Aviation History: Spokane Sun-God

The Spokane Sun-God played an important role in aviation history. It was the first airplane to make a non-stop transcontinental round trip flight.

A1929 Buhl biplane, called a "Sesquiplane," which had a full upper wing and a short tapered lower wing was what Buhl chose to donate to be used for this first non-stop transcontinental round trip flight. It was powered by a Wright J6, 300 horsepower Whirlwind engine. The idea of the short lower wing was to give the plane more lift without slowing airspeed the way a full lower wing did. It also helped strengthen the main wing and support the heavy landing gear. Buhl built this style of plane to carry six passengers, but for the Sun-God, Buhl modified her with gas tanks and storage room for oil, food, a bed and other supplies needed for the flight.

Nick Mamer, one of the best known pilots in the Spokane area (also known as Mr. Spokane Aviation) and Art Walker, a mechanic, pilot and an associate of Mamer's, were approached by an official from the Department of Commerce with the idea of a coast-to-coast aerial refueling flight. They thought it worth a try and started preparations.

The Mamer Air Service at the time flew many Buhl planes. This is probably one of the reasons Buhl agreed to supply the plane. Another reason was good advertisement. Texaco supplied the fuel and oil with at least one refueling done with Standard Oil gasoline. The National Air Derby Association sponsored the flight along with many Spokane citizens and businesses. An admission and parking fee charged at Spokane Air Port (Felts Field) for those who came to watch the Sun-God takeoff also helped finance the trip. The fees were 50¢ for adults, 25¢ children and 25¢ parking.

Plans for refueling planes to fly up along the route to refuel the Sun-God in flight were made in advance. A special hole in the top of the Sun-God allowed Walker or Mamer to crawl half out of the hole to grab the refueling hose, gas cans or supplies. This wasn't the first time in-flight refueling took place, but in 1929 it was a long way from being sophisticated. A garden hose or a heavy rubber hose or a gas can was lowered from one plane to the other.

The flight plan was not to fly directly from Spokane to New York and back, but to fly from Spokane over Portland, Eugene, Medford and San Francisco-Oakland then turn east and fly over Reno, Salt Lake City, Rock Springs, Cheyenne, Omaha, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Chicago, Cleveland and New York. The Sun-God would not land in New York but return to Spokane by a northern route flying over Cleveland, Chicago, Madison, St. Paul, Aberdeen, Miles City, Billings, Butte, Missoula and on to Spokane. Then if all went well, Mamer and Walker planned not to land in Spokane but to fly the route again, possibly to beat the endurance record of 151 hours established in January 1929 by the Army Air Corps's Fokker Tri-motor know as the Question Mark. The Question Mark flew in a closed course over southern California. (Basically flew in a circle for 151 hours.)

Many ceremonies, including an Native American ceremony with Chief Gary of Tekoa and six tribesmen, preceded the takeoff of the Spokane Sun-God on August 15, 1929. The fear Mamer would be distracted trying to takeoff with 800 pounds overweight due to extra gas tanks and supplies on board would spell disaster led to the clearing of Felts Field. No other aircraft or anything else was allowed on the field. It was also believed, due to the overweight, the plane would need the full length of the field to get airborne. At 6:00 pm the Spokane Sun-God lifted off in a shorter distance than expected with what many observers, including pilots, claimed to be the best takeoff they had ever seen.

The flight went well from Spokane to San Francisco. The 6:00 pm takeoff time from Spokane put the Sun-God at her first refueling point over Mills Field, San Francisco early the next morning. The Sun-God did not have a two-way radio so notes had to be tied to weights and dropped to the ground or tied to the end of the refueling hose and taken into the refueling plane in order to communicate. The Sun-God had a radio receiver which quit working shortly after takeoff.

Mamer dropped a note over Mills Field requesting 250 gallons of fuel and food supplies. The plane Californian, piloted by Donald Templeman, flew up and refueled the Sun-God. Then it flew up with food supplies, but before the Sun-God took on more fuel, she flew east heading for Salt Lake City with only 180 gallons taken aboard. It is believed Mamer and Walker decided they didn't want the extra strain on the motor as they flew over the Sierra Nevada mountains.

Mamer planned to refuel at Cheyenne but over Elko, Nevada, he dropped a note asking for an emergency refueling at Rock Springs, Wyoming. The Sun-God didn't get the anticipated tail wind; she fought a gusty head wind. The refueling plane waiting in Cheyenne, piloted R. M. Wilson with Alphonse Cappula as hoseman, flew to Rock Springs. This meant the transfer would have to be made after dark. A nighttime refueling had never been done before. Nor had a refueling ever taken place at 8,000 feet. Rock Springs is 6,270 feet above sea level and the Sun-God flew about 2,000 feet above that. This high altitude meant the refueling plane was limited to the amount of fuel it could take up due to the thin air. Another fear spread on the ground. Mamer dropped a note requesting 310 gallons of fuel. The Sun-God fuel capacity was 320 gallons. This left only 10 gallons of fuel, or about 22 minutes of flying time! One of the gas lines on the Sun-God had broken, too, and had to be repaired in flight. Walker and Mamer got the line repaired before refueling took place.

Cappula tied a flashlight to the end of the refueling hose so it could be spotted, but Walker had a hard time distinguishing the flashlight from the stars. He used the flames from the exhaust of the refueling plane to help locate the flashlight. Walker reached the hose, got it in a tank and opened the nozzle. Then disaster. The refueling hose caught in the Sun-God's propeller, ripping it apart. Gas sprayed over the Sun-God. One spark and not only would the flight be over but Mamer's and Walker's lives would be in jeopardy. Luckily, the plane didn't catch fire.

Cappula pulled the hose into the refueling plane and repaired it. But the repair left the hose so short the two planes had to fly close; so close Walker had to push up on the belly of the refueling plane to keep it from smashing down on the Sun-God! Wilson, the pilot of the refueling plane, didn't have an easy task either. He had to keep the overweighed plane steady in rough, gusty air while Cappula guided him by tapping him on the shoulder with a gas measuring stick. But the refueling was successfully completed. Mamer and Walker flew over Rock Springs for 11 1/2 hours. They feared bad weather between Rock Springs and Cheyenne. The Sun-God flew east to Cheyenne at daybreak where refueling during daylight was successful. Vern Bookwalter piloted the refueling plane with Neil O'Connell handling the hose. Then both the refueling plane and the Sun-God headed to North Platte.

Over North Platte, Mamer dropped a note stating it was impossible for them to get anywhere else for refueling before dark so he wanted to "camp around awhile." Bookwalter and O'Connell flew up and refueled the Sun-God in 20 minutes. The Sun-God took on three more refuelings, a total of 100 gallons, before she headed east, again. Mamer and Walker wanted to make Cleveland in one hop flying over Omaha and Chicago. And they did.

The Sun-God took on 200 gallons of gas over Cleveland flown up by the Robbins brothers but Mamer and Walker was disappointed they didn't get any food before heading east again. Rough air over Pennsylvania lasted for four hours, leaving Mamer and Walker exhausted as they flew into New York where about 100 planes flew up to greet them. This delayed their arrival at Roosevelt Field by over an hour.

The Sun-God reached the airfield at 3:47 pm on August 18. She had been in the air 66 hours and 47 minutes and covered 3,600 miles. Pilots C. Ray Wassall and P. V. Chaffes flew up in the refueling plane and refueled the Sun-God over New York. There was no problem taking on fuel and food. Frank Hawks flew up and guided the Sun-God out of New York at 5:45 pm and on to Bellefonte, Pennsylvania. Mamer also dropped a report in New York he wrote for the North American Newspaper Alliance. In his report he stated the engine still ran great. He also stated he thought the worst of the flight was over. It wasn't.