Han Solo had the Millenium Falcon. Arnie Cunningham had Christine. The Duke Boys had the General Lee. And in The Purple Menace and the Tobacco Prince, Wright Williams has his trusty Savoia-Marchetti S.56 amphibious biplane.
Savoia-Marchetti was an Italian aircraft maker that made their mark primarily in the two decades between the World Wars. Their seaplanes set multiple endurance and speed records, earning the company favor among Italy’s military, including Air Marshal Italo Balbo (last seen trying to get into Tony’s Speakeasy).
In the book, Wright Williams hopes to prove his manhood to his obsession, Bizzy Holt, by undertaking a round-the-world flight. I based the fictional journey on the real one Z. Smith Reynolds attempted to make. His preparations for the trip began by purchasing a Savoia-Marchetti S.56 and having the seaplane modified into a single-seater with enough fuel capacity for a 1,000-mile cruising range. Smith departed in December of 1931 on what would be the longest point-to-point solo circumnavigation at the time: 17,000 miles from London to Hong Kong, with stops in Paris, Tunis, Karachi, Rangoon, Bangkok, and Hanoi, just 30 years after the Wright Brothers first took flight. Smith flew over the Swiss Alps, saw the Pyramids and the Taj Mahal, all from the open-air cockpit of his Savoia flying boat.
In The Purple Menace and the Tobacco Prince, Wright’s Savoia remains a 2-seater, because how else would Bizzy be able to… well, that would be a spoiler. But you can find out what she does in that cockpit by clicking here. And you can see a real Savoia-Marchetti S.56 just like the ones Smith Reynolds and Wright Williams flew when the Sullenberger Aviation Museum reopens this summer.
-WEB3
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