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Air Classic in Retrospect [[image]]Beautiful surroundings lend a dignified and pleasing atmosphere to the Cleveland air race stadium. to-New York" cross-country derby. The Merchants Association Trophy was won by "Casey" Jones in his Curtiss Oriole at a speed of 134.2 miles per hour. Basil L. Rowe won the free-for-all Glen Curtiss trophy by averaging 102.9 miles per hour with his Thomas-Morse scout over a 12-mile triangular course. The Liberty Engine-Builders' Race was won by Cap-tain Lemaitre of France, who flew his Breguet observation plane at 129.1 miles per hour. Races Are Established By 1926 the annual air classic was de-finitely established. In this year the National Air Races were held at Model Flying Field in Philadelphia, in conjunc-tion with the exposition in progress at that city. Aviation's remarkable advances were vividly illustrated in several innovations at he Philadelphia races. For the first time in the air race history the substitution of a new engine was made in a plane so that it could compete in another event. For the first time also crowds in the grand-stand heard music broadcast from a Sikorsky plane flying over the field. The use of air-cooled motors in modern pursuit ships was notes as marking the return of this type of engine to wide use. Although the Pulitzer trophy was no longer competed for, the free-for-all pursuit race was a worthy successor. Lieut. G. T. Cuddihy of the Navy won this race was a Packard-Boeing pursuit plane, averaging 180.015 miles per hour. One of the most informa-tive events n the 1926 races was for transport planes carrying a minimum pay load of 1,000 pounds. This race was won by C. C. Champion, both for speed and for efficiency. He flew his Wright-Bellanca-Whirlwind at an average speed of 121.531 miles per hour. James G. Ray, flying a Sesqui-Wing, outsped "Casey" Jones' Oriole to win the Aviation Town and Country Club race at an average speed of 136.37 miles per hour. For the first six years of their existence the National Air Races had been confined to the east. In 1927, however, the scene was moved to Spokane, Washington, where large and enthusiastic crowds at-tended the twelve scheduled races. Trans-continental and sectional air derbies were inaugurated at these races, and they at-tained such popularity that they have been repeated annually. The feature derby from Roosevelt Field, New York, to Spokane was captured by C. W. Holman, who spanned the continent in his Laird Plane in 19 hours 42 minutes 47 seconds. The feature even of the 1927 closed course events was the Seattle Chamber of Commerce Trophy Free-for-All Race, won by James Ray in his Pitcairn, which averaged 136.15 miles per hour. Ray also carried off the Detroit Aviation Town and Country Club Trophy with the same pane at an average speed of 138.39 miles per hour. The trophy for winning the military pursuit ship race went to Lieut. E. C. Batten, whose speed averaged 201.21 miles per hour. The Turning Point Dating from the 1928 National Air Races, each subsequent meet has been larger and more successful from every point of view. The 1928 races, held at Mines Field, Los Angeles, California, from September 8 to September 16, drew capacity crowds attracting a total attendance of over 300,000 people. It marked the turning point in the history of the National Air Races. Prior to this, the project was a 2 to 3 day air meet, on a small scale basis with only military participation. It introduced commercial aviation. The Army and the Navy were present with their best ships and most competent pilots. The Navy's "Three Musketeer" flew in marvelous "eschelon" and "V" formations, holding the crowds spellbound. Colonel Lindbergh presented an unusual exhibition flight, as did Amelia Earhart in her "Moth", "Dill Pickle" and "Baby Bullett" planes. Never had enthusiasm run so high in the nine years of air racing as at the 1929 races in Cleveland. This "Air Classic of the Century" was attended by more than a half million people during the tend days from August 24 to September 2. For the first time in the history of the races military planes and pilots were forced to yield the spotlight to commercial planes and civilian pilots. Doug Davis of Atlanta, Georgia, easily vanquished both the Army and the Navy in the sensational free-for-all race. He flew his special low-wing Travel-Air at an average speed of 194.90 miles per hour. Gliding was introduced by the 1929 National Air Races into American racing classics. Airplane-towed gliders left De-troit for Cleveland and were released several thousand feet above the Cleveland airport, landing before the grandstands. Graf Zeppelin At Races The Graf Zeppelin passed over the field on the last lap of her round=the-world journey and was wildly acclaimed by a crowd of 100,000 at the field who waited twelve hours for its arrival. The Los Angeles, which flew from Lakehurst with President L. W. Greve of the Cleveland race corporation as a passenger , was moored at the airport overnight, after tak-ing abroad a Navy pane in flight. This latter demonstration was the first transfer in history of a passenger from a lighter-than-air to heavier-than-air craft in flight. The new Navy all-metal airship, ZMC-2, also landed at the airport to pay its respects to the air race crowds, and four Goodyear non-rigid balloons were almost daily visitors at the field. Women flyers were entered on a par with men flyers in the 1929 National Air Races for the first time. The Woman's Derby from Santa Monica to Cleveland resulted in high honors to the "lady birds" who handled their planes like veterans. Mrs. Louise Thaden, flying a Travel-Air with a Wright J-5C motor, was the winner in the heavy-plane class. She flew the distance in an elapsed time of 20 hours 2 minutes 2 seconds. Mrs. Phoebe Omile in her Monocoupe was [[image]]Cleveland air race stadium built in 1931-a gigantic structure affording comfort and convenience.
Transcription Notes:
I basically transcribed from top to bottom and then went to the next column.
