- Tingmissartoq
"Tingmissartoq" was the name given to a
Lockheed Sirius flown by Charles andAnne Morrow Lindbergh in the 1930s. "Tingmissartoq" means "one who flies like a big bird"; the plane was thus christened by anEskimo boy inGodthaab ,Greenland , who painted the word on its side.First flight
Lockheed had introduced its Sirius model in 1929; this particular craft appears to have been built to specifications sometime between then and 1931, when the Lindberghs planned to fly to the
Orient via theGreat Circle Route . A low-wingmonoplane , "Tingmissartoq" was outfitted withEdo float s, as much of the planned route was over water.The trip was described solely as a vacation flight, with "no start or finish, no diplomatic or commercial significance, and no records to be sought [ [http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/lockheed_sirius.htm Lockheed 8 Sirius ] ] ." It began in
North Haven, Maine , from which point the couple flew toOttawa . From there they flew to various other sites in Canada, including Moose Factory, Churchill, Baker Lake, and Aklavik, before heading toPoint Barrow, Alaska . They continued on to Shismaref and Nome, after which they crossed thePacific Ocean toPetropavlosk . From here they continued over theKuril Islands toTokyo , where they were enthusiastically welcomed. The trip continued on toChina , with its final stop onLotus Lake nearNanking made onSeptember 19 .Accident at Hankow
While at Hankow, the plane, with the Lindberghs aboard, was being lowered into the
Yangtze River from the Britishaircraft carrier Warship|HMS|Hermes|95 when it capsized accidentally. One wing hit a ship's cable and was damaged, necessitating the craft's return to theUnited States for repairs.econd journey
"Tingmissartoq" was to see action again in 1933 as a result of international interest in the development of commercial air transport.
Pan American Airways ,Imperial Airways ,Lufthansa ,KLM , andAir France collaborated on a study of international air routes. The assigned areas were Newfoundland toEurope viaGreenland ; Newfoundland via the great circle route toIreland ; Newfoundland southeast to theAzores andLisbon ;Miami ,Bermuda , the Azores, and Lisbon; and across theSouth Atlantic from Brazil, toCape Verde . Pan American was given the responsibility for the first of these, and sent Lindbergh, as the company's technical advisor, to survey the route. Accompanied once more by Anne, he took off fromNew York City on July 9 in the rebuilt craft. The purpose of the trip was to gain as much data as possible on the area to be covered.The plane had been fitted with a Sperry
artificial horizon and a directionalgyro since its previous flight. The engine, too, was new, a Wright Cyclone SR1820-F2 of 710 hp. All possible spaces were used, including the wings and floats; these contained thegasoline tanks. There was also plenty of emergency equipment for use in the event of aforced landing .To maintain radio contact with the couple, Pan American hired a Danish ship, the "Jellinge", to stay within range in the area of
Labrador , Greenland, andIceland . It also delivered advance supplies for them to Halifax, St. John's, Cartwright, Greenland, and Iceland."Tingmissartoq" flew first from New York to
Hopedale, Labrador , hugging the eastern Canadian border along the way. From here the Lindberghs made the first major hop over water, flying 650 miles to Godthaab. The couple then crisscrossed Greenland toBaffin Island and back, and then flew to Iceland. They continued the trip by flying around the world; visiting first the major cities of Europe, they continued toMoscow , then down Africa's west coast, and across the South Atlantic to South America. Here, they flew down theAmazon River , and then turned north throughTrinidad andBarbados before returning to the United States. They returned to New York onDecember 19 , having traveled 30,000 miles and visited four continents and twenty-one countries. The information they provided proved invaluable in planning transatlantic air transport routes."Tingmissartoq" was on display in the
American Museum of Natural History in New York City until 1955, when it was acquired by theAir Force Museum inDayton, Ohio . It was transferred to theSmithsonian Institution in 1959, and is currently on display in the "Pioneers of Flight" gallery of theNational Air and Space Museum inWashington, DC .References
[http://www.nasm.si.edu/research/aero/aircraft/lockheed_sirius.htm History at NASM website]
References
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