Weatherwatch: How the weather affected early flight record attempts

A century ago, René Fonck tried and failed to cross the Atlantic despite having clear weather In September 1926, the French pilot René Fonck set out on a daring attempt to make the first crossing from New York to Paris in an aircraft, piloting a custom-built Sikorsky S-35. John Alcock and Arthur Brown had flown the shorter distance from Newfoundland, Canada, to County Galway, Ireland, seven years earlier. That was in June, when good weather was expected, but the aviators encountered dense fog and freezing temperatures in an eventful but successful flight. Continue reading...