Russell Maughan, First Flight

This marker honors the same Cache Valley aviator, Russell Maughan, remembered for the 1924 dawn-to-dusk flight across the continent. Maughan was a decorated combat pilot of the First World War before that famous day, and his single-day crossing of America — chasing the sun from the Atlantic to the Pacific — caught the national imagination at a moment when flight still felt like magic. Two markers in his home county is not too many for a farm boy who showed the Army that the country had, in aviation terms, suddenly become small.

What the plaque says

First Flight First Dawn to Dusk Flight Across America Colonel Russell L. Maughan of Logan, Utah, made the first daylight flight across the continent on June 23, 1924. Flying solo in a Curtis PW-8 pursuit aircraft, Maughan, then a lieutenant in the U.S. Air Service, left Mitchell Field, New York, at dawn and arrived at Crissy Field, San Francisco, at 9:40 p.m., P.S.T., one minute before official dusk. Winging his way to destiny, Maughan flew from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean in 21 hours 48 minutes and 30 seconds, averaging approximately 150 miles per hour. His actual in-flight time was 18 hours and 20 minutes. Having made two previous attempts, which were aborted because of engine failures, Maughan's successful flight illumined the imagination of people everywhere. Hailed as a world hero he set both pattern and precedent for generations to follow. His flight of fancy and faith had become a reality. And in a few short years others have broken the sound barrier, flown to the moon, and orbited the earth in a fantastic sequence of adventures of the human spirit. But in 1924 the dawn to dusk flight across America was a 'Maughanumental' achievement.

Where it stands

Worth the stop nearby

• Logan — 0.3 mi
  A vibrant college town tucked into a stunning mountain valley
• American West Heritage Center — 4.6 mi
  A living history farm spanning 160 acres of Cache Valley
• Hyrum State Park — 6.8 mi
  A family-friendly reservoir at the mouth of Blacksmith Fork Canyon
• Wind Cave Trail — 9.0 mi
  A short hike to a triple-arched limestone cave overlooking the canyon

More markers nearby

• First Dawn to Dusk Flight Across America — steps away
• Birthplace of Pioneer Pilot Russell L. Maughan — steps away
• Pioneer Memories of 1866 — steps away
• Cache Valley — steps away