What record did the Aeromarine 75 "Mendoza" break?

Short answer

Carrying 27 people in a single flight: the "Mendoza" flew over New York in May 1922 with 27 aboard, 24 of them young women known as flappers. It was the largest passenger count for a flying boat in commercial use in the United States at the time. It left Keyport, New Jersey, and reached the Hudson in 21 minutes.

Published: November 1, 2026 · Updated: November 1, 2026 · Edited by Above Ten Thousand · Editorial policy

What record did the Aeromarine 75 "Mendoza" break?

Rc11086 Aeromarine 75 aka Curtiss F5L flying boats 1922 Miami

A record flight in May 1922

The Aeromarine 75 "Mendoza" was one of the luxury commercial flying boats in the Aeromarine fleet. In May 1922 it took off from Keyport, New Jersey, with 27 people aboard, 24 of whom were young women then called flappers. The press of the time described it as the largest cargo of flappers ever carried by air. The trip to the airport on the Hudson at 82nd Street took 21 minutes. That number of passengers was a record for any flying boat in commercial service in the United States at that date.

Who was aboard

In the photograph of the flight, Inglis M. Uppercu, Aeromarine's president, is seen sitting on the upper wing, next to the pilot, Cyrus J. Zimmermann. The picture was taken at the Columbia Yacht Club on the Hudson River in New York, during the opening of Aeromarine's airport terminal. It was the "Mendoza"'s 400-horsepower engines that lifted that load off the water at Keyport.

The "Mendoza" within the fleet

The company named its aircraft things like Santa Maria / Wolverine, Pinta, Niña, Columbus, Balboa, Ponce of Leon, Buckeye, and Mendoza. Of all of them, the "Mendoza" is the one remembered for that flight over New York with 27 people aboard in May 1922. Its two engines were 420 hp Liberty 12As.