Air racing
Encyclopedia
History
The first ever air race was held in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1908. The participants piloted the only 4 airships in the U.S. around a course located at Forest Park. 2 of the pilots went off-course due to strong winds, and the other 2 successfully completed the course, and divided the $5,000 prize.The first event in heavier-than-air air racing history was held on May 23, 1909 - the Prix de Lagatinerie, held at the Port-Aviation airport south of Paris, France. Four pilots entered the race, two actually started and nobody completed the full race distance. Léon Delagrange
Léon Delagrange
Léon Delagrange Léon Delagrange Léon Delagrange (Ferdinand Léon Delagrange; March 13, 1873 was a pioneer French aviator and also a sculptor .He was born at Orléans and studied at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris...
, who covered more than half of the ten 1.2-kilometre laps was declared the winner.
Some other minor events were held before the August 22-29 1909 Grand Week of the Champagne at Reims, France. This was the first major international air race, drawing many of the most important plane makers and pilots of the era, as well as celebrities and royalty. The premier event — the Gordon Bennett Trophy — was won by Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Curtiss
Glenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
, who beat second place finisher Louis Blériot
Louis Blériot
Louis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
by five seconds. Curtiss was named "Champion Air Racer of the World". This event was held yearly at different locations. On October 19, 1919, the Army Transcontinental Air Race began (cf.
Cf.
cf., an abbreviation for the Latin word confer , literally meaning "bring together", is used to refer to other material or ideas which may provide similar or different information or arguments. It is mainly used in scholarly contexts, such as in academic or legal texts...
1919 Air Service Transcontinental Recruiting Convoy.)
In 1934, the MacRobertson Air Race
MacRobertson Air Race
The MacRobertson Trophy Air Race took place October, 1934 as part of the Melbourne Centenary celebrations. The idea of the race was devised by the Lord Mayor of Melbourne, and a prize fund of $75,000 was put up by Sir Macpherson Robertson, a wealthy Australian confectionery manufacturer, on the...
from England to Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
took place with the winning de Havilland Comet
De Havilland DH.88
The de Havilland DH.88 Comet was a twin-engined British aircraft that won the 1934 MacRobertson Air Race, a challenge for which it was specifically designed...
flown by C. W. A. Scott and Tom Campbell Black
Tom Campbell Black
Tom Campbell Black, was a famous English aviator.He was the son of Alice Jean McCullough and Hugh Milner Black. He became a world famous aviator when he and C. W. A...
.
Between 1913 and 1931 the Schneider Trophy
Schneider Trophy
The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931...
seaplane race was run, which was significant in advancing aeroplane design, particularly in the fields of aerodynamics and engine design, and would show its results in the best fighters of World War II.
In 1921, the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
instituted the National Air Meets, which became the National Air Races
National Air Races
The National Air Races were a series of pylon and cross-country races that took place in the United States from 1920 to 1949. The science of aviation, and the speed and reliability of aircraft and engines grew rapidly during this period; the National Air Races were both a proving ground and...
in 1924. In 1929, the Women's Air Derby
Women's Air Derby
The first Women’s Air Derby during the 1929 National Air Races, commonly known as the “Powder Puff Derby”, was the first official women’s only air race in the United States. Nineteen pilots took off from Santa Monica, California, on August 18, 1929...
became a part of the National Air Races circuit. The National Air Races lasted until 1949. The Cleveland Air Races was another important event. That year, pilot Bill Odom suffered a crash during a race, killing himself and two other people in a nearby house. In 1947, an All-Woman Transcontinental Air Race (AWTAR) dubbed the "Powder Puff Derby
Powder Puff Derby
The Powder Puff Derby was the name given to a transcontinental air race for women pilots inaugurated in 1947. For the next two years it was named the "Jacqueline Cochran All-Woman Transcontinental Air Race"...
" was established, running until 1977.
In 1964, Bill Stead, a Nevada
Nevada
Nevada is a state in the western, mountain west, and southwestern regions of the United States. With an area of and a population of about 2.7 million, it is the 7th-largest and 35th-most populous state. Over two-thirds of Nevada's people live in the Las Vegas metropolitan area, which contains its...
rancher, pilot, and unlimited hydroplane racing champion, organized the first Reno Air Races
Reno Air Races
The Reno Air Races, also known as the National Championship Air Races, take place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada, USA...
at a small dirt strip called the Sky Ranch, located between Sparks, Nevada
Sparks, Nevada
Sparks is a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States, located east of Reno, Nevada. The 2010 U.S. Census Bureau population count was 90,264. Sparks is often referred to as half of a twin city .-Geography and Climate:...
, and Pyramid Lake. The National Championship Air Races were soon moved to the Reno Stead Airport
Reno Stead Airport
Reno/Stead Airport is a large general aviation airport located in the North Valleys area, northwest of the central business district of Reno, a city in Washoe County, Nevada, United States...
and have been held there every September since 1966. The five-day event attracts around 200,000 people, and includes racing around courses marked out by pylons for six classes of aircraft: Unlimited, Formula One
Formula One Air Racing
Formula One Air Racing is an American motorsport that involves small aircraft using engines up to 200 cubic inches in displacement. Racers can reach speeds over 200 mph.- History :...
, Sport Biplane, AT-6, Sport and Jet. It also features civil airshow acts, military flight demonstrations, and a large static aircraft display. Other promoters have run pylon racing events across the USA and Canada, including races in Las Vegas, NV in 1965, Lancaster, CA in 1965 and 1966, Mojave, California
Mojave, California
Mojave is a census-designated place in Kern County, California, United States. Mojave is located east of Bakersfield, at an elevation of 2762 feet...
in 1970-71, and 1973-79; at Cape May, NJ in 1971, San Diego, CA in 1971, Miami, FL in 1973 and 1979, Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan
Saskatchewan is a prairie province in Canada, which has an area of . Saskatchewan is bordered on the west by Alberta, on the north by the Northwest Territories, on the east by Manitoba, and on the south by the U.S. states of Montana and North Dakota....
in 1984; Hamilton, CA, in 1988; at Dallas, TX in 1990, in Denver, CO in 1990 and 1992, in Kansas City in 1993, in Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix, Arizona
Phoenix is the capital, and largest city, of the U.S. state of Arizona, as well as the sixth most populated city in the United States. Phoenix is home to 1,445,632 people according to the official 2010 U.S. Census Bureau data...
in 1994 and 1995; and in Tunica, Mississippi
Tunica, Mississippi
Tunica is a town in Tunica County, Mississippi, United States, located near the Mississippi River. Until the early 1990s the town was one of the most impoverished places in the United States, semi-famous for the particularly deprived neighbourhood known as "Sugar Ditch Alley", named for the open...
in 2005. Numerous other venues across the United States, Canada, and Mexico have also hosted events featuring the smaller Formula One and Biplane classes.
In 1970, American Formula One racing was exported to Europe (Great Britain, and then to France), where almost as many races have been held as in the U.S.A.
Also in 1970, the California 1000 Air Race started at the Mojave Airport with an 66 lap unlimited air race that featured a Douglas DC-7
Douglas DC-7
The Douglas DC-7 is an American transport aircraft built by the Douglas Aircraft Company from 1953 to 1958. It was the last major piston engine powered transport made by Douglas, coming just a few years before the advent of jet aircraft such as the Boeing 707 and Douglas DC-8.-Design and...
with one aircraft completing the circuit.
Red Bull
Red Bull is an energy drink sold by the Austrian Red Bull GmbH, created in 1987 by the Austrian entrepreneur Dietrich Mateschitz. In terms of market share, Red Bull is the most popular energy drink in the world, with 3 billion cans sold each year. Dietrich Mateschitz was inspired by an already...
has created a series called the Red Bull Air Race World Championship in which competitors fly singularly through a series of air gates, between which they must perform a prescribed maneuvers. Usually held over water near large cities, the sport has attracted large crowds and brought substantial media interest in air racing for the first time in decades.
A recent air racing competition to enter the sport is the Aero GP
Aero GP
Aero GP is an international air racing series with up to eight specially designed high-performance sports planes all racing together at speeds of up to around a tight circuit just metres off the ground and from each other. The competing pilots are military and civilian pilots from around the world...
(www.aero-gp.com), based in Europe, which has held at least one air race per year since 2005, including 2 grand prix in 2008. Aero GP air racing is based on the classic format of multiple planes racing together and against each other in a tight pylon circuit. Aero GP air races are broadcast on television in hundreds of millions of homes worldwide, establishing the events as credible fixtures in the air racing world.
A new and alternative kind of air race has been developed within a recent motorized flying discipline known as Paramotoring. Following in the footsteps of other popular air races the event is called Parabatix Sky Racers (www.parabatix.com).
On Saturday 4th September 2010 in an airfield in Montauban, Southern France, the sky was buzzing and spectators roaring as Parabatix organiser Pascal Campbell-Jones and his team of paramotor pilots put on an incredible aerial extravaganza.
Paramotors are the motorbikes of the sky, using two-stroke engines and paraglider wings. Their pilots aren’t hidden away in cockpits, and spectators can see their every movements, from leaning into steeply banked turns, to grabbing balls or swooping across water at speed, their feet kicking spray into the air. The slower flying speeds and agility of the machines means all this can take place in a smaller area, putting the audience closer to the action.
The latest development in air racing is the Sky Challenge Air Race - officially launched at the Oshkosh air show in the United States in July 2011. The Sky Challenge Air race uses a patented virtual course to allow true head to head air races in city centres - and also puts sponsor logos into the course as interactive virtual objects. The interactive course allows millions of virtual pilots to join the action on the internet - with the top entrants racing against the actual pilots live on stage at each Sky Challenge event. The Sky Challenge Air Race is distributed to a massive global TV audience and is in talks with a number of host cities on a global basis. The Sky Challenge patent covers not just air races but all forms of sport.
Historical Championships
| Class | First Race | Primary Description | Course | Field | Sanctioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Schneider Trophy Schneider Trophy The Coupe d'Aviation Maritime Jacques Schneider was a prize competition for seaplanes. Announced by Jacques Schneider, a financier, balloonist and aircraft enthusiast, in 1911, it offered a prize of roughly £1,000. The race was held eleven times between 1913 and 1931... |
1913, 1981 (revived) | Seaplane, later all | Triangle | Fédération Aéronautique Internationale Fédération Aéronautique Internationale The Fédération Aéronautique Internationale is the world governing body for air sports and aeronautics and astronautics world records. Its head office is in Lausanne, Switzerland. This includes man-carrying aerospace vehicles from balloons to spacecraft, and unmanned aerial vehicles... |
|
| Pulitzer Prize Trophy | 1920 | Unlimited | Pylon | ||
| Thompson Trophy Thompson trophy The Thompson Trophy race was one of the National Air Races of the heyday of early airplane racing in the 1930s. Established in 1929, the last race was held in 1961. The race was long with pylons marking the turns, and emphasized low altitude flying and maneuverability at high speeds... |
1929 | Unlimited | Pylon | National Aeronautics Association | |
| Women's Air Derby Women's Air Derby The first Women’s Air Derby during the 1929 National Air Races, commonly known as the “Powder Puff Derby”, was the first official women’s only air race in the United States. Nineteen pilots took off from Santa Monica, California, on August 18, 1929... |
1929 | Unlimited | Transcontinental | ||
| Bendix Trophy Bendix trophy The Bendix Trophy is a U.S. aeronautical racing trophy. The transcontinental, point-to-point race, sponsored by industrialist Vincent Bendix founder of Bendix Corporation, began in 1931 as part of the National Air Races. Initial prize money for the winners was $15,000... |
1931 | Unlimited | Transcontinental |
Classes
Restricting aircraft to a specific type or design creates a competition that focuses on pilot skill. Air racing events such as the Reno air races, incorporate multiple classes or aircraft. These may be defined by the race organizer, or by a sanctioned group. Some air races are limited to a single class.| Class | First Race | Primary Description | Course | Field | Sanctioned |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| T-6 Air Racing | 1946 | T-6 Texan T-6 Texan The North American Aviation T-6 Texan was a single-engine advanced trainer aircraft used to train pilots of the United States Army Air Forces, United States Navy, Royal Air Force and other air forces of the British Commonwealth during World War II and into the 1950s... , Harvard, and SNJ powered by a Pratt & Whitney Wasp Pratt & Whitney Wasp -External links:*... R-1340-AN-1 Radial Engine |
Pylon | ||
| Biplane Air Racing | 1964 | 360 cubic inch engines, mostly Pitts Specials, speeds in excess of 250 mph | Pylon | ||
| Formula One Air Racing Formula One Air Racing Formula One Air Racing is an American motorsport that involves small aircraft using engines up to 200 cubic inches in displacement. Racers can reach speeds over 200 mph.- History :... |
1970 | 200 cubic inch engines | Pylon | International Aeronautics Federation | |
| Formula V Air Racing Formula V Air Racing Formula V Air Racing is an American motorsport that involves small aircraft using engines up to 100 cubic inches in displacement.- History :The proposal for Formula V has its roots in the 1964 Reno Air Races.... |
1972 | 1600cc Volkswagen Engine | Pylon | ||
| Sport Class Racing | 1998 | Experimental Piston Powered Aircraft. | Pylon | ||
Notable air racers
- Peter BesenyeiPeter BesenyeiPéter Besenyei is a renowned Hungarian aerobatics pilot and world champion air racer. He was born on June 8, 1956 in Körmend, Hungary. He lived near the airport of Budapest and became interested in flying when he was a child. From watching 1962 World Aerobatic Championships he decided to become a...
- Louis BleriotLouis BlériotLouis Charles Joseph Blériot was a French aviator, inventor and engineer. In 1909 he completed the first flight across a large body of water in a heavier-than-air craft, when he crossed the English Channel. For this achievement, he received a prize of £1,000...
- Jacqueline CochranJacqueline CochranJacqueline Cochran was a pioneer American aviator, considered to be one of the most gifted racing pilots of her generation...
- Glenn CurtissGlenn CurtissGlenn Hammond Curtiss was an American aviation pioneer and a founder of the U.S. aircraft industry. He began his career as a bicycle then motorcycle builder and racer, later also manufacturing engines for airships as early as 1906...
- Jimmy DoolittleJimmy DoolittleGeneral James Harold "Jimmy" Doolittle, USAF was an American aviation pioneer. Doolittle served as a brigadier general, major general and lieutenant general in the United States Army Air Forces during the Second World War...
- Kevin Eldredge
- Steve HintonSteve HintonSteve Hinton is an American aviator who held a world speed record from 1979–1989 and won six Unlimited air races including two national championships. He won four consecutive Unlimited races in one year, and remains the only pilot ever to do so. He retired from racing in 1990...
- Skip HolmSkip HolmSkip James Holm is a retired pilot who lives on the eastern slope of the Sierra Nevada.Holm claims to hold the world record for combat flight hours: 1,172. He retired from the U.S. Air Force Reserve in 1992, with the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He logged his combat hours flying F-105s and F-4s in...
- Benny Howard
- Jimmy LeewardJimmy LeewardJames Kent "Jimmy" Leeward was an American air racer, owner of the Leeward Air Ranch in Ocala, Florida, and the pilot of the heavily modified North American P-51 Mustang racing aircraft, The Galloping Ghost.-Career:...
- Tony LeVierTony LeVierAnthony W. "Tony" LeVier was an air racer and test pilot for the Lockheed Corporation from the 1940s to the 1970s.- Early life :...
- Paul MantzPaul MantzAlbert Paul Mantz was a noted air racing pilot, movie stunt pilot and consultant from the late 1930s until his death in the mid-1960s. He gained fame on two stages: Hollywood and in air races.-Early years:...
- Blanche NoyesBlanche NoyesBlanche Noyes was an American pioneering female aviator who was among the first ten women to receive a pilot's license. She was Ohio's first licensed female pilot in 1929.-Biography:...
- Jon SharpJon SharpJon Sharp is the current first team coach of Super League club Crusaders Rugby League. Between 2004 and 2008 he was head coach of Huddersfield Giants, having been appointed in 2003 when Tony Smith left the club for Leeds Rhinos. He was also part of the Great Britain coaching set-up under head coach...
- Lyle SheltonLyle SheltonLyle Shelton was an American aviator who set the world's absolute propeller-driven 3-kilometer speed record of 528.329 mph. He won ten Unlimited air races, the most of any pilot, and six national championships, second only to Darryl Greenamyer...
- Drake Solomon
- Roscoe TurnerRoscoe TurnerRoscoe Turner was an aviator who was a three time winner of the Thompson Trophy.-Background:Turner was born in Corinth, Mississippi, the eldest son of a poor but respectable farmer. He came to realize that he did not want to be a farmer and found that he was attracted to mechanical devices instead...
- Steve WittmanSteve WittmanSylvester Joseph "Steve" Wittman was an air-racer and aircraft designer and builder.Wittman gained his pilot's license in 1924 in a Standard J-1 and built his first aircraft, the Harley powered "Hardly Abelson" later that same year.From 1925 to 1927 he had his own flying service, giving joyrides...
- Jimmy Wedell
Still active air races
- Red Bull Air Race World Championship
- Reno Air RacesReno Air RacesThe Reno Air Races, also known as the National Championship Air Races, take place each September at the Reno Stead Airport a few miles north of Reno, Nevada, USA...
- Aero GPAero GPAero GP is an international air racing series with up to eight specially designed high-performance sports planes all racing together at speeds of up to around a tight circuit just metres off the ground and from each other. The competing pilots are military and civilian pilots from around the world...
- Sky Challenge Air Race
Cultural depictions
- Set in the 1930s, the movie Porco RossoPorco RossoPorco Rosso, known in Japan as is the sixth anime film directed by Hayao Miyazaki, produced by Studio Ghibli and released in 1992, of an Italian World War I fighter ace, now living as a freelance bounty hunter chasing "air pirates" in the Adriatic Sea. The man has been cursed and transformed into...
briefly touches on the early days of air racing. - "The RocketeerThe RocketeerThe Rocketeer is a superhero created by writer/illustrator Dave Stevens. The character first appeared in 1982 and is a homage to the Saturday matinee heroes of the 1930s and 1940s....
" comic books feature air racing prominently as the story is set during the 1930s. - The 1965 film Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesThose Magnificent Men in Their Flying MachinesThose Magnificent Men in their Flying Machines, Or How I Flew from London to Paris in 25 Hours 11 Minutes is a 1965 British comedy film starring Stuart Whitman and directed and co-written by Ken Annakin...
depicts a £10,000-prize air race between London and Paris. The film takes place in 1910 and utilizes many authentic reproductions of airplanes from that era.