Sunday, July 17, 2011

Beating The "Rule Makers"...!


Many of us know just how frustrating it can be following all the "rules" that stand in the way of getting something done!

As this story from History.com shows, folks have been finding brilliant ways around those rules for a very long time! Some even became famous in doing that!

You just have to love folks like this!

Jul 17, 1938:
"Wrong Way" Corrigan crosses the Atlantic

Douglas Corrigan, the last of the early glory-seeking fliers, takes off from Floyd Bennett field in Brooklyn, New York, on a flight that would finally win him a place in aviation history.

Eleven years earlier, American Charles A. Lindbergh had become an international celebrity with his solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic. Corrigan was among the mechanics who had worked on Lindbergh's Spirit of St. Louis aircraft, but that mere footnote in the history of flight was not enough for the Texas-born aviator. In 1938, he bought a 1929 Curtiss Robin aircraft off a trash heap, rebuilt it, and modified it for long-distance flight. In July 1938, Corrigan piloted the single-engine plane nonstop from California to New York. Although the transcontinental flight was far from unprecedented, Corrigan received national attention simply because the press was amazed that his rattletrap aircraft had survived the journey.

Almost immediately after arriving in New York, he filed plans for a transatlantic flight, but aviation authorities deemed it a suicide flight, and he was promptly denied. Instead, they would allow Corrigan to fly back to the West Coast, and on July 17 he took off from Floyd Bennett field, ostentatiously pointed west. However, a few minutes later, he made a 180-degree turn and vanished into a cloudbank to the puzzlement of a few onlookers.

Twenty-eight hours later, Corrigan landed his plane in Dublin, Ireland, stepped out of his plane, and exclaimed, "Just got in from New York. Where am I?" He claimed that he lost his direction in the clouds and that his compass had malfunctioned. The authorities didn't buy the story and suspended his license, but Corrigan stuck to it to the amusement of the public on both sides of the Atlantic. By the time "Wrong Way" Corrigan and his crated plane returned to New York by ship, his license suspension had been lifted, he was a national celebrity, and a mob of autograph seekers met him on the gangway

You just know this man was laughing all the way to the bank after skirting the "rules" to prove his point! He wasn't an outlaw, wasn't a trouble maker, just a man that didn't believe in the "rule makers!"

Sounds like my kind of guy, know what I mean?

Coffee on the patio this morning. It's a little muggy after the rain yesterday, but I can live with it!

12 comments:

Mikeb in Indy said...

This was a great man.
A lot of what we use today in our every day lives came from someone who bucked the rules saying this or that cant be done, they had to prove them wrong and I'm glad they did.
thats some mighty fine coffee this morning Hermit Jim thanks for the cup.

HermitJim said...

Hey Mike...
Just proves that sometimes pushing the limits of what the rules are can be a good thing!

Wish there were more now days that showed this kind of gumption!

Hey, thanks for coming by today!

Ken said...

..."aviation 'authorities'" hmmm,me thinks again there lies the problem...anything with a handle that contains 'authorities' must be second guessed,or do the outright opposite...

HermitJim said...

Hey Ken...
I think you are right on the money with that one!

Probably going in the opposite direction is the best!

Hy, thanks for coming by today, my friend!

Spud said...

Just one more example of the system denying an individual his right to do as he wishes. So long as no one else is hurt.
Do gooders of the world suck ass !

Sixbears said...

The funny thing is, if they'd have approved his flight, he wouldn't be nearly as famous. Sometimes the main glory is in bucking the rules.

Dizzy-Dick said...

Wow, I never heard that story. I have been called by his name a couple of times, once when I went a whole state in the wrong direction. I get lost on the highway but not walking in the woods.

chinasyndrome said...

Thanks Jim! I had heard of him but didn't know his story.That was pretty righteous where am I my compass quit.I keep thinkin we still have some stand up guys like that.

China
III

HermitJim said...

Hey Spud...
I think you're right about that! The individualist always seems to stand out!

Maybe that's why we make heroes out of the cowboy!

Thanks for coming by today!


Hey Sixbears...
Guess this is a case of the hero being created by the media!

They should have just let him do what he wanted, but then they wouldn't be in charge!

Funny how things work out!

Thanks for coming by this morning!


Hey DD...
Now that sounds like fuel for an interesting post, don't you think?

I can't wait to hear it!

Enjoy the road trip, and thanks for coming by!


Hey China...
Have to admit, I didn't know much either until I read the story.

Learn something new everyday!

I'm hoping we still have some men like this around somewhere.

Thanks for coming over today, my friend!

Mayberry said...

He literally flew the "bird", ha ha! My kinda guy.

JoJo said...

I always wondered how that saying came about. See you taught me something new again. Thanks. Is it to late for another cup been a busy morning and a computer pain too.
Glad you had rain yesterday.

Gorges Smythe said...

A toast of the steaming cup to Mr. Corrigan!