Post, Gatty
Too Tired to
Walk or Talk

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Wiley Post and Harold Gatty may be a streak in the air but on the ground they’re just a couple of tired-looking airmen who are record-breakers neither for talk nor action.

The famous fliers, with their equally famous Winnie Mae plane in which they circled the globe in 8 1/2 days, bee-lined to Portland from Los Angeles Wednesday in exactly six hours’ nons-stop flying, arriving at 4:41 p.m.--more evidence that they are plenty fast off the ground., But once out of their plane on Swan Island the airmen showed no particular signs of speed. Their strenuous tour around the country since the big flight hasn’t given them much time to relax.

"Ah’m hungry and ah’m goin’ uptown and eat," drawled Post in his best Southern style.

Gatty didn’t even have that much to say.

The two fliers were accompanied by Bruce Quisenberry of New York, connected with the National Broadcasting company.

Refreshed from their night’s rest, Post and Gatty left this morning at 7:50 for Spokane, where they are to appear on a jubilee program. Before going, they indicated they might be back soon to join a Portland hunting party to Alaska.

The party, made up of C.E. Gunderson, Earl Henderson, Bill Switzer and Chick Chaloupka, is to leave here about September 15 for Port Angeles, Wash. From there, a 53-foot cruiser will take them to Ketchikan, Wrangell and Juneau. Plans are to fly inland to good hunting grounds. While Post and Gatty didn’t promise definitely, Gunderson said they were a "cinch" to go along.

Only about 50 persons--made up mostly of those employees around the airport --were on hand to greet the [famous] globe-circlers on their arrival here.

Parking his plane up on the paved [unknown word] near the airport administration building, Post looked out. Richard [?]ollam of Portland, who knew Post when he visited here occasionally before his famous flight, was the first to reach up and shake hands with the flier.

Post, climbing out of the inclosed [stet] cockpit of the plane, remarked that he was "a little bit stiff." Gatty, getting out of the cabin of the ship, said nothing.

With slow, careful and detailed instructions, Post turned the Winnie Mae over to airport authorities for a night’s lodging.

Post is short, stocky, tanned and slow-talking. Gatty, just as short, looks the Australian he is, with blue eyes, brown hair and a thin face. What words he uses are clipped short.

Asked about his future plans, Post said he expected to finish his nation-wide tour in about 10 days at New Orleans.

"Then ah’m goin’ to take a vacation," he said.

Asked if it were true that he was planning to make a solo flight from Seattle to Tokyo in the spring, he replied: "Ah’ve thought about it--that’s all."

Gatty said he had no plans, other than to "get back to work."

It was Gatty, one of the world’s foremost navigators, who taught Mrs. Charles A. Lindbergh navigation--the navigation which aided her and Colonel Lindbergh in reaching Tokyo.

"She’s turned out to have been a pretty good student, don’t you think?" he was asked.

He only nodded.

Among those at the airport to shake hands with the fliers were F. C. Gray of the Lockheed Aircraft corporation, who installed the tanks on the Winnie Mae for the plane’s ‘round-the-world flight, and Gunderson, who once made a sailboat cruise with Gatty along the Pacific Coast.

Gray is here from Burbank, Cal., working on a Lockheed plane which recently was damaged in landing at Swan Island.

NOTE: This article appeared on the front page, upper left column of the Oregon Daily Journal, Portland, Oregon, Thursday, September 3, 1931, with a four-column photo to its right, headed, "The Winnie Mae Puts Into Portland," with the caption as follows: "Flying their renowned globe-circling plane, Wiley Post and Harold Gatty landed at Swan Island from Los Angeles Wednesday, and left Thursday morning for Spokane. Among friends greeting them at the field was F. C. Gray of the Lockheed Aircraft corporation, who installed the Winnie Mae’s special tanks and other "gadgets" for the ‘round-the-world flight. In the picture, from left, are Post, Gray and Gatty, with the Winnie Mae in the background."

Wallace F. Gray’s comments:

The Post-Gatty flight occurred on June 23 to July 1, 1931.

A letter from Firman, written to "Dearest Patty and little Wally" on Saturday Night, August 29 (and postmarked August 30), 1931, says in part,

". . . . "I have not heard when Wiley is coming here. it was in the paper, the first of this week, that he was coming & if he does I will give him a real reception."