The forerunner of the National Air Races at Cleveland was the Pulitzer Trophy Race. The first one was held on Thanksgiving Day 1920, at Mitchell Field, Long Island. At the time of the first race, America's planes were getting a top speed of 180 mph while the French, who had become heavily involved with military aviation after World War I, built planes reaching speeds close to 200 mph. However, the Pulitzer series of races brought the winning average speed up from 156 mph in 1920 to 248 mph in 1925.
These Pulitzer races produced several other beneficial technological developments, but also perpetuated the mistaken belief that the biplane configuration had more potential for high speed than the monoplane. This belief may have put America as much as 5 years behind Europe in the development of the monoplane.
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Curtiss R6 - Won the 1922 Pulitzer with an average speed of 205.8 mph. |
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Laird Super Solution - Piloted by Jimmy Doolittle, won the 1932 Bendix Trophy. |
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Verville-Packard - Won the 1920 Pulitzer with an average speed of 156.5. |
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