A U.S. Army VH-3A helicopter lands on the lawn of the Hotel General von Steuben, in Wiesbaden, Germany. A crowd of spectators stands across the drive from the hotel lawn, constrained by German policemen. U.S. Air Force Military policemen stand guard on the nearer side of the drive. Soon the Presidential VH-3 helicopter, Marine One, lands on the lawn. It displays the Presidential seal and that of the Military District of Washington, DC. Next, President John F. Kennedy is seen walking past the Army helicopter and into the U.S. Military's Hotel General von Steuben. He is accompanied by German Chancellor, Ludwig Erhard, U.S. Secretary of State, Dean Rusk and U.S. Army Aide, Brigadier General Chester V. Clifton, along with a phalanx of Secret Service Agents. Other officials look out from a dining room window of the hotel as the Presidential party arrives. (Note: In the 1950s, the U.S. built three large military hotels in Wiesbaden. In 1951,a star-shaped Hotel [the American Arms] was built on Frankfurter Strasse. In 1955, the 9-story Amelia Earhart Hotel was opened. It was a utilitarian structure, with row after row of windows. President Nixon once stayed there. It closed in 1995. The General von Steuben Hotel, depicted in this film, was the newest, built in 1956, on Auguste Viktoria Strasse, near the train station. It is now a commercial hotel, "the Dorint Hotel Pallas Wiesbaden.")
Passengers board a Ford Trimotor plane in Kingman, Arizona, to continue a trip across the United States. Interior view of Trimotor passenger compartment. Plane flies over Colorado River and aerial view of the river is seen. A map shows route from Kingman to Los Angeles. Plane flies over Mojave desert and death valley, and aerial views of each are shown as seen from the aircraft. View of the Trimotor in the air with Mount Wilson observatory behind. Aerial view of Los Angeles. A man at Los Angeles airport announces the arrival of Ford Trimotor over a megaphone. Plane lands and taxis to the terminal. Passengers deplane from the craft and Jack Maddux and Amelia Earhart greet the passengers. Map of United States, a train, a plane and Charles Lindbergh.
A celebration aboard a giant airplane high over New York City, en route to Atlantic City. Interior views of cabin of the airplane, and cockpit, while guests are seated in the plane during flight. They are served refreshments. Aerial view of the city of New York including skyscrapers like the Empire State Building. Aerial view of the George Washington Bridge spanning the Hudson River. British aviators James Mollison and his wife Amy Mollison are among guest honored by famous woman American Aviator Amelia Earhart on the flight. Heavy weight boxing champion Gene Tunney (with bandage on left side of face), artist Howard Chandler Christy and the publisher George Palmer Putnam are also among the guests. Stewardess or flight attendant is seen talking to pilots during flight, and serving drinks to guests. Gene Tunney smiles on receiving a drink.
Circa 1927 views of aviation celebrities. Charles A. Lindbergh, standing by his airplane, the Spirit of St. Louis. One-eyed aviator Wiley Post standing with humorist Will Rogers. Amelia Earhart. .An overloaded airplane takes off and failing to climb scrapes a wing on runway and crashes.