On this day in aviation history, 61 years ago—May 12, 1964—American pilot Joan Merriam Smith completed her historic around-the-world flight, becoming the second woman to do so. Flying a 1958 Piper PA-23-160 Apache E (registration N3251P), her ambitious journey took 56 days from start to finish.
Smith departed from Oakland International Airport at 1:00 p.m. on March 17, 1964, with her first stop in Tucson, Arizona. Her goal was to closely follow the route previously flown by aviation legend Amelia Earhart. However, seasonal weather and wind conditions…..