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- Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland, 2nd Place Winner, Pulitzer Air Race, October 14, 1922 - Air races provided pilots and manufacturers with an opportunity to test new technologies and show them off to enthusiastic audiences. The annual National Air Races were the premier competition in the United States from the 1920s through the 1940s. Publisher Ralph Pulitzer sponsored the event's top prize. Russell Maughan won the 1922 contest held near Mount Clemens, Michigan.
- October 14, 1922
- Collections - Artifact
Lieutenant Lester J. Maitland, 2nd Place Winner, Pulitzer Air Race, October 14, 1922
Air races provided pilots and manufacturers with an opportunity to test new technologies and show them off to enthusiastic audiences. The annual National Air Races were the premier competition in the United States from the 1920s through the 1940s. Publisher Ralph Pulitzer sponsored the event's top prize. Russell Maughan won the 1922 contest held near Mount Clemens, Michigan.
- "A Johnstone Spiral," 1910 - Ralph Johnstone was a trick bicycle rider before learning to fly and joining the Wright brothers' exhibition team. He set an altitude record of 8,471 feet in the skies over Belmont Park, New York, on October 27, 1910. Three weeks later, Johnstone died when his Wright Model B crashed in Denver, Colorado.
- 1910
- Collections - Artifact
"A Johnstone Spiral," 1910
Ralph Johnstone was a trick bicycle rider before learning to fly and joining the Wright brothers' exhibition team. He set an altitude record of 8,471 feet in the skies over Belmont Park, New York, on October 27, 1910. Three weeks later, Johnstone died when his Wright Model B crashed in Denver, Colorado.
- Parade in New York City in Honor of Richard Byrd's Transatlantic Flight, 1927 - Richard Byrd, Bernt Balchen, Bert Acosta, and George Noville made a nonstop flight from New York to France in 1927 with their Fokker Tri-Motor <em>America</em>. They intended to land in Paris, but instead landed off the Normandy coast. Byrd and his team were honored for their accomplishment. He and Noville -- both Navy officers -- received the Navy's Distinguished Flying Cross.
- 1927
- Collections - Artifact
Parade in New York City in Honor of Richard Byrd's Transatlantic Flight, 1927
Richard Byrd, Bernt Balchen, Bert Acosta, and George Noville made a nonstop flight from New York to France in 1927 with their Fokker Tri-Motor America. They intended to land in Paris, but instead landed off the Normandy coast. Byrd and his team were honored for their accomplishment. He and Noville -- both Navy officers -- received the Navy's Distinguished Flying Cross.
- General Mason Patrick Congratulates Lieutenant Erik Nelson, Winner of the Detroit News Air Mail Trophy Race, October 1922 - Air races provided pilots and manufacturers with an opportunity to test new technologies and show them off to enthusiastic audiences. The annual National Air Races were the premier competition in the United States from the 1920s through the 1940s. Publisher Ralph Pulitzer sponsored the event's top prize. Russell Maughan won the 1922 contest held near Mount Clemens, Michigan.
- October 01, 1922
- Collections - Artifact
General Mason Patrick Congratulates Lieutenant Erik Nelson, Winner of the Detroit News Air Mail Trophy Race, October 1922
Air races provided pilots and manufacturers with an opportunity to test new technologies and show them off to enthusiastic audiences. The annual National Air Races were the premier competition in the United States from the 1920s through the 1940s. Publisher Ralph Pulitzer sponsored the event's top prize. Russell Maughan won the 1922 contest held near Mount Clemens, Michigan.
- Crowd Watching Wilbur Wright Preparing the Flyer, France, 1908-1909 - Wilbur Wright's many demonstration flights in France in 1908 and 1909 were spectacular events. Some in Europe had begun to doubt the Wrights' achievement at Kill Devil Hills. When Wilbur took to the skies over Le Mans, demonstrating more control and achieving more distance than his rivals, crowds flocked to watch his apparent mastery of the airplane. The skeptics were silenced.
- 1908-1909
- Collections - Artifact
Crowd Watching Wilbur Wright Preparing the Flyer, France, 1908-1909
Wilbur Wright's many demonstration flights in France in 1908 and 1909 were spectacular events. Some in Europe had begun to doubt the Wrights' achievement at Kill Devil Hills. When Wilbur took to the skies over Le Mans, demonstrating more control and achieving more distance than his rivals, crowds flocked to watch his apparent mastery of the airplane. The skeptics were silenced.
- Ruth Elder in her Prize Winning Costume, Balboa, Panama, 1926 - Ruth Elder planned to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. On October 11, 1927, Elder and co-pilot George Haldeman took off in their Stinson Detroiter <em>American Girl</em>. An oil leak forced them to ditch in the ocean some 360 miles short of land. Still, the 2,623 miles Elder covered set a new distance record for a female pilot.
- 1926
- Collections - Artifact
Ruth Elder in her Prize Winning Costume, Balboa, Panama, 1926
Ruth Elder planned to be the first woman to fly across the Atlantic. On October 11, 1927, Elder and co-pilot George Haldeman took off in their Stinson Detroiter American Girl. An oil leak forced them to ditch in the ocean some 360 miles short of land. Still, the 2,623 miles Elder covered set a new distance record for a female pilot.
- Amelia Earhart in the Avro-Avian Biplane Received from Lady Heath, 1928 - World-renowned Irish pilot Mary, Lady Heath, was an inspiration to Amelia Earhart. After Lady Heath took Earhart for a flight in her Avro Avian biplane, which Heath had flown solo from South Africa to Great Britain, Earhart was so impressed that she bought the aircraft and shipped it back to the United States. Soon Earhart's own fame eclipsed Lady Heath's.
- 1928
- Collections - Artifact
Amelia Earhart in the Avro-Avian Biplane Received from Lady Heath, 1928
World-renowned Irish pilot Mary, Lady Heath, was an inspiration to Amelia Earhart. After Lady Heath took Earhart for a flight in her Avro Avian biplane, which Heath had flown solo from South Africa to Great Britain, Earhart was so impressed that she bought the aircraft and shipped it back to the United States. Soon Earhart's own fame eclipsed Lady Heath's.
- Amelia Earhart Meets Richard Byrd aboard SS President Roosevelt, Returning from the Transatlantic Flight, July 6, 1928 - Amelia Earhart was congratulated by explorer Richard Byrd for her 1928 flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Earhart, riding as a passenger with pilot Wilmer Stultz and mechanic Louis Gordon, made the crossing in a Fokker F.VII Tri-Motor airplane. Byrd used a similar Fokker on his North Pole flight in 1926.
- July 06, 1928
- Collections - Artifact
Amelia Earhart Meets Richard Byrd aboard SS President Roosevelt, Returning from the Transatlantic Flight, July 6, 1928
Amelia Earhart was congratulated by explorer Richard Byrd for her 1928 flight across the Atlantic Ocean. Earhart, riding as a passenger with pilot Wilmer Stultz and mechanic Louis Gordon, made the crossing in a Fokker F.VII Tri-Motor airplane. Byrd used a similar Fokker on his North Pole flight in 1926.
- Elinor Smith after Record-Breaking Women's Endurance Flight, 1929 - Elinor Smith took her first flight at age six and earned a pilot's license at 16. She made headlines flying under New York City bridges in 1928, but more serious pursuits earned Smith a series of endurance, speed, and altitude records for a female pilot. Smith piloted an airplane for the last time in 2001, at the age of 89.
- April 23, 1929
- Collections - Artifact
Elinor Smith after Record-Breaking Women's Endurance Flight, 1929
Elinor Smith took her first flight at age six and earned a pilot's license at 16. She made headlines flying under New York City bridges in 1928, but more serious pursuits earned Smith a series of endurance, speed, and altitude records for a female pilot. Smith piloted an airplane for the last time in 2001, at the age of 89.
- Ruth Law in Curtiss Pusher Aircraft, circa 1915 - Ruth Law earned her pilot's license in 1912 and soon developed a taste for aerobatics and record breaking. In 1916 she flew 590 nonstop miles from Chicago to the state of New York. During World War I, Law argued unsuccessfully for women to fly in combat roles. Law continued to set records until she retired from flying in 1922.
- circa 1915
- Collections - Artifact
Ruth Law in Curtiss Pusher Aircraft, circa 1915
Ruth Law earned her pilot's license in 1912 and soon developed a taste for aerobatics and record breaking. In 1916 she flew 590 nonstop miles from Chicago to the state of New York. During World War I, Law argued unsuccessfully for women to fly in combat roles. Law continued to set records until she retired from flying in 1922.