Schlee and Brock's "Greatest Flight"

The Trip
They left Newfoundland on August 22, 1927 and made 14 stops across Europe and Asia before arriving in Tokyo on September 14. Up until then, the plane had functioned perfectly and there was little bad weather. Reporters remarked that the two fliers emerged from each stop fresh and smiling, wearing white summer suits with blue bowties. They could have been a couple of casual tourists.

But in Tokyo, a typhoon came up and public outcry increased against their "stunt flying" when so many people had recently lost their lives attempting to fly over the Pacific. Friends and family back home sent frantic telegrams entreating them to stop, while the Navy refused surface support. They wisely decided to forego the rest of the trip and finished by ocean liner. Back at home in Detroit, they were given a heroes’ welcome, all the more because they decided not to finish the trip.

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