They're Baaack!
Dateline: September 1924
Back in March 1924, Santa Barbara pilot Capt. Lowell Smith joined a group of U.S. pilots who were trying to be the first group of pilots to fly around the world. Finally, after close to six months, the record-breaking group landed in Santa Monica completing the first-ever round-the-world journey. The leading plane was piloted by Santa Barbara's Lieut. Lowell Smith. "The 'greatest reception any place in the world' greeted the fliers . . . There were more than 100,000 on the field to roar a welcome to the fliers."
Although the city fathers in Santa Barbara had hoped that he would make a stopover on the new municipal airfield here, he was only able to attempt a flyover. But, in the end, even that was cancelled because of fog. – Santa Barbara Morning Press, Sep 24, 1924