6: Frank Hawks Flying Blind
We were falling. The only reason I knew we were falling was that I had happened to look at my altimeter. Only a few moments before it was registering 3,000 feet. Now it was reading zero! We were in a heavy fog—blind!
I had one of the first cabin monoplanes. As a matter of fact it was the one and only sister ship to Lindbergh’s “Spirit of Saint Louis.” It was a Ryan Brougham, powered by a Wright Whirlwind J-5 engine. The ship had been christened “Pride of San Diego.” With her famous sister ship, they ran along the line of production. Not so famous as her sister, my ship was far more beautiful. It was my pride, and I had entered it in the National Air Tour of 1927. Mrs. Hawks was with me and we were on our honeymoon, using this event as a helpful means to get us
