Talk:Douglas Corrigan

old comments

Why did Corrigan run for the Prohibition Party? What were his views on alcohol and religion? —Theo (Talk) 23:12, 27 November 2005 (UTC)

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As the story goes, Corrigan was refused permission for his transatlantic flight because the aircraft was declared unfit for it by CAB, so he claimed he was going back to California, & crossed anyhow. Trekphiler 01:17, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

Excellent. Do you have a source the story?—Theo (Talk) 16:24, 10 November 2006 (UTC)

I wish. At the time, I wasn't reading to use it as a source. (The story of my life...) I think there's a Guinness book of aviation firsts or records, tho; it might be in there. Trekphiler 21:28 & 21:30, 31 May 2007 (UTC)

Hi folks. Better late than never to the thread, I suppose! Douglas Corrigan is a somewhat distant cousin of mine (2nd cousin twice removed). I have some more information about him, a lot of which (IIRC) came from his "That's My Story" book, as well as from stories from other family members. The story as I remember it is that all solo trans-Atlantic flight was banned at the time by the precursor to the FAA, in large part due to the investigation into the fairly recent 'loss at sea' of Amelia Earhart (although I doubt that his plane would have passed muster even if he did register with his Dublin flightplan!) I will try to dig up my sources and add some more info to the page at my earliest convenience. Any other comments about this or evidence to the contrary are welcomed. --Toniskids (talk) 07:05, 14 September 2008 (UTC)

Engine type

The reference:

"Having installed an engine built from two old Wright J65 engines (affording 165 horsepower (123 kW) instead of the 90 hp (67 kW) of the original"

Is incorrect in that the J-65 is a turbine engine. Even if Wright reused the J-65 nomenclature (I personally do not know if they did) the link in the article goes to the Wright J-65 turbine. Trevor Heath January 2nd 2008 —Preceding unsigned comment added by TrevorHeath (talk • contribs) 17:48, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

I have reverted to the original designation "J6-5", which denotes a much earlier model than the J65 turbine.—Theo (Talk) 14:13, 13 January 2008 (UTC)

The J-6 Whirlwind came in 5, 7, and 9-cylinder versions, differing primarily in the number of cylinders, thus a J6-5 would be the 165-175 hp 5-cylinder version. WHL

"Corrigan was disappointed that his hero never acknowledged his achievement"

Who is his hero, Lindberg? –xeno^talk 15:47, 16 October 2009 (UTC)

I had the same exact question, after reading that section of this article. (64.252.65.146 (talk) 17:11, 3 July 2010 (UTC))

I think it's clear from the context that his "hero" was Lindbergh. Here's the original sentence as it reads as of 9 Dec 2012: "More people attended his Broadway ticker-tape parade than had honored LINDBERGH (emphasis added) after his triumph, but Corrigan was disappointed that his hero never acknowledged his achievement." What confuses me more is, WHICH achievement Lindbergh allegedly never acknowledged: his "wrong way" flight itself, or the fact that more people attended his NYC ticker-tape parade than they did Lindbergh's? If it was the latter, that seems rather petty to me, even if I am related to Corrigan. He was, however, a good friend of Lindbergh's before Lindbergh became famous, and I suspect that he may have felt somewhat abandoned by Lindbergh in general after the latter achieved his fame and fortune. Toniskids (talk) 00:26, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

From the article under "Later Life"...."Although he did not immediately acknowledge the accomplishment, Charles Lindbergh wrote a friendly four-page handwritten letter to Corrigan in 1939 after Corrigan sent him a copy of the autobiography." Flight Risk (talk) 20:37, 6 April 2024 (UTC)

Admission

After Corrigan was "punished" and before he died, did he ever admit that his trans-Atlantic flight was intentional? Or did he maintain until his death that it was navigational error? At some point as he got older and neared death — and feared no reprisal from authorities — he could have clarified the situation. He could have maintained that the flight was due to error, or that it was intentional all along. Did he ever make any subsequent statement, either affirming or refuting his original statement? Thanks. (64.252.65.146 (talk) 17:14, 3 July 2010 (UTC))

No, I don't think he ever made any statement either way. To the best of my knowledge, although I never met him, my cousin Corrigan always maintained that he intended to fly east to California, and simply went the wrong way. I firmly believe, however, that his title "That's My Story" (with the affix "And I'm Sticking To It" - which became a trademark family saying - implied) was a tongue-in-cheek wink and nod to the fact that he knew what he was doing all along - but he never admitted to it, lest he get in more trouble. I would welcome any further insight if anyone has personal knowledge or sufficient documentation of it. Toniskids (talk) 00:32, 10 December 2012 (UTC)

   I lived in Dublin in 1972/3, and spent some time at the airfield where Corrigan landed. I talked to a Customs official who had met Corrigan upon his landing, who told me that Corrigan admitted to him that his flight was no wrong way, and got him to swear he'd never mention it to anybody. Well he mentiond it to me. I guess the passage of time softened the memory. And he certainly cleared Irish customs. JohnClarknew (talk) 02:53, 17 July 2019 (UTC)