Detail #1 of Ruth Elder Hydrographic Office Chart

The Azores have long been a popular way station for transatlantic flights. The first successful crossing of the Atlantic by air - the NC-4 in 1919 used the Azores. However, they were far south of the shortest "great circle" distances between the northeastern United States and northwest Europe, so most record setting aviators of the 1927 transatlantic attempts avoided them. Fortunately, Ruth Elder and George Haldeman stayed near the shipping lanes that passed near them. They were rescued 360 miles north, northeast of Terceira.

Caption:
The Azores have long been a popular way station for transatlantic flights.
Type: Map
Credit: National Air and Space Museum, Smithsonian Institution.
NASM-9A08381-Azores
Navigators & Inventors
Navigation Methods
 

nasm-9a08381_azores-2.png

The Azores have long been a popular way station for transatlantic flights.

nasm-9a08381-high-3.jpg

Aviator Ruth Elder and her co-pilot/instructor George Haldeman disappeared over the Atlantic creating a desperate scramble to determine their whereabouts.