This Day in Aviation History
November 28th, 1929
Richard Byrd and others depart in the Ford Trimotor called the “Floyd Bennett”. Around 1 a.m. on November 29th, they reached the South Pole.

At 3:29 p.m. on November 28, 1929, Byrd, the pilot Bernt Balchen, and two others took off from Little America in the Floyd Bennett, headed for the South Pole. Magnetic compasses were useless so near the pole, so the explorers were forced to rely on sun compasses and Byrd’s skill as a navigator. At 8:15 p.m., they dropped supplies for a geological party near the Queen Maud Mountains and then continued on. The most challenging phase of the journey came an hour later, when the Floyd Bennett struggled to gain enough altitude to fly safely above the Polar Plateau. They cleared the 11,000-foot pass between Mount Fridtjof Nansen and Mount Fisher by a few hundred yards and then flew on to the South Pole, reaching it at around 1 a.m. on November 29. They flew a few miles beyond the pole and then to the right and the left to compensate for any navigational errors. Byrd dropped a small American flag on the pole, and the explorers headed for home, safely landing at Little America at 10:11 a.m….

Source:
History.com, Byrd flies over South Pole: http://gstv.us/1NdAnAS

YouTube, Admiral Richard E. Byrd – South Pole Video Interview: http://gstv.us/1NdAxbE

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