. Yeah. Yeah. It was the same for Dallas Spirit. They took off, but something was wrong with their tail assembly. So Irwin and Equifelt flew back. These are the two that had three problems just to get to the starting line. And now they've had a problem within like two minutes. Yeah.

That's a surprise. Only 25 hours to go. Jess's fave, Aloha, got off all right. Yes, Aloha. As did Woola Rock with the Black Cat pilot. Yeah. Go Go Go bowl. Two of the false starters tried again, Miss Doran and Pabco Flyer.

The latter cracked up for. the second time. This is the lone wolf. And that was it for him. What happened? You're straight back into the bog. The same freaking bog. That's good thing he left his shovel there.

It's just like, oh, boom. Ah, God damn. All right, bog, you can have it. I'm done with you. That is a very funny image.

Just drawing it back to the So, yeah, so Pabco Fly was out. Lone Wolf was done. He withdrew. But Miss Doran Roe slowly went on out and disappeared into the distance. Miss Doran was on its way. Disappeared in a good way. So it was carnage on the start line, basically. For all the hype and excitement of a big field of competitors, there was 15 to start with, then 8 finally made the start line, but when the race actually happened, only four planes remained in the air for any decent amount of time. Wow.

Golden Eagle, Miss Doran, Aloha, and Woola Rock. Come on, Aloha. And Woola Rock is Gobel. Woola Rock is Gobel. What just happened to you? And Woolwog is gobble. Sorry, doing this voice is really fucked with me. I'm a lone wolf for me.

Luckily, the lone wolf's out of the race. Well, I'm luckily because I enjoyed that character. That was a lot of fun. I liked. How quickly he was in fact not a lone wolf. Wait, come back. That's such a loose facade. No, no, please.

It's just a coping mechanism. I need this. I do that to not be lonely. It's backfiring. But it was interesting, your two were two of the four that your two picks. According to Ryan, Miss Doran flew across the bay past San Francisco and the Golden Gate before reaching the Pacific Ocean. At about three in the afternoon,

the biplane was seen passing the Farallon Islands, the last specks of earth the crew would encounter until landing in Hawaii. Escort planes spied peddler sitting in the pilot's cockpit, his straw hat atop his head, and in the rear of the plane sat Lieutenant Knope and the famous Doran. The flying school mom, as some dubbed her, gave a friendly wave as the escorted planes, as the escort planes dipped their wings in a final salute

and turned back to the California coast. Sorry, I just can't help but feel like. some of the planes couldn't even take off, yet there's these escort planes as whizzing around next to them waving. Hello! We were able to take off, no worries. It reminds you a bit of one of our very early episodes,

Burke and Will. Yes, I thought of it too. They're trying to do this big, they're trying to get from south to north Australia for, you know, the first Europeans to do it. And their marriage, the marriage, the male carriage was zooming back and forth past it for the first weeks.

Giving them mail. Other planes easily taking off, waving. Awesome, have a good one. I get the thing would be they don't have these big heavy fuel tanks. I guess so. Which is one of the things that made these planes who are coming back so quickly, very dangerous. So they're landing with these still super full, very flammable tanks of fuel. So all those ones who came back to land and didn't blow up, they were all like,

oh, that's actually kind of a positive. bit of luck for once in this race. Yeah, so they had made it at least that far. That was when the escort planes last saw them. Martin Jensen and Paul Schluter, I love the name Schluter, had passed the Farallones more than an hour earlier in the Aloha, tearing across the sky at 100 miles per hour. Like as fast as my old Ford Falcon could go, you know?

Allegedly. I never, obviously never pushed it. Obviously. That would be very unsafe. Irresponsible. It would. And illegal. And probably would shudder in a way like maybe these planes might. While Woolarock and Golden Eagle had elected to fly above the thick fog,

blanketing the Pacific, Jensen deferred to his navigator, Schluter. Thick flog is your nickname. So, yeah, so Jensen defer to his navigator Schluter, who I don't know if you remember, is a seaman. Yes. He went, did you go, go along the water? Yes, he did. No, what do you mean? He said everyone else is flying above the fog.

Schluter's like, can we fly below the fog? I need to see the water to be able to navigate. I know a shortcut. Oh, yes. Jensen said before the race, I have a ship's navigator for the flight. To direct us, he has to be within 100 feet of sea level. So funny. Well, then he's not the right person for that job then. No, I don't reckon he is.

I have to see the sea. Yeah, I need to be able to taste it. This nearly led to disaster when Jensen got distracted and then very nearly stacked his plane into a ship. called the SS Silverfur. He's like, get me close to that ship. Follow that ship. Yeah, basically trying to like binoculars look at their navigation. You going away?

I'll follow you. He nearly stacked it. Into a ship. He stacked his plane and like how big's a ship. Ten, twelve feet. He's got the whole ocean. He crashed into a ship. Luckily, he only spotted it at the last minute and was able to pull up and avoid it.

That wasn't the only issue. the Aloha face, unfortunately Bob, it was, it had a really rough trip. The plane's fuel system was hastily built, which didn't leave enough time for proper testing. Early in the flight, they lost about 20 gallons of fuel due to excessive pressure in the fuel feed. Later, the oil feed went dry. So Jensen, the pilot, he's piloting the plane. While he's doing that, he's also having to use his mouth to physically blow oil through the system, while Schluter at the other end released the valve. So I had to do this all man. Does that mean take a shit?

No, he's a gentleman. Shluder. No, no, no, no. They had to repeat this process multiple times during the flight. And just to say, like, on the pulley line, hey, I'm about to blow some oil down. Can you release the valve? You know, sending a note down on the clothes line, basically.

Would have been handy to dry clothes as well, I guess. All this in an open top plane, the deafening noise of the motor and the wind. Obviously, it would have been such a full-on experience. You're focusing on so many things at once in this relatively new technology, the plane. I mean, you know, they were good pilots and stuff, but yeah, absolutely hectic. They never flown that far. And on top of that, the plane is malfunctioning.

They're having it just start doing all these things manually. And just luckily they understand, you know, the motor. I would have been like, huh, it's dry there. Well, I guess that's death. aiming for the ship, I'm going to take them out with me. Due to this and other mechanical faults, Schluter believed they would crash into the ocean at any moment. So he was prepared.

The whole flight, he was ready to crash. To be prepared, he stripped down nearly naked with his shoes off and the life craft at the ready. He's like, I'm going to, I'm about to be in the water at any second now. I'm getting down to the box of shorts. Why? It feels like, you know, Because clothes will weigh you down.

Yeah, but you... But also he's like, because then I'll turn into my mermaid form. Mermaids don't need pets. Just add water or whatever that show was. H-2O. Schluter stopped giving Jensen directions during the trip, as it turned out, as well as needing the ocean for directions. He didn't really know how to use much of the plane's navigational equipment.

And with visibility low, he's just like, oh, I don't know. So the Aloha plowed straight ahead, even though it was likely they should be course correcting constantly due to the conditions. Oh my God. And when buying off course and all those sort of things, he should be tracking that and going, all right, we need to correct one degree, whatever. He's just like, I don't know. So just stop sending directions. Didn't you have to do a test to prove that he knew how to use the stuff? Yeah, but in clear conditions around the bay.

Oh, when he's just going. He's looking at the ocean. The bay going, yep, there's the city. Yeah. There's the city. There it is. Land there. Jensen, yeah, like I say, some say the testing wasn't rigorous enough.

Jensen was also no longer the cocky pilot that started the race. He's the guy going, I'm a homie pigeon. I don't know him. He was scared and regretting even being involved. Cockpit pilot. The cockpit pilot was no longer, no longer cocky. He was no longer a cocky pit. He was a cockpit pilot.

You know, you shoot your shot. I like it. You have a go sometimes. I was beautiful. I thought the delivery where you didn't at all believe in it. I whispered it. Yeah. I still said it.

I whispered it and I said it too late. The best kind of delivery of a joke. You've been hanging around me too long. I agree. They flew through the night with many near crashes. Nothing was going right for the crew of the Aloha. As the sun came up, they weren't really sure where they were in relation to their destination. They were above the ocean.

Somewhere, probably. The navigator is like, yeah, we're still above the ocean. So, God, he's good. They were still in separate sections of the plane. They can't hear each other. Still communicating with that pulley thing and the handwritten notes. Via this system, Schluter told a frustrated jensen that they needed to circle until midday when the sun would be able to help him work out their location.

He's like, hey, I don't know where we are. sun's just come up. Can we just keep going until it's midday? So then I know where the sun will be. And yeah, I'll tell you then. So just circle for a bit. And Jen's like, we sort of, we don't have that much fuel. I don't know.

If we do this, it'll be tough. We probably won't have enough fuel to make it. And Shlutu's like, well, fire the police system. Don't know what to tell you, man. I don't know where we are. He just runs back, loll. Loll, oops. So Jensen was like, this is a nightmare.

I'm just going to have to circle, hoping that we don't run out of fuel before Schluter can figure out how we get there. If you take a pun and go in one direction and it's wrong, you're now four hours in the wrong direction. So you're better off staying put. It's like any classic, you know, when you're a kid, if you're lost, stay put. Stay put.

Let mom come back and find you. He's waiting there for mum. Or find the nearest white van. Hoping. And they should probably. take you home. Ask if they have candy. Yeah. And if they do, say, can I eat some while you drive me home? Yeah. I don't know my address. And they say, doesn't matter. No problem. I don't have to come in. If any kids are listening, that's bad. That's a very bad advice.

Never get in a white band. And also, why are you listening? Yeah. This is not a podcast for children. No, this is very adult. This is an adult podcast. Not an adult podcast. No girls. Only women allowed. Only 32 year olds and above. Yeah. Or below if you really want to. I'd say 18 plus. I'd say 16 plus. Let's be honest. A lot of this is 13 plus. You're probably age out of it about 21. Yeah, you still love to go on, but it got a bit silly for me.

I kind of grew up. I'm 24 now. Yeah, I listened to Grownup Podcasts. I remember when me and a mate were walking home from a 21st. We had a big night. It was just at a local cricket club. We were walking home. And my friend fell in.

into a hedge. And he was a little bit older than, he was a year older at school. He was a year older at school. No, Jimmy. And he goes, he got up and he goes, I'm 23 in a few months. I can't party like this anymore.

That's serious. Like, I'm getting older. I can't fall into hedges anymore. Still one of the loosest men I know. He sent a photo the other day from Mad Monday. He's still playing footy, you know, at my age, hundreds of years old. dressed up, you know, the...

Yeah. Except with the photo, I'm like, Mad Monday's Halloween for football, isn't it? They do their little dress-up day? Yeah, so funny. I'm 23 in a few hours. Yeah. But the photo I sent you,

you sent you, did it still have the caption, Get too old for the shit. I mean, now, I think it's almost true now, but... I can't party like this anymore. Pulling leaves out of his hair. Yeah, try to just lean on a bush. You know one of those fences that's a bush? Yeah.

Try to lean on it and just fell through it. That's very funny. But they got so disappointed in himself. Oh, come on, I'm 23 in a few months. I've got to get my act together. What am I? 22. It's a boys game.

I'm a man now. That's great. Okay, so let's leave. Jensen and Schluter there circling. Oh gosh. Now the crew of the Woolarock, they had a much better flight. This is your man, go-bush. They sit there playing on fire multiple times.

He's walking out on the wing, having a cup of tea, you know. He's taking a very cash. Flying in handcuffs for fun. Their main complaint was the thick cloud. Too much fun. God, I'm having too much fun. This is so fun. Oh, God.

No love challenges. I'm having so much fun. Let's put a hole in the fuel tank. will they make this interesting. Yeah, they're like, we're getting too old for all this fun. I'm nearly 23. We can't fly like this anymore. Really, one of their only complaints was because the fog,

they'd hardly seen the Pacific Ocean, the whole flight. They had a pretty, pretty chilled out flight over night. You've seen one ocean, you've seen them all. But it's funny because, I mean, they say chilled out. It was still pretty much a nightmare. They're flying through pitch darkness. They can't see anything. But at least their navigator is navigating.

Yeah. They know basically where they are. These conditions, yeah, these conditions were tough, but they were going pretty well. And though their night went smoother, it was still a nerve-wracking flight. For instance, to access parts of the plane, Davis, the navigator would have to crawl out onto areas with no flooring, where he balanced perilously on wires in the dark, hurtling through the sky. Oh. Can you imagine that?

Holy shit. Put some floor in. Yeah. Put floor in before you leave. You're doing tightrope walking on a plane to fix it. whilst it's flying through the dark. You're walking on wires. The wires are probably important.

Put some floor in. Just put floor in. Why is that a crazy ask? Put some floor in it. It's all about weight. You know, a bit of flaw or another hour's worth of fuel. Fucking floor. Floor it.

Yeah, I can because I don't have any floor. You're welcome. Back to Ryan. By early afternoon, after 24 hours of flying, Goebel grew anxious as he thought the islands should be within sight. They were feeling like we're on the right path. We should start to be able to see the islands over there, but he couldn't.

Oh, crap. His worry deepened when Davis began ordering a number of course corrections via the clothesline. Turn around. Head straight for ocean. I forgot my keys. Can we go back? Many of them necessary to get back on course after deviations gobble made to dodge rain squalls. So, you know, they had this chilled out flight.

It was also still pretty horrific. He's like flying over Alaska now. Yeah, that's right. Are we nearly there? But when the navigator suddenly ordered a 25-degree course change to accommodate shifting winds, Goebel panicked and by his own admission grew a bit pissed. Are you sure the irritated pilot wrote back in reply before peppering Davis with other questions? He's like starting to lose confidence in him.

He's like 25 degrees. That's a big correction. Are you sure you know where we are? You're jumping around like this. Davis assured Goebel that all was well and that Woola Rock was on track to reach Hawaii. All was well. But you're looking at the revision mirror. The plane is on fire.

It's all fine. Don't look back here. It's fine. 25 degrees. And then we are golden. Yeah, he's trying to guard him back into a squall to put out the fire. Then when he estimated they were three hours away from Hawaii, he said, sent Goebel a note of his own, inquiring how much gasoline remained on board.

Goebel's casual replied caused him to panic. Two hours worth. He's like, so we're three hours away, how much fuel we got just double checking? Two hours worth. So now one's pissed off with the other going, you don't know how to navigate. And the other one's going, your fuel management is stuff. We're dead. Why didn't you glide for parts of this?

Yes. You fool? Inside the navigator's compartment, Davis dwelt on the apparent fuel shortage. In the cramped pilots cockpit meanwhile, Goebel fretted over the course changes he'd been asked to make. Both men began thinking the worst. Soon after, according to Ryan, Goebel spotted a speck in the distance along the horizon. Staring hard at the speck, he wondered if it was a cloud or an island. A lot of the pilots saw little mirages along the way.

A lot of islands are in the sky, so you can see how you make that mistake. Cloud or island. As the minutes passed. The speck loomed larger. Soon, he could discern the outline of an island. He had spotted Molokai, the same island where Ernie Smith and Emery, not Emily, Bronte, had crash landed a month earlier. I forgot about Emery.

Oh, question for the competition. Do you have to land at the specific island or can you land anywhere in Hawaii and get the money? I think you really, I think they want your landing. On Bob Doll's Farm. Come on down to Bob Doll Farm. I was sponsored this event. I want you to come here and trust a pack up. We got donkey rides.

We got park. We've got some planes coming in, hopefully. They should be here by now. We got Bob Dole. I'm Bob Dole. I'm Bob Dole. I'm Bob Dole. I'm Bob Dole. Jess is like, who the fuck is Bob Dole?

Even though he's saying his name a lot. I'm Bob Dole. Who's Bob Doll? An ecstatic gobble uttered a celebratory swoop, barely audible over the noisy engine. I saw Molokai, a dim shore in the distance, and oh boy, what a joyful feeling. it was, he said. A moment or so later, Davis looked out a window in his navigator's cockpit and glimpsed

a dark blue smudge on the horizon. He stared hopefully ahead as the smudge morphed into the island Maui, sitting about 70 miles away. The navigator emitted his own shout of joy. Whoop! A more beautiful sight I have never witnessed, he said. Davis passed forward to Goebel a map of the Hawaiian Islands marked with the Woola Rocks position and the finish line at Wheeler Field. Then he sat down on the floor and relaxed, no longer overwhelmed with worry over the possible fuel shortage. Here we are, he said, by gosh, my job's done. And then 26 hours, 17 minutes after taking off, Goebel and Davis arrived at the finish line in Wallerock, taking out Doll's $25,000.

Yes, Waller Rock. You're back the winner there, Dave. Well, they had the actual experience. And even they, obviously, nearly lost it. Yeah. Yeah, that's right. A big fight, big falling out, a big freak out. That's right.

And they're like the craziest dudes. They jump from plane to plane. They go up without wheels on purpose. And even they're like, ah, crap, we're going to die. This is a bit full on for me. Yeah, like Goebel must have, until that point, must have had some feeling of invincibility. Yeah. He's like putting wheels on planes midair, you know, wild.

Yeah, just trying to make life difficult. Back to Ryan. Willa Rock was the third. plane to fly to Hawaii from California, the second to reach Oahu, and the first to place in the Dole Air Race. After taxiing in front of the reviewing stand, Goebbels stepped stiffly from the cockpit, removed his flying helmet and waved to the crowd. A mighty cheer erupted as the aviators walked across the airfield. Local officials and dignitaries, including James Dole and Hawaii's territorial governor, left their seats to greet the winners. And there's no

greater honor. When Dole gets out of his seat, you're like, holy shit. Oh my goodness. Girl. Bloody old, he loves a sick. James Dole? Coming to greet me? Bob's possible grandfather or something? No relation. Excited, or maybe I did not look it up,

excited spectators soon overtook these men as the crowd surged forward toward the aviators and plane, coursing past the soldiers standing guard. Say, folks, it certainly is great to land here. How many others are in ahead of me? Ask Goebel, who just completed the longest flight of his life. No, he won't. No.

The crowd surrounding him confirmed he was in first place. He replied, honest, gosh, do you mean that I'm the first one here? I thought, surely, some were ahead of us. He was like, no kidding. Gosh, darn it. Dagnamet. But no, they were the first to arrive, and it would be almost exactly two more hours before the next plane landed.

When Jensen and Schluter arrived in Aloha. No. I can't believe you two picked this one and two. Yes. So they just circle for hours before the... And figured it out. They had the worst navigator. Yes.

Possible. That got so lucky. So they survived their harrowing trip and it went for 28 hours and 16 minutes. Which I assume is without sleep, right? It's what a, yeah, amazing. And wasn't one of them up all night pacing? Yeah, was that them or was that somebody else? And they did that on the plane as well.

On the wing. With the 16 sandwiches they didn't eat. Yeah. So they're tired, they're starving. So hungry. I'm so hungry. If only I had 16 on sandwiches. Can you imagine me trying to do this?

I haven't slept for 28 hours. Even let's say I slept well the night before. I haven't slept this 28 hours and I haven't eaten. You would just jump off the plane. Okay, let's put it a third factor. Haven't had a coffee. Oh, good. So you're red zoning.

I'm taking us all down. You're red zoning before the race starts. And we need a new zone. I can only assume you're suffering from horrible air sickness as well. Yeah, I'd be so sick. kill me. Yeah, we'd throw you out. Yeah.

For you. Even though you're the only one who can pilot the play. That would be the right thing to do. Well, like somehow we'll have a better chance without the pilot. Yeah, you'd be better off chucking me off the plane and having to go yourself. How hard can it be? Yeah. Oh, God, nightmare.

Sadly, though, the two remaining planes, the Golden Eagle and Miss Doran never made it. The planes and their crews were never seen again. Oh, no. Never found. Never found. Back to Conan. Five more lives were given to the great adventure. Miss Doran's Mildred Doran, Orgy Pedlar and Villis Arnope,

and Golden Eagles, Jack Frost and Gordon Scott. But death was not done with them yet. Back in California, Captain Irwin and young Aikvolt fixed Dallas Spirit's tail assembly and took off three days later. Just give it a crack. We want to still give it a crack. And they also said, we'll search for the lost ships. Because they were still hoped they were alive in the days after.

Maybe they landed somewhere else. Maybe they were at sea in their life raft or whatever. So it was kind of a noble thing as well as we're going to still going to try and make the trip, but we're going to be keeping our eyes peeled the whole way to see if we can find the lost planes. But they two vanished over the ocean. Whoa. That made 10 lives lost altogether before, during and after the race. And that's why it's known as the Deadly Doll Air Race.

Wow. So not the great publicity of that Dole one of the long term. Deadly Dole, he's like a... dark crap. He definitely did not feel great about it. After he, even when the first plane landed, he was going, he was starting to fear the worst. He's going, I was expecting them to be here by now. You know, like he wasn't being flipping about it. He was going, oh, shit, this is not what I wanted this to be. Yeah, when Goebel landed was like, how many others are here? None, he must, he'd probably also think, oh. Yes. And there was a, it was mixed reactions publicly and in the media

after. Some were saying we need to legislate to make sure these sort of things can't happen anymore. And others were like, this is what pioneering is all about. Whenever new frontiers are crossed, and they're the kind of people who are putting their life on the line, they definitely knew the risks and they thought it was worth it, worth the gamble. So others were saying, you know, they died heroes, searching, you know, trying to break new ground for humanity sort of thing. Wow. So, yeah. I guess it was compared to the gladiators at the Coliseum.

That's right, yeah. Certainly a lot of them died. Yes. What do you mean? You haven't seen the end of the film. You don't remember that bit? I don't remember that bit. So you never were entertained.

I guess. So that's the end of my report on the deadly dull air race. But I thought I'd finish on a slightly less grim note and read a couple of bits out of from Ryan's book where he talks about the fates of the race winners. Yeah. So Dave, first thing, let's talk about art. Goebel. What a guy.

He gave up stunt flying after winning the Derby or the Derby and continued his aviation career by flying in cross-country races and working as a sky rider. I like cross-country is like, I'm not doing any of those ocean ones. No more ocean. Let's just go across the land. I can always land on land. Can't land on water. Unless you have a seaplane.

You're a freaking seaplane. Or one of those powered hovercrafts from back to the future. You fools, don't you know? They don't walk on water. Remember that? You still haven't seen it probably. Neither have you seen it. I've seen number one.

Okay. It was a rom. I'm talking about number two that quotes from. So, okay. It's been spoiled forever. Hovercrafts, ruined. Great. Thanks a lot.

Thank you. Yeah, you were about to watch it. I was about to binge him this weekend. While other pilots composed, so he's a skywriter now, which I love. And I love this little fact. While other pilots composed messages in block letters, Goebel was admired for skywriting in handsome script. Oh, future of bold.

Yeah. He served as a pilot in the Pacific during World War II and died in Los Angeles in 1973 at age 78. What a life! Yeah. Oh my God. Goebbels' companion across the Pacific, Lieutenant William V. Davis Jr.

returned to active duty with the Navy in San Diego following his victory in the Dolly Race. He would go on to enjoy a long and distinguished naval career in which he served prominently in the Pacific during World War II. He retired as a vice-admiral and deputy commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet in 1960 and died in Mobile Alabama in 1981 at the age of 79. So everyone, like all the people who survived had lived long, full lives for the time. Seventy-nine's very young now, but I think back then that was a good innings, as they say. Yeah, vice-admiral, that sounds like a pretty high up.

Yeah. A lot of them went under real high ranks as well. It's funny. Start out as daredevils, end as body disc jockeys. They're also DJs. Here's a Taylor Swift's newest song. Yes. That's why you, another reason why maybe in a past life you were a pilot. Yeah. Now you're a disc jockey.

I'm a bit of a daredevil. I think we could all agree. DJ and a D.D. I'll finish with a quick story from Ryan's book about one of the other pilots, Jess's Martin Jensen of the Aloha. I thought this story is very great. Very great. Okay.

Very great. Strap in for a very great story. Look, I feel like I've overcooked it there. We can bring it back down to pretty good. Okay. So this is back to Ryan. Just weeks after the race and now celebrity, Jensen returned to California to accept an offer from MGM Studios in Hollywood

to fly its mascot Leo the Lion across the country to New York. Oh my God. He would be flying an airplane who, whose rear fuselage had been converted into a lion cage. Oh, okay, so the lion's not sitting in the co-pilot seat. Feed up on the dash, that'd be cute. How am I doing back there? Scooby.

These in there, too. That better? Can you do that again? Your mouth makes a shape I've never seen before. It's very cool. That's all part of the man of a thousand noises. Yeah, yeah. People don't realize you're going to make shapes.

Of course. Of course. A little peak line. It's beautiful to watch. On September the 16th, 1927, Jensen and Leo took off from San Diego and headed east across the desert. The single engine plane was carrying a heavy load, the lion. But as well as the lion, 400 gallons of fuel, as well as the lion, the metal cage and heavy panes of thick plate glass on the cage. on the cage as well.

It doesn't feel like it's definitely not good for, I don't think the animal care stuff would tick the boxes. Just put them in a little like carry crate, like taking a cat to the vet. Yeah. Like why do you have to make it a big old cage? Yeah. It's a little kitty cat.

Meow. Meow. Meow. They don't like the, I went to the MGM casino in Vegas a few years back. And they used to have lines in cages as you walked in, but you know, for similar reasons.

they don't do that anymore. Isn't it? What a grim life for the king of the jungle. Yeah. It's being on display in a casino in Vegas. It is weird. Yeah, so strange. As Jensen flew across Arizona, hills and mountains reached up towards the plane, which the pilot could coax to climb no higher than about 4,200 feet.

Above the Tonto National Forest, he steered the plane into a canyon, hoping to discover a pass through the mountains. Just a gamble. Hoping. Yes. He doesn't know, but he's like, if I get in this canyon, hopefully there's a, I can just track through it. That lion's the worst navigator of all time. Yeah, give it a crack.

Try the canyon. Yeah, why not? Well, it's still better than the semen, though, right? Instead, the canyon ended suddenly against the mountainside, leaving Jensen no time or space to turn around. He braced himself for the unavoidable crash, and he stacked the plane. He later recalled, which hopefully gives you an idea that he survived. Which is only something I've picked up because of you. I wish I didn't do that.

I was thinking about that today. I'm like, these guys obviously made it because anyway. Maybe I would have eventually figured out that somebody later recalling something meant they lived. But it would have taken me years. I'm very dumb. So he later recalled, it was a tough landing, but I managed to strike a tree top that stopped the plane, although it rolled over a couple of times after striking. I crawled out and looked to see what had happened to Leo.

The cage had held tight and he wasn't scratched, although he did look disgusted. I figured his opinion of me as a flyer was pretty low. One month earlier to that day, Jensen was in the doll race, lost above the Pacific with much of the world wondering where he was. Now he was lost in the Arizona desert with a lion. And again, many people were wondering where he was. Jensen, where are you? I imagine somebody would have said.

Yes, of course. Bitting a temporary goodbye to Leo. So the pilot started hiking. When I asked him how he felt, he licked his chops and settled himself as best he could in the cage of the wrecked plane, he said. Then I fixed him up with what milk we had left, divided my sandwiches with him. He's still with the sandwiches, and started down the canyon for help. For three days and three nights, Jensen trekked across treacherous desert terrain. It feels like this little story could be its own episode.

My God. The rocky landscape was punishing. His boots soon fell to tackle. The soul's falling away entirely, leaving his feet swollen with blisters the size of silver dollars. The seat of his pants was also reduced to threads. But he shat himself. Not this gentleman. This was juden was sliding down so many rocks.

At night he slept in trees or brush as to protect himself from coyotes. Fucking idiot should have taken the lion with him. Take the lion with you. No one's messing with you if you're walking with a lion. Idiot. You should have just, yeah, strapped the cage with his back. I would have just let the lion out. I could have ridden the line.

Well, the line would have been like, all right, you just did some impressive flying and we're alive. You're cool with me. I want to you. I respect you. Yeah. And I'm full from some of those human-sized sandwiches. Delicious. Thank you.

And a bit of milk, which you divided equally with me. Because our appetites are equal. Nah, I was joking. You're eating. Yeah, you're right. Finally, he reached a ranch. So this is three days and three nights. Fearing for his life.

With his butt showing by the sounds of it. It's embarrassing. Insane. I crashed a plane. There's a lion out there. Okay. Soon after he found this ranch, he found the town of Roosevelt, Arizona. He found a telephone.

When he called up MGM to deliver the bad news, the movie studio had just one question. How's the lion? Those vassholes. I think that... I'm fine. Thanks so much. Yeah. Their first question is, can we option the movie rights to this?

Yeah. Jensen then led a rescue party back to the crash site. Leo was found alive, pulled out of the desert, and nursed back to health. But I never flew him again, said Jensen. In fact, that experience was enough to make me swear off flying lions for life. Jensen died in San Diego on Feb 8, 1992 at the age of 91. Wow. How do these people live so long with their absolutely wacko lives?

Yeah. It just feels like if they survived, if they survived that race, they were going to live on for decades and decades longer. Even if the rest of his life was really mundane, that year, because it was all in the same year. A month apart from each other. It was a month apart. That is the same month, you're right.

That he did the doll flight and then a month later flew a lion into a canyon, survived, walked, you know, like that's enough for a lifetime. Yeah. Even if those are your only, two stories you have, you win. Those are great stories. It's hard to be beaten by that. Yeah.

I don't think many people could beat those two at a dinner party. No. And that's what dinner party's all about. Yeah. Winning. Winning. Oh, who won the dinner party tonight? Everyone, they do scorecards at the end.

So that's the end of my report on the deadly 1927 Dole Air Race. Definitely worthy of a top nine blockbuster type report. Can you imagine there's eight topics that beat that? Because this was so epic. That's epic. I can't wait to hear what the top eight are. Excellent stuff, mate. And that brings us to everyone's favorite section of the show,

the section where we thank some of our fantastic Patreon supporters, this section, where everyone, I know some people just skip straight to it because it's the best bit, goes for about half an hour of 40 minutes. So sit back and enjoy us thanking the people who make the show possible and doing it in a way that some would call lightly entertaining. So if you want to get involved, go to Patreon.com. to go on pod and sign up to on whatever level you like. There's different rewards based on the levels.

Dave, what are some of the things you can get there? Hey, we put out three bonus episodes every single month. And if you subscribe, you instantly get access to the 155 plus back catalogs. So heaps of bonus episodes. You hear about live shows before anyone else. You get discounted tickets,

access to a Facebook group. And, yeah, a bit of self-satisfaction for helping us out. There's a great report you did recently on one of those bonus episodes, Dave, about the seven natural wonders of the world. That's right. After you requested it after my other ancient wonders report. Yeah, I went through the seven natural wonders. And it was interesting to hear what made the list.

And another thing is if you're on Patreon, you're the first to hear about everything. Basically, we always tell people in there on the Facebook group or the Patreon page about our tours coming up or our personal solo shows. and whatnot as well on podcasts. Maybe there might be a few of us here doing festival shows next year's festival season. You'll be the first to hear about that,

get discounted tickets and all that sort of stuff. So, yeah, please get involved for all sorts of reasons. But the first thing we like to do in this section of the show is thank a few people on the Sydney-Shaunberg level. And on this level, they get to give us a factor quote or a question in a section that has a little jingle. It goes something like this. Fact quote or question.

He always remembers the ding. She always remembers the jingle. And in this section, these great people get to give us a fact, a quota or a question, or a or a bragger or a suggestion, or really, whatever they like. I think we've got a recipe at one point. They also get to give themselves a title, and we do four each week. And the first one this week with what a fantastic name, Bracken Markens, who's got the title of Chief Marketing Officer of the Give Your Kids Normal Name Society.

and not-for-profit. And I think you've said this to us before, Bracken, and we're like, Bracken, you have one of the best freaking names out there. I love it so much. Actually, no, I think that was when I did it with Shane Dunlop. Is Bracken, is this name new to you two? I think so. What a freaking name.

It's an amazing name. Markens loved so much. Anyway, Brackens offered us a quote, and his quote, well, their quote, is, there are only two greats in this world, Britain and me. That's Muhammad Ali. That's good stuff. That is good stuff. Well done.

Man, he was a, what a quotable human being. Very arrogant. Hardy backed it up. Isn't it hard? It's funny to be so arrogant and still so charming and charismatic. Yeah, totally. And the next one comes from Sophie Shooter, aka group mom, if you get your homework done,

I'll take you to watch some planes take off at Heathrow. Oh, that's very apt. Oh, my God, that is very apt. Especially if it's hopefully Heathrow and not already. I've forgotten where. But what's the capital of California? I think that's where it was. Sacramento.

It was not Sacramento. It was in Oakland. Oakland, thank you. The Raiders. I knew it was one of the sporting teams. And the Raiders used to play there. They're now in Vegas after moving to LA. Whatever.

So, Sophie is offering us a fact writing, just listening to the Concord episode, and thought I'd give you a few facts about my plane nerd self. My grandpa worked at the BAC. Any idea what I mean? British Air Corporation? Yeah, that sounds right. Where they assembled Concord Wings,

it is now at Brooklyn's Museum, and they have an old Concord there that you can go in and whatnot. I guess that means fuck. Where is it? Yeah, it doesn't say you can't fuck it. You know how polite the British are, and they don't like talking about sex and whatnot?

Yes, we're going to the boudoir to do what not. We're going to what not our marriage. That's what the bride and grooms say on their wedding night. You can what, not me in the butt, whatever. All right. Fucking surrogate. Concord used to take off from Heathrow at 11am daily and fly overhead my town at about 11.05. What a funny thing to set your clock to, or not need to set your clock to.

Yeah. It was incredibly loud. I'm late for that 11 a.m. meeting. It was incredibly loud to the point where teachers would have to stop talking for a minute while it passed. It was an absolute dream of mine to fly on Concord. 13-year-old me was very sad when it stopped flying. Oh. Yeah, your face lit up then.

I thought 13-year-old me was very lucky to... I have a photo of the last flight taken from my bedroom window, and it was in the days before I'd even a digital camera. I hope it was one of those Kodak disposables, let alone a decent one. So it's just a white dot in a blue sky. And lastly, my new dream flight would be first class on a 747, but with only a handful of them still in passenger operation, it's not looking good.

Maybe you could make it a new Patreon reward. Yeah, Jess, you go next time you fly one of those, you think you could save a seat for Sophie? I'll try. It's a long list. Sorry, this one was so long, but as always, I'm worth it. Love, just like Mahmada. So arrogant, but just has the charm to play.

Yeah, it works. Love to you all, and I can't wait. see you in London on that tour you're all about to announce. Thank you very much, Sophie. Next one comes from Ryan Butterfield, aka Senior Chief Submariner, and Ryan has a brag. Oh man, I hope it's submarine related.

Hello, Jess Dave and Old Man Matt. And you two, your whippersnapper, Ryan. You guys are great and I love every single episode. I'm about to get through your entire back catalogue. of your Patreon episodes while I drive across the United States from Washington to Virginia while I transfer to my next command in the U.S. Navy submarine force. Yes. As a bonus fact about me, I have in the submarine, I've been in the submarine force for 22 years.

My question is this, my question is this what sis? My question is this. Okay. Thank you so much. But people at home just can't even see the text and she's still predicted it. Well, look, maybe her advantage was she didn't see the lack of homer or a colon or anything there. Look, I'm not throwing, you know, Spursions. Ryan, you do what you want to do.

Yeah, I just would have figured it out before the third time. I think, well, I think most people may have. My question is this. What sis, the one place should I, I'm guessing what is as well. Look, Ryan, you've done me no favors here. My question is this. what is the one place should I go? I'm going to fix this up for you.

You can do a bit of sub-editing you. Very good, Dave. Was that a submarine pun? You are the pun master, no doubt about it. My question is this, what is the one place I should go while I'm driving? What should he go see while driving? Dave, you're the geography and probably America expert. Washington, Virginia, does that get anywhere near Gary, Indiana?

Let's find out. I mean, I think so, because it depends if it's, it's Washington State. We're thinking it's Washington? Yeah, I think it's a D.C. I think that's the whole. He's driving from Frasier to something in Virginia. That's the whole gambit. Oh, great.

We've got to go to Gary, Indiana. That was a leading question, surely, Ryan. Yeah, sure, but let me see if it goes near Vermont. I'm doing a little calculation on a little root mat, calculator on Google Maps. Just what's your request? Disneyland. Disneyland. If you can do the big three there, Ryan, I'd love to see that triptitch of photos. Or Dollywood.

Oh, it's a lot of. I think a little bit too far north of that maybe. Oh, I think you can detour. You can detour. It looks like I think that Gary, Indiana is possible. Fantastic. I mean, anything's possible. Yeah, easy. Gary, Indiana. Do it. Do it. All right. Thank you very much, Ryan. And I'm so glad that you're 22 years in a submarine. And still listening to this show, despite, despite your.

or just blatant rudeness. I just think they're silly. The last one this week comes from Chris Torres, aka official North Carolina living in Ohio, and who has family living in Gary Indiana of the podcast? If that is all true, that is redonculus. Obviously, North Carolina, famous for its blue fire engines in some parts. Ohio being God's country, and Gary Indiana being...

The Motherland. The motherland, the best place on earth, the spot everyone wants to be. The place so great that other Americans tell me it's awful just to stop others from going to visit. That's right. Keeping it for themselves. They're gatekeeping. Yeah. They're gatekeeping Gary.

Yeah. They're gatekeeping Gary. You can't gatekeeping Gary. You can't gatekeeping Gary. I'm going and I can't. Chris is offering a fact writing, hey, gang, as a North Carolina, and I love all the attention my great home state gets from the pod. But I've got to say, I'm a little hurt that all the big North Carolina facts have been about the University of North Carolina and its hometown of Chapel Hill,

which I guess is where the blue fire engines are from. One of the biggest rivals of my alma mater, North Carolina State University in Raley. So I thought I might suggest a new, more neutral. And if ordained by Jess, fun fact. We'll see. Neutral but fun. And even South Carolina can get in on the fun. The Venus flytrap, a famously carnivorous plant, is native to a relatively tiny,

90 mile or 145 kilometer radius around Wilmington, North Carolina, including parts of South Carolina. Let me know what you guys think. And if you don't like it, I'll be happy to submit a different one. Books Forever. Thank you very much, Chris. So the Venus flytrap is native to just one small area in South Carolina. Gant to my head couldn't have told you where it's name.

God, no. What'd have been like rainforest shortly, Amazon. I would just like jungle or something. Like, yeah. And I would have also thought like a, yeah, a bigger area. Yeah. That's fascinating. I had one as a kid.

What? I just had it in a pot. Did you? Yeah. I'm like, a plant that eats stuff. Yeah, they've got to see that. I think I've only ever seen them in cartoons. Yeah, right.

That is cool. That's a fun fact. Oh, sick, fun fact. They're native, yeah, to the east coast of the United States in North and South Carolina. Wow. Amazing. Wow. That's so cool.

That's a hectic fact. What a great fact. Thank you so much, Chris. So, yeah, if you want to get involved, giving us a fact, quite a question, just join up on the Sydney-Schenberg level. The next thing we like to do is thank a few of our other great supporters. Justin comes up with a bit of a game based on the topic at hand.

Let's name their plane. Oh, yeah. Name that plane. All right. Well, if I can kick us off, if that's okay, with you too, I'd love to thank. No. No, I'm kidding. Okay.

I'd love to thank. Now, wait. No, you go. I'd love to thank. You hang out first. From Cheltenham in Victoria Australia. Very close to that bush that my friend fell into. It's Dane Helmers.

Dane Helmers. Dane's Plain. What's it going to be? Dane's plane. The Helm Fighter. Well, that's pretty good. Dane's plane Helm, I don't know. That's fantastic.

Oh, that's fantastic. My God, the way you look at me, I never know. I know. I like to keep you on your toes. That's great. Helm fighter. I like that a lot. The Helm Fighter.

And Dane's planes. There's a lot going on there that's lovely. Dane's Plains sounds like I'd go on like a tour with them. Yeah. Welcome to Dane's planes. I'm Dane. It's probably maybe a ride at Wobby's World. Miss you, Wobby's World.

Miss you. Miss you every day. Ride a tram and a fire engine. Yes. Bring your friends and family too. They're desperate. Locate desperate. Please.

Bring anyone you've ever met. Come alone. Whatever. We're in a lot of trouble. Please. I'd also love to thank from Kempton Park in, what said A, Dave? Is that Switzerland? Was that Zimbabwe?

It's South Africa. South Africa. It was going to be my next guess. From Kempton Park in South Africa, I'd love to thank Hanna's Norde. Dave, can I get a pronunciation check on that? Oh, sorry, I'm just looking at the name. Hanas Naldae. Harnes or Hans.

I don't know. I'm sorry. That accent on the E, I think, makes it an A. Hanas Norde. Bopper, what's Hannah's flying? Nauty boy. Oh, the naughty boy. Welcome to naughty boy air.

And all the flight attendants are in like little hot pans. Yes. I want to fly that plane. That's fantastic. That's a party plane. Nauty boy air. And finally, for me, I'd love to thank from Perth in the Australian capital territory, Charlotte Sim or Syme.

Dave, what do you reckon? Charlotte Syme? Charlotte Syme. in charge of the green bullet. Oh, yeah. Green bullet. But ironically painted purple. Yeah.

I'm with you. I like the cut of your jib. Ha ha. I'm with you. Can I thank some people as well? That would be fantastic if you could. I would love to thank from location unknown. Deep within the fortress of the mall.

Well, I still need plants. Yeah, obviously. Megan Cartwright. Megan Cartwright. The flying horse and cart. Right? Right. That's good stuff.

Records. Right. And then their logo is a picture of Charlotte shrugging. Yeah. And that instills confidence in the customer. Is that anything? I like that. And I would also love to thank.

It would be weird for Charlotte to be the logo. Of course, it was Megan would be the logo. Megan would be the logo, yes. Charlotte's the car. Pilots. Childs co-pilot. Shout out. I would also love to thank from Milton Keynes in Great Britain, Lee McDonald.

Lee McDonald. Ironically, flying the KFC. Oh. Wow. Why is that all right? It stands for. Lee McDonald. Killer flying chicken.

Killer flying chicken. Yeah. And the pilots actually have to wear chicken costumes. It's quite, it's a hazard. Welcome to KFC. And obviously all of. No, no, no. Hang on.

What was that noise? Oh, that was a chicken. Go it again? Yeah, that's a chicken. Sorry, sorry, I pulled you up on that. Sorry, chicken in distress. Just had its head chopped off. Yeah.

That's a blood gurgling out the neck hole. Oh, oh. And of course, Lee's engines also, a F1 supply. Isn't Milton Keen's the home of Formula One racing? Is that something I've learned on a recent episode, maybe? about Milton Keynes? Maybe not. If not, delete.

From your memories, listeners. Delete. Delete from your memories, please. If not, delete. Falltime Formula One World Championships champions, Aston Martin Red Bull Racing have their headquarters in Milton Kings. Oh, Red Bulls, they're not Formula One.

There you go. Similar. Finally, for me, I would love to thank from Ridgehaven in South Australia, Lauren Boyle. Oh, yeah. The boiler maker. Oh, fantastic.

And on board, with every ticket you get a boiler maker, which is a beer and a shot of, and a whiskey. Yeah. Beer and a whiskey to sip on. I have a boiler maker. I think a couple of times I've had boiler makers I've been with you. Yeah, and I reckon the couple of times I've had boiler makers, I've been with you.

I was about to say, you're a terrible influence, but it looks like we both are. Yeah, didn't we have one of those somewhere in the middle of your bucks? I reckon we had a boiler, We did. It was a lovely time. What a great time. Jess was sick.

I had COVID. Pretty good excuse. I still don't know if I fully buy it. It was the only Bucks party I'll ever be invited to. Yeah, that's right. I was hoping you'd come along. We'll do the first anniversary bucks. Yeah.

Aren't we? Okay. So we get Murray to perform again? The Red Wiggles, Buck. And just to stop the tweet, Silverston is the name of the F-1 circuit. And that is but a 17. mile journey outside of Milton Keynes.

So it makes sense that they would practice in that area, I guess. Yeah, and we've got a few great listeners who are big F1 fans, and I think I've gleaned that from maybe tweets that Milton Keynes is F1 important. That's right. And I'm sure our number one rev head listener, Ben Johnson, who also lives in Milton Keynes, would have let us know that. He loves cars and he lives there. So, Ben, I looked it up for you.

Hey, I'd like to shout out now. Thanks to Daniel Carraway all the way from North Miami Beach, Florida. Miami, Daniel Carraway. When you said, just before you go on, when you said Ben Johnson, our number one F1, when you, as soon you said our number one F1 listener, I was sure you meant Bryson Sullivan. I think they might need to be some sort of a,

an F1. Jewel. Okay, absolutely right. Ben v. Bryson. That's fun. I don't know how we set it up, but yeah. Maybe we fly them to one destination on this airline, the carry-away airline, Daniel Carraway. Daniel Carraway.

Carrier way. That's good. That's good. Because we carry away your troubles. And are they a low-cost carrier or a full-cost carrier? Incredibly expensive. It's a luxury line. One seat on the plane.

When they say carry away, it's like you don't even touch your bags. Yes. Out of the plane. Like out of the back of the car when you arrive at the airport, they got your bags, they carry it away. They carry you through the airport. They carry you. Yeah.

And it's one seat on the whole plane. The pilots have a standing desk. There's just one. So your ticket is very expensive. Yeah, yeah. But you do get the only seat. But you cannot fly with your family or friends. Well, if they want to fly, they'll have to fly on a plane next to it or above.

They can do double deckers and stuff with one more seat. Yeah. But they have to add a whole other plane on. top. So a two-winger becomes a four-winger, aka a biplane. Which I now understand. Me too. Just. I'm just barely hanging on. I'd also like to thank from Parkville, not far away from here in Victoria. It's Simon

Windley. I know Simon. Really? Yes. Do you know his airplane, the Windley Warbler? I've seen pictures of it. Yeah. Yeah. I haven't had the pleasure of encountering the windly warbler just yet. It's going to be one of the most awkwardly wabler.

You're slurring your words? Wittly warbler. Yeah, no, don't worry. I'm flying you home in the wendly warbler. Yeah, it's like, I'll get it over. I'll get it over. It's so close you can get an Uber. I'll just get it over.

Thank you, though. Thank you, Simon. And finally, I would like to thank from, I'm not going to say this properly, but I'll give it a crack. It is from, Sigler Fuhrer in Iceland, and I've looked it up, it's a very northern tip of Iceland. A town where only 1,200 people live, and one of those people supports us on Patreon,

and that is a big shout out to Mossie. Mossie! Mossie! He's moved a long way. Bloody hell. So a small fishing town in a narrow fjord on the northern coast of Iceland. Maple syrup moss. Listening to our show, that is an honour.

Isn't that your favourite country, Dave? We'd to have a favourite country. But is... But my favourite country I've travelled to, yes. Love Iceland. I didn't go all the way out north, though, so I'd love to go back. That's cool. And Mossie.

What's Mossie's Plains name? Is it the maple syrup? Oh, yeah, it could be... That was just a nickname, I mean, Sam. I love it. Maple Syrup Moss. This voice is just... Oof.

It gets... Serripy. So syrupy. Yeah. I fly on the... Would you fly on the maple syrup? Yeah. This is my flame.

The maple syrup. Yeah. Is it sticky? Yeah. It does sound sticky. I don't like that. You know, we could call it the flying chisel. Oh, that's good.

Pierses the sky. Yeah. Yeah, all right. Thank you so much to Mossie, Simon, Daniel, Lauren, Lee, Megan, Charlotte, Hannes and Dane. The last thing we like to do is welcome a few people into our Triptitch Club. This club's been going on for probably a couple of years now. And to get involved, all you have to do, very simple, you have to sign up to the shout-out level or above at patreon.com slash to go on pod. And remain on there for three straight years.

Then you get lifetime membership into the club. And once you're in, you can use the facilities. I mean, it's the area of the mind, but it's whatever you like. Can you use the facilities? Yeah, you can take a shit. Women only. Women only. You know, there's a booth if you want to sit there, work on your laptop.

B-Y-Y laptop. Charging stations. Yeah. There's a bar. There's a bar, yeah, which Jess is behind. Yeah. So I'm on the door. I'm the door man.

Yeah. Got my clipboard. I've got the list. to welcome people in. Jess is in there behind the bar. Dave's on the stage. He's our host for the evening. Hosts for the most,

some would say, Jess. Sure. Thank you. Come on, you're my hype person. He's got the most. Hell yeah.

I'm not your hype person yet. Sorry. It's when he says, then I am. There's an after party, and Dave books the band for that. Dave, who's playing the after party? We got Moriah Carey.

Holy moly. Are you fucking kidding? Yep. Sorry, God, that's a bit secret I've had for weeks. We've got Mariah fucking Carrie. We've got Mariah fucking Carrie. What's you doing?

Greatest hits? Yeah, best of. Because sometimes you book artists with these weird stipulations that they'll only play one song over and over, or they'll only cover a weird song or something. Now, this time, Mariah's agreed to play all the hits. That must have been expensive. All the hits like, all I want for Christmas is you. Fantastic.

Very season appropriate. It is Blocktober after all. Yeah, Mariah Carey songs. Can we get her to change it to all I want for Blockmas is you? Absolutely, we can. She's very open. and apparently, as everyone knows, very easy to deal with. Whatever a diva is, it's not her.

One Sweet Day, Obsessed, We Belong Together, Big Energy, I'll be their heartbreaker, endless love. Heartbreak, you got the best of me. Bye-bye off her album, E equals MCS squares. No, that's a different one. That's a cover of her song. It's about Eminem's that song. I keep thinking there's going to be a word on her.

Get in far enough and a word will come, but no. Nema, nah, no, ma, no, ma, nah, nah. Bye, bye, bye, no, no. Jess, you're buying the bar. You normally come up with a cocktail based on the topic as well. I really backed the Aloha to make it. So I had a bit of an aloha theme. Like, I had lays for everyone.

I've got Mai Ties and Pinacoladas ready to go. Hope those lays are in silver for second place. No, they're different coloured flowers. Okay. And, yeah, doll whip. I got a doll whip. Oh, that's so funny that you knew, I guess, his family's business makes a family.

Yeah, I knew his family. Stopped at the Dole Blendation for 20 minutes. Got to know the family real well. Congratulations. Amazingly, we have a lucky 13 inductees in. 13. Just to show that we don't, just like those dare devils, we don't care about curses. This is going to go really well.

I'm feeling great. So the way it works is I'll read out your name. You'll lift up the velvet rope. You head on through. Dave's on the stage. Everyone else who's already inducted into the club. They're there chanting your name as well. Dave shouts it out with a bit of a weak word play, but it's fun.

It's meant to be fun, I think. I think you just don't get it. And then Jess. Despite being the pun king, he doesn't get it. I don't get puns. And then Jess. I think he's dumb. And then Jeff's lots of Dave.

I think he's a fucking. And then Jess hipes up Dave because he needs it. Because I'm smart. Are you ready? I'm an idiot. It does feel like maybe I'm the one who needs. You're hyping him up and you're hyping me down. Yeah.

You brought this upon yourself. Are you bringing me down a peg or two? Am I getting too big for my britches? Whatever britches are? Big for your little boots there, mate. All right. So, are you ready? Let's rock.

Here we go. From Pascovale in Victoria, Australia. Zoe Clippendale. Zoe Rippingdale! from Smithtown in New York in the United States, it's Peter J. Evans. I feel like I've died and gone to Evans. Yes. From Vienna.

Oh, it's so shit, it makes him laugh. Yes, that is exactly right. And it ruins the momentum. Yeah, come on. That was really, that was a good start for me. That was fucking great. Is that you mocking him up? No, it's me bringing you back down again.

From Vienna in Virginia in the United States, it's Will Hancock. What are you doing for Will? hand block Bustertober We dedicate blockbuster to you will From Hawthorne in South Australia

It's Kate Conroy Kate Conboy Oh boy Am I happy to see you Kate Conroy From Highland Heights In Ohio God's country in the United States

It's Drew Foresberg Boy you just dealt me some cards And I drew an ace Yes From Adelaide in South Australia It's Grace Brooks Brooks Your face looks good

Yes Great. Got a lot of value. From Longmont in maybe Colorado, C-O-U-S-A. It's Ryan D. Hoffman. Hoffman of the month. Yes, Hoffman of the month. From Spring Creek in Nevada in the United States is Logan Long.

Logan Long time, no see, but I feel good for thee. Yes. From State College in Pennsylvania in the United States, it's Gavin Cox. More like Gavin Rocks. Hell yeah. From Brentwood in England. It's Will Hudson. Where there's a Will, there's a Hudson.

Yes. Give me a hug, son. From Longwood in Florida in the United States, it's Daniel Burroughs. Daniel Burroughs. Never makes me furrow my brow, because I'm happy to see him. From Dublin in Ireland, it's Cathal Grant. I grant you permission to come on in as a legend. Happy with Cathal there, Jess, I'm right.

Yeah. And finally, from St. Peter's in M.O. in the USA, it's Sarah Sheal. Sarah Sheal. Really big deal. Yeah. Emma, that is Missouri, I believe. Is that right, day? I will not recognise that, but still, congratulations, seriously.

So big shout out and welcome aboard to Sarah, Cattle, Daniel, Will, Gavin, Logan, Ryan, Grace, Drew, Kate, Will, Peter and Zoe. Make yourselves at home, grab yourselves, an alohar, and get ready to have your mind blown by the people person and the people pleaser, Mariah Carey. Mariah Carey. Well, that brings to the end of the episode. Is there anything we need to do before we boot this baby home? Just to remind people that anybody can suggest a topic, there's a link in the show notes, and it's also on our website. Do GoOnPod.com.

We can also find live shows and merch and all sorts of wonderful shit over there. That's all I have to say. Yeah, check it out. Click that live show tab and see we're coming to your town, adding lots and lots of shows lately. So, yeah, have a look. You never know. Even if you've listened to this in the future,

We might be coming to you tomorrow. And if you want us to come to you, let us know, send us a message. As long as you're not from some place in Iceland with 1,200 people. We only come to place with 1,300 plus. Okay. Okay. So go have 100 children and then get back to us. We'll wait.

Okay. Dave, please boot this baby home. Hey, we'll be back next week with the eighth most requested blockbuster tober topic. But until then, I'll say thank you so much for listening. And goodbye. Bye. Dave's actually waving. Nobody can see you.

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