FIRST - U.S. Transcontinental Flight - Nebo, IL
Posted by: YoSam.
N 39° 26.598 W 090° 46.872
15S E 690934 N 4368321
Cal Rogers in the ole VIN FIZ landed here for one leg of the trip.
Waymark Code: WMJP80
Location: Illinois, United States
Date Posted: 12/12/2013
Views: 2
County of site: Pike County
Location of Site: Pittsfield St. & Vin-Fiz Hwy., Nebo
Marker Erected by: The Village of Nebo, Pike County Historical Society
Marker Text:
FIRST U. S.
TRANSCONTINENTAL FLIGHT Calbraith "Cal" Rodgers, the first man to fly across the United States, landed near this spot on Oct. 10, 1911. The flight took 49 days. Nebo was one of 68 recorded landing sites.
Rodgers' aircraft was a Wright EX biplane named the "Vin-Fiz" after a popular soft drink of the day. During the flight which followed the railroad coast to coast, Rodgers was accompanied by a special train with mechanics and spare parts, (and his wife).
The appearance of the "Vin-Fiz", the first airplane that most people had ever seen brought great excitement to the village of Nebo, Illinois that October morning, 1911.
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