Harold Gatty
| Harold Charles Gatty | |
|---|---|
| Born |
5 January 1903 Campbell Town, Tasmania |
| Died | 30 August 1957 (aged 54) Fiji |
| Cause of death | stroke |
| Occupation | navigator |
| Known for | Wiley Post's navigator on circumnavigation flight (1931) |
Harold Charles Gatty (5 January 1903 – 30 August 1957) was an Australian navigator and aviation pioneer. Charles Lindbergh called Gatty the "Prince of Navigators". In 1931, Gatty served as navigator, along with pilot Wiley Post, on the flight which set the record for aerial circumnavigation of the world, flying a distance of 15,747 miles (24,903 km) in a Lockheed Vega named the Winnie Mae, in 8 days, 15 hours and 51 minutes.
Gatty was born on 5 January 1903 in Campbell Town, Tasmania.
He began his career as a navigator in 1917, at age 14, when he was appointed a midshipman at the Royal Australian Naval College. After World War I, he became an apprentice on a steamship in the Australian merchant navy, where he learned constellations while standing night watch. He became an expert in celestial navigation and served on many ships, some sailing between Australia and California. After the Navy, he worked in Sydney Harbour provisioning vessels anchored there. In 1927 he relocated to California.
Gatty opened a navigation school, teaching marine navigation to yachtsmen. In 1928, his attention turned to air navigation.
In 1929, Gatty navigated a Lockheed Vega on a flight from Los Angeles to New York City for Nevada Airlines, in an effort to demonstrate the feasibility of coast-to-coast passenger service. The flight made four stops and took 19 hours and 53 minutes, which set the transcontinental airspeed record for a commercial airliner.
In 1930, Gatty prepared a coast-to-coast route and navigation charts for Anne Morrow Lindbergh, whom he had also taught as a student. Anne Lindbergh served as navigator with her husband Charles on a record-setting cross-country flight of 14 hours and 45 minutes.
...
Wikipedia