National Air Races - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The National Air Races were a series of pylon

Pylon turn

A pylon turn is a flight maneuver in which an aircraft banks into a circular turn, in such a way that an imaginary line perpendicular to aircraft's axis points to a fixed point on the ground...

and cross-country races

Air racing

- 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...

that took place in the United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

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 showcase for this.

History

In 1920 publisher Ralph Pulitzer

Ralph Pulitzer

Influential publisher and socialite Ralph Pulitzer was the son of newspaper magnate Joseph Pulitzer and upon Pulitzer's death acquired control of the New York World, an influential American newspaper...

sponsored the Pulitzer Trophy Race for military airplanes at Roosevelt Field, Long Island

Long Island

Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...

, New York

New York

New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...

, in an effort to publicize aviation and his newspaper. The races eventually moved to Cleveland

Cleveland, Ohio

Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

and then they were known as the Cleveland National Air Races. They drew the best flyers of the time, including James Doolittle

Jimmy Doolittle

General 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...

, Wiley Post

Wiley Post

Wiley Hardeman Post was a famed American aviator, the first pilot to fly solo around the world. Also known for his work in high altitude flying, Post helped develop one of the first pressure suits. His Lockheed Vega aircraft, the Winnie Mae, was on display at the National Air and Space Museum's...

, Tex Rankin, Frank Hawks

Frank Hawks

Frank Monroe Hawks served in the U.S. Army in World War I and was known during the 1920s and 1930s as a record breaking aviator, using a series of Texaco-sponsored aircraft, setting 214 point-to-point records in the United States and Europe...

, Jimmie Wedell, Roscoe Turner

Roscoe Turner

Roscoe 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...

, and others from the pioneer age of aviation. These air races helped to inspire Donald Blakeslee

Donald Blakeslee

Donald James Matthew Blakeslee was an officer in the United States Air Force, whose career began as a pilot in the Royal Canadian Air Force and flew Spitfire fighter aircraft, during World War II. He then became a member of the Royal Air Force Eagle squadrons...

as a young boy.

The races usually ran for up to 10 days, usually at the end of August. During World War II

World War II

World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...

the races were on hiatus.

The races included a variety of events, including cross-country races that ended in Cleveland, landing contests, glider demonstrations, airship flights, and parachute-jumping contests. The most popular event was the Thompson Trophy Race

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...

, a closed-course race where aviators raced their planes around pylons, and the Bendix Trophy Race

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...

across most of the USA.

In 1929 California to Cleveland were the start and end for the first 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...

, which developed into the All Women's Transcontinental Air Race, nicknamed Powder Puff Derby, that featured well-known female pilots such as Amelia Earhart

Amelia Earhart

Amelia Mary Earhart was a noted American aviation pioneer and author. Earhart was the first woman to receive the U.S. Distinguished Flying Cross, awarded for becoming the first aviatrix to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean...

, Pancho Barnes

Pancho Barnes

Florence Lowe "Pancho" Barnes was a pioneer aviator, the founder of the first test pilots union and the owner of the Happy Bottom Riding Club, a bar and restaurant. She broke Amelia Earhart's air speed record in 1930...

, Bobbi Trout

Bobbi Trout

Evelyn "Bobbi" Trout was an early female aviator notable for her pioneering flying activities. Trout began her aviation career at the age of 16 however her first solo flight and solo certificate was only given on April 30, 1928. In the spring of 1928, Trout’s mother bought her an International K-6...

, and Louise Thaden

Louise Thaden

Iris Louise McPhetridge Thaden was an aviation pioneer, holder of numerous aviation records, and the first woman to win the Bendix Trophy.-Birth and education:...

. The 1929 winner was Louise Thaden.

When the races resumed after World War II, they featured newer surplus military planes that greatly outclassed the planes from the pre-war era. In 1949 Bill Odom lost control of his P-51

P-51 Mustang

The North American Aviation P-51 Mustang was an American long-range, single-seat fighter and fighter-bomber used during World War II, the Korean War and in several other conflicts...

"Beguine" and crashed into a home, killing himself and two people inside. The races went on hiatus again.

The annual event resumed in 1964 as the Reno National Championship 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...

, taking place in mid-September. The Cleveland National Air Show

Cleveland National Air Show

The Cleveland National Air Show is an annual air show held on Labor Day weekend at Burke Lakefront Airport in Cleveland, Ohio. It was established in 1964 as an indirect successor to the National Air Races. The show includes stunt airplanes, modern fighters and alternates between the Blue Angels and...

also began in 1964.

National Air Races were run by U.S. Air Race, Inc. from 1995-2007. The company was founded by famed World Race Gold Medalist Marion P. Jayne and after her death from cancer in 1996, was run by her daughter Patricia Jayne (Pat) Keefer, 1994 World Race Gold Medalist. Under Keefer's leadership, the events tabulated a perfect safety record with nearly 600,000 miles raced, over 3,200 safe landings at 81 different airports in 43 states and two countries in 25 events. With the help of hundreds of volunteers and over 250 different sponsors she awarded 26 Learn-to-Fly scholarships and reached an estimated 20 million people with a positive message about General Aviation. http://www.us-airrace.org/

Locations and dates

1920 Roosevelt Field, New York on November 27
1921 Omaha, NE November 5
1922 Detroit, MI from October 12-14
1923 Robertson, MO (as the International Air Races) from October 6 to 8
1924 Dayton, OH from October 2 to 4
1925 Mitchel Field, L.I., NY from October 8 to 13
1926 Philadelphia, PA, from September 4-13
1927 Spokane, WA from September 19-25
1928 Los Angeles, CA from September 8-16
1929 Cleveland, OH from Aug. 24 to Sept. 2
1930 Chicago, IL from August 23 to September 01
1931 Cleveland, OH from August 29 to September 07
1932 Cleveland, OH from August 27 to September 05
1933 Los Angeles, CA from July 1-4
1934 Cleveland, OH from Aug. 31-Sept. 4
1935 Cleveland, OH from Aug. 30-Sept. 2
1936 Los Angeles, CA from Sept. 4-7
1937 Cleveland, OH from Sept. 3-7
1938 Cleveland, OH from Sept. 3-5
1939 Cleveland, OH from Sept. 2-5
1942 to 1945 Hiatus for WWII
1946 Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Cuyahoga County, the most populous county in the state. The city is located in northeastern Ohio on the southern shore of Lake Erie, approximately west of the Pennsylvania border...

from August 30, 1946 to September 2, 1946
1947 Cleveland, OH from Aug. 30-Sept. 1
1948 Cleveland, OH from Sept. 4-6
1949 Cleveland, OH from Sept. 3-5
1950 to 1963 Hiatus after crash
1964 Resumption as National Championships in Reno, NV
1964 Indirect successor as the Cleveland National Air Show

External links

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