Thor Solberg

Loening C-2-C Air Yacht used by Thor Solberg and Paul Oscanyan. (Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology) Thor Solberg (March 28, 1893 – February 26, 1967) was a Norwegian-born aviation pioneer who made the first successful flight from the United States of America to Norway in 1935. He made the journey, which started in New York City, in an open-cockpit single-engine aircraft with no landing instruments. For this reason, he was restricted to an altitude of . Solberg was interested in motors and aviation from an early age and was a "daring" motorcyclist in his youth. He was also interested in artistic picture framing in his youth.

Solberg, inspired by aviators such as Charles Lindbergh, was to be the first person to fly from Norway to the United States solo, receiving some aid and advice from Roald Amundsen. They departed from Floyd-Bennett Field and made four stops at locations between the United States and Norway before landing in Norway on 16 August 1935 after passing through Labrador, Greenland, Iceland, the Faroe Islands, and Bergen. Solberg's course roughly followed the path that Leif Erikson's voyage took. Upon his arrival in Norway, the King of Norway gave Solberg a gold medal. In 1941, he received permission from the Readington Township Committee to operate a commercial airport. The airport was also used as a training facility during World War II where Solberg trained approximately 5,000 aviators. Solberg Airport was also used to train pilots for Pan American World Airways.

Solberg died in Branchburg, New Jersey at the age of 73 and was buried at the churchyard in Florø.

Legacy The Loening C-2-C Air Yacht piloted by Thor Solberg in 1935 is presently on display at the Norwegian Museum of Science and Technology in Oslo, Norway. A statue of Solberg was erected at the Florø Airport in 1985 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of his flight.