Focal Point: Doug Corrigan Jalopy • Wyandotte – 1940
DOUG CORRIGAN’S PLANE was a 1929 Curtiss Robin OX-5 monoplane powered by a modified Wright Whirlwind J6-5 engine. It was registered as an experimental aircraft. The evidence of many repairs and modifications to the plane resulted in its earning the “Jalopy” description.
By 1938 government flight officials had several times denied Doug Corrigan’s application for a trans-Atlantic flight. He then applied for flights from California to New York and return. He arrived in New York on July 9th. After making engine repairs and refueling in New York, he took off on July 17th heading across the Atlantic instead. Upon landing in Dublin Ireland 28 hours later, Corrigan stated that a navigational error had occurred. He added: “My name’s Corrigan. I left New York yesterday morning headed for California, but I got mixed up in the clouds and must have
flown the wrong way.”
