Wiley Post
N 35° 36.293 W 097° 29.435
14S E 636720 N 3941173
The final resting place of aviation pioneer Wiley Post
Waymark Code: WMFFR
Location: Oklahoma, United States
Date Posted: 06/23/2006
Views: 162
Wiley Post was one of this country's aviation pioneers and was the first person to fly solo around the world and is also known for his work in high altitude flying. Wiley Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits, which is on display at the Smithsonian Museum in Washington, D.C. Post was good friends humorist and entertainer Will Rogers who often visited Post at the airport in Burbank, California. During one of these visits Rogers decided to accompany Post on a flight to Alaska. A few miles from Port Barrow, Alaska the two became lost in bad weather and landed in a lagoon to ask directions. The engine quit when they tried to take off again and the plane plunged into the lagoon, causing the right wing to shear off, and both Wiley Post and Will Rogers men died instantly. Wiley Post is buried in section 48 of the Memorial Park Cemetery in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
Description: Wiley Post began his career in the early 1920s as a barnstorming pilot, often performing as a parachute jumper. He lost an eye, but learned to fly in spite of that handicap, and was always seen with his distinctive black eye patch. He gained fame as an arial racer in the early 1930s, winning the Bendix Trophy while flying in his signature airplane "Winne Mae". Post twice completed a single plane round-the-world flight (in 1931, he did it in 8 days, 16 hours, in 1933 he bettered his mark by doing it in 7 Days, 19 hours). He pioneered a number of aviation inventions, including the automatic pilot and the high-altitude pressure suit. Post was good friends with humorist Will Rogers, they were both killed in a crash near Port Barrow, Alaska on August 15, 1935.
(Source: Russ Dodge at http://www.findagrave.com/cgi-bin/fg.cgi?page=gr&GRid=831)
Date of birth: 11/22/1898
Date of death: 08/15/1935
Area of notoriety: Historical Figure
Marker Type: Horizontal Marker
Setting: Outdoor
Visiting Hours/Restrictions: Daily - Dawn to Dusk
Fee required?: No
Web site: [Web Link]
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