Utah

A Utah man was the first to fly across the country in a single day. Now a USU grad student plans to retrace the journey, exactly 100 years later

Published

2 years ago

June 13, 2024

A Utah man was the first to fly across the country in a single day. Now a USU grad student plans to retrace the journey, exactly 100 years later

SALT LAKE CITY (ABC4) — On June 23, 1924, Russell L. Maughan, of Logan, Utah, became the first person to fly from one coast of the country to the other in a single day.

The pioneering flight — from New York City to San Francisco, with several refueling stops in between — took more than 21 hours.

Now, a century later, 26-year-old Nathan Hoch, who currently lives in Logan, is planning to retrace Maughan’s flight path, paying tribute to one of his personal heroes.

“Not many people plan these wild, disjointed trips just for some historic sake,” he said, describing the plan as a “hare-brained idea” he thought up a few months ago.

Yet, he committed to the trip when he found a flight for the last leg of the journey that lands in San Francisco within minutes of when Maughan completed his historic flight.

“I found a commercial flight that lands at 9:50 p.m., which is exactly 100 years after he landed in San Francisco,” Hoch said.

Russell L. Maughan with his family in 1923. (credit: Smithsonian Institution)

Maughan’s flight was a dawn-to-dusk venture. Per the National Museum of the United States Air Force, he took off in a PW-8 plane at first light and “raced the sun” across the country.

Maughan stopped five times to refuel. The total journey took 21 hours and 48 and-a-half minutes.

For Hoch, his journey will not be in one day. He plans to leave on June 19 and complete it on June 23.

Hoch is retracing the flight path through a mix of commercial flights and interstate drives, as some locations in the middle of the country are “hard to get to with commercial aviation.”

The first flight will bring Hoch to Dayton, Ohio. The next lands him in Kansas City, Missouri. After that, it’s a drive to North Platte, Nebraska, followed by another drive to Cheyenne, Wyoming.

After that, he’ll roll into Denver and fly to Salt Lake City, where his wife will drive him to Utah’s West Desert, which was one of Maughan’s more remote refueling stops.

“There’s nothing there,” Hoch said. “They just picked it because it’s flat, featureless terrain. An easy place to land.”

Russell L. Maughan lands to refuel in Utah’s West Desert on his historic dawn-to-dusk flight. (credit: Smithsonian Institution)

The last leg of Hoch’s trip will take him from Salt Lake to San Francisco on June 23, where he’ll land within moments of the 100-year anniversary of his hero’s history-making accomplishment.

While Hoch has long been interested in aviation history, he only learned about Maughan a few years ago while doing his undergraduate studies at USU. On campus, there is a monument to Maughan, who is in the Utah Aviation Hall of Fame.

Along with making the first single-day cross-country flight across America, Maughan also served with distinction in WWI.

“He was a fighter pilot and shot down four enemy aircraft, so that’s one shy of being an ace,” Hoch said.

When he was a student at USU, Hoch showed his then-girlfriend the monument to Maughan. She wasn’t turned off by his enthusiasm for the Utah pilot, who died 66 years ago.

“She’s now my wife,” Hoch said, adding that she was a bit unsure about his trip at first. “So it’s going to be a Father’s Day gift for me.”

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Utah

2025-26 Gamethread #35: New Jersey Devils at Utah Mammoth

Published

7 hours ago

December 20, 2025

Press Room

2025-26 Gamethread #35: New Jersey Devils at Utah Mammoth

The Matchup: New Jersey Devils (19-14-1) at the Utah Mammoth (17-16-3).

The Broadcast: TV — MSGSN 2, Devils Hockey Radio

The Rules: If you have been a reader here, you already know the rules. But for the rest, a reminder: please do not swear in the comment section, and keep comments relevant to the hockey game going on. Beyond that, do not attack any other commenters, and do not ask for or pass along illegal streams on this board.

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Utah

Man accused of killing Charlie Kirk files motion to disqualify Utah County Attorney’s Office from prosecuting case

Published

19 hours ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Man accused of killing Charlie Kirk files motion to disqualify Utah County Attorney’s Office from prosecuting case

The bottom line? An atmospheric river will pump moisture into northern Utah through the weekend, but with how warm it is, snow levels will remain high. Even the Wasatch Back will see more rain than snow, and what little snow they get will barely stick, if at all. Mountains won’t do too bad.

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Utah

Utah QB Devon Dampier confirms he will play in Las Vegas Bowl vs. Nebraska

Published

1 day ago

December 19, 2025

Press Room

Utah QB Devon Dampier confirms he will play in Las Vegas Bowl vs. Nebraska

The weeks following the college football regular season provide players plenty of time to weigh their NFL draft options against their desire to compete in a bowl game.

In Utah’s case, offensive tackles Spencer Fano and Caleb Lomu, as well as defensive end Logan Fano, decided it was in their best interests to forego the Utes’ Las Vegas Bowl matchup against Nebraska and declare for the 2026 NFL Draft instead.

Utah quarterback Devon Dampier, meanwhile, was looking forward to one last ride with his 2025 teammates before calling it a season.

“I chose to finish out this season with my team,” Dampier said during a media availability session Thursday. “I’m gonna play in the game. But some people, it’s a lot higher stakes; got a couple first rounders and things like that.”

‘We know those guys love us. They let it be known every day since they’ve been here, so we still support those guys and they support us.”

Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham presumed Thursday that the Fano brothers and Lomu would be the only bowl game opt-outs on Utah’s side, along with a few walk-ons. Some Utes who announced their transfer portal intentions continued to practice with the team as well.

Dampier confirmed his availability for the Las Vegas Bowl after a historic regular season under center, becoming the first Utes signal-caller to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for over 600 yards in a single season since Alex Smith accomplished the feat in 2004. Dampier had 2,180 passing yards, a career-high 22 passing touchdowns and only five interceptions after throwing 12 picks last season. He also had 687 rushing yards and seven touchdowns going into Utah’s postseason game.

While his intentions for Dec. 31 were made clear, Dampier’s status for next season remained somewhat cloudy. He did hint at making an announcement alongside fellow quarterback Byrd Ficklin, though it was postponed after Ficklin’s return to the Utes was leaked Dec. 11.

“Y’all going to see,” Dampier said when asked if he was coming back for the 2026 campaign. “It’s great. I’m very happy to be here.”

“[Ficklin and I] were trying to do something special, but his [return] got a little leaked out before we could get to it. But it’s coming.”

Dampier said during a radio show appearance earlier in December that he was “big on staying” and had “no intentions to leave” the Utes. He also said over the airwaves that he anticipates being named a captain for the 2026 squad, and that he does play a role in recruiting.

Dampier discussed Kyle Whittingham’s impending departure from the program and the future outlook with Morgan Scalley set to take over during his media availability session.

On Kyle Whittingham’s decision to step down as head coach

“That’s a legend. I got a lot of respect for him. I think he’s transformed this program. He’s made it perfect for [Morgan] Scalley to step in. I’m still excited to still be at Ute.”

On Morgan Scalley taking over as head coach

“I’m very confident in Scalley. When I came here on my visit, that was someone I talked to. He let me know the rundown for when his time comes. He had his full belief in me and in my talent, so I’m perfectly fine where I’m at.”

On sending Whittingham off with a win

“It means a lot to me. I could try to speak for everybody on the team, but for me, especially, that’s a coach that believed in me to come in here after being at New Mexico, and just had a full trust in me, in the offense, to do what we do. And that’s just huge respect from him, and just what he’s done for this program. This is one only programs in college football where you know what Utes do, you know how they play and you know the mentality. So for him to leave that up, I got to finish well for him.”

On whether the program is in better hands than it would be if an outsider was hired

“Most definitely. I think just what’s already set here, what’s known here; Scalley has been under Whitt. I think Whitt’s done a great job of allowing him to demonstrate what a good head coach looks like and I know Scalley is gonna step into it and do what he does.”