He commented that it was the "nearest shave to a washout I’ve ever had-that’s all." After dropping 8000 feet he regained control and flew out of danger. He went into a tailspin when his control stick was clogged with snow and ice. He was absolutely lost and confused in hurricane force winds. He tried to keep his instruments and gauges clear of ice and his goggles from fogging up. On another crossing in a blizzard, when other pilots were grounded, Vance hit a wall of fog, snow and ice high over the summit that filled up his open cockpit. In the winter of 1923 his engine went out over Donner Pass and he brought his aircraft to a safe forced landing on the Summit. On one memorable trip crossing the Sierra, his airship dropped several thousand feet over Donner Lake in a downdraft, gaining control only a few hundred feet over the frozen lake. From 1922 on he flew 3500 trips logging 8000 hours, 2000 hours of that night flying He had many adventurous moments over the Sierra in his career on the San Francisco-Reno-Salt Lake City route. All this in a wood framed, cloth covered, open cockpit biplane. Often enough winter storms prevented most pilots, even Vance, to wait out the storm in Reno or Sacramento. With the traditional leather cap and goggles, Vance braved all but the fiercest storms that the Sierra threw at him. He thrilled at flying and especially over the Sierra, which was a breeze on a sunny summer day. He was known to be a natural flier and master of his ship in emergencies.Īfter the war Vance taught flying to new private pilots, but when the new Air Mail Service was established in 1920 he signed up. He never was shot down, but crash landed a few times. He taught new pilots and became a top instructor very quickly. Vance started out as a World War One pilot, serving as the youngest commissioned aviation officer in France, and earning the Ace designation. One of the most daring, most famous and well liked was Claire Vance. They chose young but experienced aviators, mostly World War One Veterans to fly the dangerous routes across the country. Airplanes first crossed the Sierra in 1919, and in 1920, the U.S. In the 1920s a new breed of pioneers came to the Sierra.
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