The Skyracers Speed Kings of Aviations Golden Age PDF
Preview The Skyracers Speed Kings of Aviations Golden Age
HARIN COUNTY FREE LIBRARY 31111QQ399Q89Q HE SKYRACERS Grosset Library Edition Lib. Ed. $4.59 THE SKYRACERS SPEED KINGS OF AVIATION'S GOLDEN AGE JOSEPH E HOOD The history of flight has many highlights and heroes, but the bold airmen we call the Sky- racers were a breed apart. These were the speedstersofthe 1920sand 1930swhopushed the airplanes of that period to the limit of their performance, thus paving the way for the great military and commercial aircraft of the future. Inthosebygonedays ofpopularairraces and record-shattering flights, daring young men— and women—in their flying machines set out to conquer the twin enemies of time and dis- tance. The pilot, of coufse, was the dashing figure whose accomplishments the public cheered,and rightlyso.But there wereothers, too, who played major roles in this historic assault on the clock—the planners, the de- signers and the visionaries who saw the air- plane as the key vehicle of the age that lay ahead. Subsequent developments bore out the predictions of these far-seeing prophets. The era ofthe Skyracers was a time in which aircraft and theories were put to the test in famouscompetitionsheldintheUnitedStates and Europe: the International Air Meet, the Schneider Trophy, the Daily Mail Prize, the PulitzerTrophy, the National Air Races, the French Aero Club, the Dole Derby, and the Bendix Cup Races. Crack pilots and their racing planes fought it out for supremacy in these celebrated contests, pitting their skill, endurance and courage against the gods of speed and fate. Their names today are legion, from such early racers as Santos-Dumont and Lincoln Beachey to their famed successors in the fol- lowing decades: Jimmy Doolittle, Frank Hawks, Al Williams, Roscoe Turner, Jacque- line Cochran,Clyde Pangborn, AmyJohnson and Benny Howard. (Continuedon hackflap) msi( ES ADVENTURES IN FLIGHT THE SKYRACERS SPEED KINGS OF AVIATION'S GOLDEN AGE by JOSEPH HOOD F. (T GROSSET & DUNLAP PUBLISHERS NEW YORK — To Mamie who had a lot to do with getting me started. I wish to express my appreciation to Don Ber- liner, of the Professional Race Pilots Association, for the assistance he so willingly provided. J.F.H. Photo research by Don Dwiggins Photo Credits: Smithsonian Institution National Air and Space Museum, 10, 19, 22, 27, 29, 32, 34, 42, 52, 55, 76, 81 bottom, 104 top, 112 top, 130 top, 140 top; Los Angeles County Museum, 12, 16; Security Pacific National Bank of Los Angeles, 14; H. O. Parks, 18; E. D. Weeks, 21; Don Dwiggins, 24, 25, 113 bottom, 134, 142, 147, 150, 154; United States Air Force, 36, 38, 39, 41, 43, 46, 49, 70, 73, 74, 79, 81 top, 94, 97, 103, 106, 109, 112 bottom, 113 top, 120, 122, 151, 152; McDonnell Douglas Corporation, 58, 62, 63, 126; Martin Jensen, 83; Denham Scott, 84, 86; Art Goebel, 85; Cliff Henderson, 88; Lockheed-California Company, 91, 104 bottom, 119; Gordon Williams, The Boeing Company, 92; Scholer Bangs, 99, 137 bottom; Rudy Profant, 100, 116, 123, 130 bottom, 132, 140 bottom; E. M. Laird, 108; Estate of Paul Mantz, 110, 115; Northrop Aircraft Corporation, 135; Louise Thaden, 137 top; Vincent Bendix, 119, 141, 144. COPYRIGHT © 1969 BY JOSEPH F. HOOD ALL RIGHTS RESERVED PUBLISHED SIMULTANEOUSLY IN CANADA LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOG CARD NUMBER: 68-29962 PRINTED IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA CONTENTS ON DOWNY FEATHERS 1. 11 2. ATLANTIC CONQUEST 23 3. THE WINGS GROW STRONGER 37 4. IF AT FIRST YOU DONT SUCCEED ... 47 5. WORLD FLIGHT 59 6. SHAVE THOSE PYLONS! 67 7. FASTER AND FARTHER 77 8. THE FLYING BARREL 98 9. THE PRICE OF RACING 111 HOMESTRETCH 10. 127 11. AN END AND A BEGINNING 145 Recommended Reading 156 Index 157 FOREWORD Today, in the dawn of the space age, we have accustomed ourselves to thinking of speed in terms—that only a generation ago were almo—st unimagi- nable. Supersonic planes already common in military service will soon- be available to the commercial air traveler, and manned space capsules orbit the earth in eighty minutes. In these times, the old fashioned concept of competitive air racing has lost much of its meaning, except as a pure sport. Closed-course pylon racing still survives, along with an occasional long-distance event. But it doesn't generate the public interest it once did because speed in the air has reached such a point that there no longer seems to be much left to prove. As a testing arena for airplane design and human resourcefulness, air racing has had its day. But it was a glorious day. In the nineteen twenties, when aviation was in its infancy, and in the thirties, when it was growing up, air racing of all kinds offered much mor—e than thrills. It provided a stimulu—s for pilots, designers and mechanics often, one man qualified as all three to vie with one another in working out new ideas calculated to increase the speed, range and endurance of their planes. In the process, they developed new methods and systems that later found their way into both military and commercial flying, thus benefiting all aviation. Racing was not limited to "pylon polishing," nor was it always organized. Sometimes, there was no prize money involved at all, and the knowledge that he had just set some sort of record was often a pilot's only rewards for his bravery and ingenuity. At a time when flying the ocean was still a rare accom- plishment, it may be said that any flier who succeded in even making it across deserved a trophy. Yet, many were willing to settle for a deep, inner satisfac- tion. For them, it was enough. Those were dangerous days for airman. But they were great ones.
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