Round-the-World Flights

First Woman to Fly Solo Round-the-World at the Equator

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Smith Autograph	Joan Merriam-Smith	Newspaper Notice	Flown Cover	Apache N3251P

	It had been Amelia Earhart's dream to be the first woman to fly round-the-world 
at the equator.  
	Joan Merriam-Smith got her inspiration from Amelia's effort. Joan's eastward 
round-the-world flight in her Rajay Turbocharged Apache became the longest solo flight 
ever made by a woman. Having first learned to fly at Miami FL in 1953, she now flew 
27,750 miles in 56 days with 34 landings in her path round-the-world.  In this flight 
she was caught in a Brazilian revolution, delayed in a tense situation in Indonesia, 
grounded by nose wheel problem in Guam and had to face a fuel tank leak and hydraulic 
failure.  
	She overcame all of these difficulties arriving back at Oakland CA on May 12, 
1964.  Unforturnately, Joan died on February 17, 1965 in a plane crash near Big Pine CA.

Itinerary: 

Departed Oakland, CA                   03/17/64
    Tucson, AZ
    New Orleans, LA
    Miami, FL
    San Juan, Puerto Rico
    Paramaribo, Suriname
    Belem, Brazil
    Natal, Brazil                      03/31/64
    Dakar, Senegal
    Gao, Mali,  
    Fort Lamy, Chad
    El Fasher, Sudan
    Khatoum, Ethiopia 
    Massaua, Eritrea
    Assab, Eritrea
    Aden, Yemen
    Karachi, Pakistan
    Ahmadabad, India
    Calcutta, India
    Akyab, Burma
    Rangoon, Burma
    Bangkok, Thailand
    Singapore
    Djakarta, Indonesia
    Surabaya, Indonesia 
    Kupang, Timor
    Darwin, Australia                  04/20/64
    Horn Island, Australia
    Port Moresby, New Guinea
    Lae, New Guinea
    Guam
    Wake Island 
    Saipan
    Midway
    Honolulu, HI
Arrived Oakland, CA                    05/12/64

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