Review of "First Stop Honolulu," by Frankin W. Dixon

 Review of

First Stop Honolulu, by Frankin W. Dixon

Four out of five stars

A Ted Scott flying story

 To most people, the name Franklin W. Dixon is the pen name used by various authors writing books in the Hardy Boys series for the Stratemeyer Syndicate. However, there was another series written under that name, the Ted Scott Flying Stories. As the name implies, Ted Scott was a young aviator in the days when aviation was in its infancy. There were 20 books in the series that spanned the years 1927 to 1943 and this is the second book in that series.

 The first book had Ted Scott flying from the United States to Paris, it was published in 1927, the very year that Lindbergh made his famous flight. In this book, Ted is flying nonstop from the continental United States to Honolulu. This is a bit more difficult, in the sense that when flying west to east it is impossible to miss Europe, but when going to Hawaii, the target is comparatively small.

 This adventure has much more than just a plane flight over the ocean, Ted Scott is also trying to clear the name of his father. When there was the murder of a bank executive, Ted’s father was charged based on flimsy evidence and died in prison before the  trial could take place. Although it happened many years ago and the trail is cold, Ted is determined to follow all possible leads.

 There are a few close calls, including the rescuing of a man alone on a raft in the Pacific without landing and having to patch a wing while in flight. There are some significant stretches of the coincidence plot device, to the point that it really does not work.

 While this is a good juvenile adventure story for the era of the 1920’s when aviation was in its’ infancy, it has not aged well. Some of the coincidental events could have been left out with no real impact on the fundamental plot of a daring young man in his flying machine.