Human nature being what it is, we tend to remember the first time something happens . . .first date, first day at school, and so on. Maybe we'll remember when something happens again, but the odds are against a second time recall.

Sometimes, we don't even remember the first time . . . we just think we do. For instance, who was the first to fly the Atlantic Ocean? Lindbergh, you say? Not quite. Lucky Lindy was the 67th person to fly across the Atlantic. Of course, he was the first to do it alone and that counts for something.

Closer to home, how many remember who was the first to land an airplane at Grand Canyon and where? Piece of cake. R.V. Thomas pulled that off on August 8th, 1922, by landing on a strip at Plateau Point "inside" the Canyon. And Ellsworth Kolb, Thomas' passenger, had the movie film to prove it!

There are some pretty good historians in the readership and I would bet that someone knew the answer to that question. But how many can answer "who" made the second airplane landing at Grand Canyon and "where"? If you're real sharp you can answer "who" was the next "local " to become a passenger. And flights out of Williams don't count. I'm talking much closer to the Canyon than that.

I wish I knew how to spell the "doo dee doo dee" melody they play on the TV show "Jeopardy". It always seems so appropriate.

Ok, give up? The second landing by an airplane at Grand Canyon was made on Sunday, September 17th, 1922, in a wheat field belonging to W.F. Griffin. The plane, a WW I surplus "English model", was flown by G.A. Porter. Here's the story.

From out of the western sky, Porter and his friend known only as "Jordan" unceremoniously arrived at the ranch of Mr. Griffin late on Sunday afternoon. Since neither G.A. Porter, nor his traveling companion, have been remembered to history, the story, as reported, has a few rough edges. Porter had bought the "crate" for $500 in California and was headed home by air. Now "home" could either be Longmont, Colorado, or Michigan, depending on which newsman one prefers to believe. After enjoying the overnight hospitality of the Griffins, the next morning Porter flew the aircraft solo out of the wheat field and on to Flagstaff. Before he did, though he invited Mrs. Griffin for a ride. In the reported version, Mrs. Griffin admitted to sitting in the plane though, as she put it, the pilot "didn't fly high". Voila, our second, though uncertain, local passenger.

The Griffins transported Porter's companion "Jordan" to Flagstaff in the Griffin's automobile to rejoin the flight east. As luck would have it, Porter had cracked up the plane trying to land on the Flagstaff baseball field. The two were detained a few days while repairs were made.

From here on, the story begins to take on the color of one which might have been told by "Captain" John Hance.

Concerned about the altitude at Flagstaff, and the reliability of the used plane, Porter elected to tow the plane out of town to a lower elevation before attempting another take-off. That much is agreed upon. The Coconino Sun reported the plane was towed east and made no further mention of the difficulty in resuming the flight. The Williams News, on the other hand, reported that the plane was towed west toward Williams by a George Black. Williams, it must be remembered, was quite "air minded" and proud of its "air field". At Belmont, the westward trek ended and the two intrepid aviators tried to take off, this time with allegedly more disastrous results to the plane. Disgusted, or so the story goes, they then sold the plane, as is, where is, to the Thompson brothers. Porter and Jordan went home by train.

When asked by the News why he'd bought the wrecked plane, George Thompson related that he'd been looking for a "high flying" wife and had come to the conclusion that he'd have to fly a little higher himself to find her. Nothing further is known of the fate of the plane or the aviators who made the "second landing" at Grand Canyon.

Used by permission of the Grand Canyon Pioneers Society.

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