First water-to-water flight, Newport Bay 1912
July 31, 2020
NEWPORT BEACH—This postcard image of the first water-to-water flight comes from the Orange County Archives’ Tom Pulley Collection. The Log recently reported on the history of the May 10, 1912 flight from Newport Bay to Catalina Island. Aviation pioneer Glenn Martin piloted the flight, which is credited as the longest and fastest over-water flight to that date.
The plane, a gossamer “pusher” biplane according to news reports, was built in Santa Ana. Martin boarded the plane and took off from the south end of Main Street at Ocean Front in Newport Beach’s Balboa neighborhood. Martin would make it to Avalon Bay on the other side, landing on the harbor’s water – with a crowd on land waiting to greet him. Total flight time was north of 30 minute.
Photo courtesy Orange County Archives
