There wasn't anything really galactic about it, but pilot Paul
Munro spent more than 37 consecutive hours aloft flying over
Southern California. He was credited as the first pilot ever to
fly solo while his plane was refueled in the air, reported the
Pomona Progress-Bulletin on Nov. 14, 1932. Munro flew his
Curtiss Robin Challenger alone in huge circles over Glendale and
the San Fernando Valley for most of two days, refueling in the
air eight times. Munro's feat was a first because he did it with
no one else aboard to handle the refueling hoses hanging down
from another aircraft. The whole point of the flight was to
prove the success of a robotic device invented by Dr. C.H. Vance
of Pomona. His automatic pilot equipment measured shifts in air
passing over the wings to automatically adjust the monoplane in
flight. Vance was a bit of a mystery man. Other than details
about Munro's two flights, we've been unable to run down any
details about the Pomona inventor. He and Munro first got in the
limelight on Nov. 3