Lockheed 5C Vega
Winnie Mae
The Winnie Mae was a special Lockheed Model 5C Vega flown by famed aviator Wiley Post. He completed two around-the-world record flights and a series of special high-altitude sub-stratospheric research flights in this aircraft.
The Smithsonian Institution acquired the Winnie Mae from Mrs. Post in 1936.
On March 15, 1935, Post flew from Burbank, California, to Cleveland, Ohio, a distance of 2,035 miles, in 7 hours, 19 minutes. At times, the Winnie Mae attained a ground speed of 340 mph, indicating that the airplane was operating in the jetstream. Wiley Post died in the crash of a hybrid Lockheed Orion-Sirius floatplane near Point Barrow, Alaska, on 15 August 1935. His companion, humorist Will Rogers, also perished in the accident.