Feliksas Vaitkus
Feliksas Vaitkus (* 1907 in Chicago , Illinois ; † July 25, 1956 in Wiesbaden ) was an American pilot of Lithuanian descent and the sixth person to cross the Atlantic in a solo flight.
Life
The son of Lithuanian immigrants embarked on a military career and served in the American Air Force until 1931. He then worked at his father-in-law's flight school in Kohler, Wisconsin . After the failure of the first attempt with the Lituanica plane , members of the Lithuanian community in Chicago did not want to give up trying to cross the Atlantic . The Lituanika II, a Lockheed Vega , was baptized on April 22, 1934. First another pilot had been selected to attempt to cross the Atlantic in a solo flight; but after this had surprisingly canceled, the choice fell on Vaitkus.
The Lituanika II was equipped with additional tanks, radio compass and other refinements to guarantee success. A lot of time passed so that from a technical point of view a start in May 1935 was not conceivable. However, weather conditions were so bad for months that Vaitkus wasn't able to take off from Floyd Bennett Field in New York City until September 21 . However, he had to struggle with rain, fog and ice formation and finally had to find out that he could not reach his actual destination, Kaunas , due to excessive fuel consumption on the way. So he decided to land in Ireland . The plane suffered severe damage when it crash-landed near Ballinrobe , but Vaitkus was miraculously uninjured. While the Lituanika II was being transported to the USA for repairs, it traveled on to Kaunas by land and sea.
Although his original plan had failed, Vaitkus was celebrated as the only person who had flown over the Atlantic in 1935, and the sixth pilot in the world to cross the Atlantic alone.
In 1940 he returned to the Army. He became lead test pilot at Boeing in Seattle ; his job was to test the B-17 and B-29 bombers.
He returned to active military service one more time at the time of the Korean War .
Vaitkus died of a heart attack while stationed in Wiesbaden . He was buried in Kohler Cemetery in Sheboygan .
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Vaitkus, Feliksas |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Vaitkaus, Feliksas; Waitkus, Feliksas; Waitkaus, Felikso; Waitkaus, Felix |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | American aviator |
| DATE OF BIRTH | 1907 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Chicago , Illinois |
| DATE OF DEATH | July 25, 1956 |
| Place of death | Wiesbaden |