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Six Victories Out of Seven

That is the impressive record held by Pratt and Whitney radial aircooled aircraft engines in the Bendix trophy races inaugurated in 1931 and held every year since that time in conjunction with the National Air Races.
Pratt and Whitney's record of wins in the Thompson Trophy speed classic is equally as impressive with six out of eight of the winners using the famous Wasp or Hornet engine to "cop" Aviation's leading speed event staged every year since 1930.
Pratt and Whitney Aircraft, a division of United Aircraft Corporation is one of the pioneer engine building companies in the aviation industry. They startled the aviation world in 1926 with the first 400 h.p. radial aircraft engine known as the Wasp. It was at that time the lightest weight per pound per horsepower engine on the market.
The United States naval air force was the first to utilize this engine and in the brief period of one year the Wasp carved a niche for itself in naval aircraft history breaking many of the existing aviation records. Commercial business followed and the development of the Wasp continued until it was soon the favorite power plant of many of the world's leading aircraft manufacturers.
With Aircraft industry engineers crying for additional horsepower for more speed and more pay load for their planes, the company brought out the 500 h.p. Hornet engine. This powerplant was installed on some of the first mail planes after the government had turned the task of flying the mails over to private contractors. The Hornet also made a reputation for itself in military and commercial aviation.
Later the company developed a 300 h.p. Wasp Junior for private sportsman planes. This was followed by the Twin Row Wasp Junior which was the first twin row radial engined developed in this country and later followed it with the twin row Wasp & Hornet. The twin row Hornet of today develops 1400 h.p.
Four of these Hornet engines are installed on the giant super transport plane, the Douglas DC-4 built for the five major air lines of America. The 5600 h.p. available for the Douglas DC-4 Sky Sovereign will carry 42 passengers and a crew of five. It is the largest land plane built in this country and is not undergoing a series of test before being turned over to the air lines.
The men who pioneered this development and were responsible for its success include F.B. Rentschler, George S. Mead, who with "Andy" Wilgoos, designed the wasp and Don L. Brown, now President of the United Aircraft Corporation, who was in charge of the production of these engines which have written the word "dependability" on the skyways of the world.

[[Picture of a twin-engine rotary aircraft with 'CF-TCH' on the side flying over mountinas and a logo of Lockheed]]
J.H. Washburn Photo
One of Trans-Canada Air Lines' fleet of Lockheed 14s.
LOCKHEED AIRCRAFT CORPORATION BURBANK, CALIFORNIA U.S.A