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3 unusual facts about Vin Fiz Flyer


Vin Fiz Flyer

Another one of the cards was only recently discovered; it was bought at an Internet auction for several hundred dollars, then auctioned by Siegel in December 2001 for $44,000.

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Since the airplane would need a considerable support crew, Rodgers persuaded J. Ogden Armour, of meatpacking fame, to sponsor the attempt, and in return named the plane after Armour's new grape soft drink Vin Fiz.

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Calbraith Perry Rodgers, grandnephew of naval hero Oliver Hazard Perry and a risk-taking sort of sportsman, had taken about 90 minutes of instruction from Orville Wright in June 1911 before soloing, and had won an $11,000 air endurance prize in a contest in August.



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