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The World's Premier Fifteen Years of National Air Racing Has Made Aviation History ★ [[image]][[/image]] There's quite a difference between the air races of fifteen years ago and those of today. THE National Air Races, of the United States, most distinguished of aeronautical projects and now famous throughout the world, had their inception in 1920 when aviation was at its lowest ebb. At that time the general public considered riding in an airplane just as dangerous and spectacular as diving over Niagara Falls in a barrel. Mr. Joseph Pulitzer desiring the stimulate commercial advancement and public interest in aviation offered a valuable trophy to be competed for in closed course racing. It was posted at the first air meet held November 25, 1920 at Mitchell Field, Long Island, under the direction of the Aero Club of America, which at that tie held exclusive rights to conduct aircraft contest under the rules and regulations of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale. The race was held in four laps over a course 29 miles long, a total of 116 miles. Capt. C. C. Moseley of the Army Air Service captured the trophy, flying a specially built Berville-Packard 600 horsepower racer at an average speed of 156.54 miles per hour. Capt. H. E. Hartney of the Army Air Service won second place in a Thomas-Morse plane powered with a 300 horsepower Wright motor. This type of plane was later converted into the standard single-seated fighter of the Army. Third place was taken by Bert Acosta, who piloted an Ansaldo-S. P. A. Speed Records Tumble Speed records tumbled in the second Pulitzer race, which was held at Omaha, Nebraska, on November 3, 1921. Bert Acosta bettered the previous year's record by twenty miles per hour when he won the trophy by flying a Curtiss navy bi-plane at an average speed of 176.76 miles per hour. Clarence Coombs was second in his Curtiss tri-plane, the "Cactus Kitten," with a speed of 169.56 miles per hour. Lieutenant J. A. Macready of the Army Air Service was third with a speed of 160.36 miles per hour. Detroir was the scene of the races in 1922, when for the first time they were conducted on a large scale as a connected whole. Besides the Pulitzer race, six preliminare events were scheduled, including the first cross-country derby and a free-for-all for civilian planes flying to Selfridge field from distant points. The other events were the Curtiss Mrine Trophy Race, teh Detroit News Aerial Mail Race, the Liberty Engine Builders' Trophy Race, and a race for the John L. Mitchell Trophy. The third Pulitzer race was, of course, the center of attraction, and it furnished the usual speed and thrills. The trophy was worn by Liut. R.J. Maughan of the Army Air Serice, who piloted a Curtiss army plane at an average speed of 205.8 miles per hour. Second place went to Lieut. L.J. Maitland, who completed the course in a similar plane at 198.8 miles per hour. Lieut. H.J. Brow of the Navy won third place with an average speed of 193.8 miles per hour. During the Detroit meet the National Aeronautic Association in its present status was formed. The meet for 1923 was awarded by the N.A>A> to St. Louis, which occupied three days and included a number of special events in addition to the famous Pulitzer race. The "On-to-St. Louis" derby was open only to civilians and was won by C.S. "Casey" Jones who flew 900 miles from Garden City, Long Island,in 13 hours and 20 minutes. Many events were scheduled for commercial planes only, and for the first time since the advent of the races, civilians mixed with military pilots in the competition. The Pulitzer Trophy Race in 1923 was as usual attended by sensational thrills. The Navy, still smarting from its complete defeat at the hands of the Army in the Detroit meet, had prepared fully for the 1923 races by building four new racers. The Army used the same planes as in the previous year. Lieut. A.J. (Al) Williams of the Navy piloted his Curtiss R2-C1 racer four times around the course at an average speed of 243.68 miles per hour, winning the trophy. Lieutenant Brow of the Navy was second with 241.77 miles per hour, and Lieut. L.H. Sanderson, U.S.M.C., third with an average speed of 230.06 miles per hour. Wright Attends Races On the historic field in Dayton, Ohio, where the Wright brothers made their early sucessful flights, the 1924 National Air races were held, October 2, 3 and 4. Thousands of spectators witnessed a series of contests leading upto the climatic Pulitzer race, which well depicted the ramrkable progress of aviation within only a few years time. One of the most interested spectators was Orville Wright. A spectacular aerial carnival by the noted Langley Field bombers, the same planes that destroyed the Ostfriedland off Cape Hatteras. "Casey" Jones again won the feature derby, flying his famous Curtiss Oriole. This airman also won the Central Labor Union Trophy Race in the same plane, with an average speed of 125 miles per hour. Interest in the Pulitzer Trophy, however, began to wane in 1924, when the Navy did not enter a single ship. Lieut. H.H. Mills in a Verville Sperry won the throphy with an average speed of 215.72 miles per hour. Mitchell Field, New York, was the scene of the 1925 NationalAir Races, in which all of the previous year's records for the same trophies except two were shattered. Several new types of military planes were developed for the meet; and new commercial planes, including the Bellanca with the Whirlwind engine, were first demonstrated. Foreign competition appeared for the first time when France sent over two Breguet observation planes for active competition. Both the Army and the Navy sent lone representatives to compete for Pulitzer prize. Lieut. Cyrus bettis of the Army won the race with an average speed of 248.98 miles per hour, bettering by more than five miles an hour the record of Lieutenant Williams in 1923. Lieutenant Williams failed to attain his former record, coming second to Lieutenant Bettis with a speed of 241.7 miles per hour. Both pilots flew Curtiss R3-C1 races. photo Col. Lindbergh, Dr. Hugo Eckner and P.W. Litchfield among others famous personages at the 1929 Races in Cleveland. A specially built plane with an OX-5 motor, flown by Kenneth W. Montee of Santa monica, California, won the "On page 32 Official Publication
