Fame Was Fleeting #aviation milestones

It’s amazing how quickly the public lost interest in Wiley Post’s first round-the-world flight.

Within weeks of he flight, money became a huge problam.

Post tried to support his flying with appearances and a tour after his flight, but 1931 was during some of the worst of the Depression, and despite the guarantee of speaking fees of $15,000 for his post-flight, national tour, he saw less than half this amount.

Yet during this time, Amelia Earhart was able to sustain herself through savvy marketing, such as her clothing line, and Charles Lindberg had merchandising arrangements that netted him big money during these lean times. But Post was left scrambling.

Part of the problem was that Post and his Aussie Navigator, Harold Gatty, didn’t like talking to the press. They had brief answers, nods, and shrugs. This was in stark contrast to the efforts of Amelia Earhart, who was charming and had a full-time publicist in the form of her husband.

To make matters worse, Post had a falling out with his principal sponsor, the owner of his plane, and demanded that the oilman, FW Hall, sell him the Winne Mae. Post was able to buy the plane, but then had very little money to fly it.

Not a happy time, but it forced Post to come up with an even more daring scheme.

More on that in a bit. #aviation #competitions #aviators

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Author

robb@robblightfoot.com
Author, educator, humorist, entrepreneur, astronaut - one of these isn't true. :)