Jeannine L. Pedersen - Catalina by Air

Catalina Islands aviation history took flight on May 10, 1912, when a young Glenn L. Martin strapped a barometer to one knee and a compass to the other, wrapped an inflated bicycle inner tube around his body, and climbed aboard his handmade box-kite flying machine. Martin constructed the biplane of wood with airtight compartments and a single pontoon. Martin planned to fly his biplane from Balboa Island in Newport Bay to Catalina Island. As he took off, Martin ascended to 2,000 feet into a thick bank of fog. Within six minutes, Martin and his plane disappeared from sight to the crowd below who assembled to watch what they perceived as a suicide mission. According to an article printed in the Los Angeles Times on May 11, 1912, Martin rose above the fog and came out into bright sunlight. He rose 3,500 feet and won the name of mariner of the air in that flight. Below him was a desert of gray fog. Not a bit of land or water to be seen. He had nothing but sky above and nothing but fog beneath. As a sailor in the midst of a great ocean is guided by compass, so was Martin. After 25 miles, Martin shut off his motor and descended gradually. Pressing through the fog bank, he soon came into view of the blue sea, and a few miles off in the distance was Catalina Island.

Suddenly Martins flying machine appeared above the hillsides of Avalon and quickly aroused interest from local residents. As the biplane glided down to touch the water in Avalon Bay, an enthusiastic crowd gathered on the beach. The successful flight proved to be the longest over-water flight in the world at the time, flying 34 miles in 37 minutes, and was also the first sea landing in history. It was banner day for aviation history and Catalina Island.

The crowd that gathered at South Beach in Avalon Bay to greet Martin surged forward to help drag the plane up on the beach. While they pulled the plane across the pebbles, the fragile pontoon was torn. Martin repaired the pontoon with a crude patch while answering many questions from the crowd about his flying machine.

After repairing his pontoon, Martin swung his aircraft into the wind for the return takeoff and departed the beach in Avalon with the well wishes of every resident and visitor. Just as he was airborne, the patch on the pontoon gave way, so he followed the steamer lane on his return trip where he would have a better chance of being picked up in case of an emergency landing. Fortunately, Martin landed his plane without incident, putting it down close to shore so he would be in shallow water in case the damaged pontoon failed to keep the plane afloat.

Glenn L. Martin continued to make aviation history throughout his life. He started as a young business owner in Santa Ana, California, operating a Ford Maxwell dealership and built his first airplanes in collaboration with the mechanics in his auto shop. He taught himself to fly in 1909 and quickly became an aviation pioneer. In 1912, Martin formed the Glenn L. Martin Aircraft Company and directly managed the company for the next 40 years. During that time, his company was the senior aircraft manufacturer in the United States.

On May 10, 1937, precisely 25 years after Martins historic flight to Catalina Island, he returned to reenact the famous flight in the Martin China Clipper. The China Clipper was one of Martins most famous aircraft designs and the first airplane to enter transoceanic commercial service under the auspices of Pan-American Airways. The great China Clipper made the cross-channel flight in 12 minutesa third of the time it took for Martins original flight.