August 25, 1927

Some of you may have received a press release from me a couple weeks ago regarding the ninety-fifth anniversary of Paul Redfern’s flight from Brunswick Georgia heading to Rio de Janeiro. It’s coming up on August 25.  In my mind it’s an important anniversary.  However, it will probably not garner much attention throughout most of the world.  The press release was ignored by almost all the media outlets to which it was sent.  (It could be due to my amateur wording of the release, rather than the importance of the story.)

Paul Redfern was a happy chap with lots of energy and ambition.  He had a sense of humor that was endearing.  On one occasion he threw a football dummy out of his plane while buzzing an air show.  The crowd was shocked, but it brought a laugh when the joke was revealed.  In Texas he was arrested for buzzing a passenger train. After a night in the hoosegow, he was released.  Occasionally, in air shows he flew what he labeled as the “world’s smallest aircraft.”  The little airplane was cute and produced lots of laughter from the audience.  But Redfern gave up flying it due to its lack of stability.  It was dangerous. 

In the immediate aftermath of Lindbergh’s May 1927, solo flight from New York to France, Redfern talked his way into a similar flight.  The City of Brunswick wanted publicity to bring attention to their seaport which was in competition with Jacksonville and Charlestown for export/import business.  He persuaded the Board of Trade to buy him a plane to fly to Rio de Janeiro.  They also threw in a $25,000 payment if he was successful, the same amount won by Lindbergh.

But the flight to Paris was thirty-three hours and the flight to Rio would take more than fifty hours.  Eddie Stinson the designer of his plane warned Redfern the proposed solo flight “Is more than a man can stand”.  Redfern laughed off the advice and on August 25, 1927, took off on his adventure.

It is said that thirteen search parties were formed to search for Redfern in the next eleven years.  It seemed that some got close, but never found him.  After his father financed an expedition in 1938, which was unsuccessful, his wife Gertrude finally gave up and filed to have him declared dead.  There was even one more search party after the court had declared him deceased.

In Columbia, South Carolina, a group called the Paul Renaldo Redfern Aviation Society held a meeting each August 25, to celebrate Redfern, and raise a glass of champagne in his honor.  The founders of the group were Tom Savage and Ron Shelton.  After Tom died in the late, 2010’s I lost track of the Society.  If anyone knows about the Society and whether they still meet, let me know.  I have tried several avenues to contact Ron but have not been able to do so.  If anyone knows if Ron still lives in Columbia, I’d appreciate it if you would let me know.

Redfern’s quest to fly to Rio was brave.  Some would also say it was foolish.  He took no parachute.  He considered taking a radio which at the time was heavy and unreliable, and scarcely used for directional assistance by pilots.  Thus, Redfern, like Lindbergh, ruled a radio out. He did carry a first aid kit, as well as a rifle and handgun plus extra ammunition.  And a flare gun.  He had the ability to empty his gas tanks of fuel and use the empty wing tanks as flotation devices.  His maps were hand drawn.  In hindsight, one would give his chances of success at less than fifty percent.  However, Lindbergh’s preparation was equally sparse, and he made it although his chances were also less than certain.

So, as we approach ninety-five years it is fitting that we look back and honor Paul Renaldo Redfern, a brave pioneer in aviation.  Here, here!