Around the World in Ten Days

Paul Ross and Bob Giddings are hurrying home from the Clark Polytechnic Institute when news of an air race around the world catches their attention. A newspaper sets out the prizes, entry rules and ocean crossings that make the competition so ambitious. Paul wants to take part, but his age, lack of money and need for an airplane put practical obstacles in his way. Chelsea Curtis Fraser builds this aviation adventure around youthful enthusiasm and the work of turning an idea into a flying machine.

The four young flyers travel in Sky-Bird II, an airplane they have designed and constructed themselves. The story combines discussion of aircraft and navigation with rival competitors and dangers in unfamiliar terrain. In the Andes, attacking condors threaten the plane, while cloud and fog complicate the task of finding its position. Written for young readers, the novel offers a picture of aviation when ocean crossings still tested the limits of machines and imagination.