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Tony’s Short Stories: The National Air Races of 1927


I have another story that I’d like to share with you. It’s not the typical tale in Tony’s Short Stories, but it holds a special significance for my father. At first, I didn’t quite understand why he saved this article, but as I delved into the biography of Jimmy Doolittle, I stumbled upon a surprising connection. Mr. Doolittle, it turns out, was a participant in the 1927 National Air Races. It’s these unexpected connections that make this story so intriguing.

It’s funny how things seem to fall into place or are gently guided by some unknown influence. Coincidences and my father’s fascination with the 1927 National Air Races led me to this story. Either way, it’s all good with me, so let’s proceed with this story.

For those interested, I’ve compiled a comprehensive summary of the race results and a complete list of all the pilots who participated, located at the bottom of this post, along with a downloadable PDF of the original article. A wealth of information will give you a thorough understanding of this historic event. Enjoy the story!

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Popular Aviation, November 1927

The National Air Races, The Event of the Year

On September 21 at 2:17 pm, the watchers at Felts Fields, Spokane Washington, were rewarded for the hours of waiting by seeing N.C. Lippiatt, in a Travelair, cross the finish line as the winner of the class “A” division in the race from San Francisco.

From that time until long after five o’clock the Air Derby entrants from both San Francisco and New York arrived at intervals. Of the fifteen starters from New York in Class “A,” for planes of greater than 100 horsepower, the first four to place were:

C. W. Holman, St. Paul (Laird).

E. E. Balough, Chicago (Laird).

N. B. Mamer, Spokane (Buhl).

J. P. Wood, Wausau, Wis. (Waco).

Of the twenty-five starters in Class”B” that left New York the first four to place were:

C. W. Meyers, Detroit (Waco).

J. S. Charles, Richmond (Eaglerock).

E. Dettmers, Tarrytown (Travel-air).

L. Miller, Des Moines (Eaglerock).

Four of the five entries in Class “A” from San Francisco finished in the following order:

N. C. Lippiatt (Travelair).

Lee Schoenhair (International).

Vance Breese (Breese).

Jack Frye (Fokker).

The first three arrivals from San Francisco in Class “B” were:

C. L. Langdon (International).

D. C. Warren (Travelair).

Lee Willey (Eaglerock).

The flyers from San Francisco reported good flying al the way, with the exception of the Columbia Valley, which was rather foggy. However, the New York racers had many experiences that made the race a hard one. Holman lost a tire taking off at Butte and had to land at Spokane on one wheel. Dettmers finished third in spite of much trouble, flying a straight compass course at nearly 8,000 feet elevation. At one time his magneto became water soaked and he had to make a forced landing and waste nearly half an hour in repairs. He lost another fifteen minutes repairing a gasoline feed line. At Missoula he blew a tire in landing.

The nonstop flight from New York to Spokane was not finished. The two entrants were compelled to land and thus disqualify themselves.

In the Aviation Town and Country Club event, for speed and efficiency, held on the 23d, James Ray of Willow Grove, Pa., in a Pitcairn sesquiplane, raced to first place with an average speed of 138.394 miles per hour, with E. E. Ballough of Chicago winning second with 132.361 miles per hour, in his Laird Commercial. 

The same two then proceeded to win the Seattle Chamber of Commerce trophy races in the same order. 

Lieut. W. C. Cornelius of Selfridge Field, Michigan, flying in the first event for military planes, won the pursuit race with an average speed of 155.412 miles per hour. Lieut. I.A. Woodring was second with 155.046 miles per hour for the sixty mile race around the six-mile course. 

Lieut. L.C. Mallory was third with an average speed of 153.66 miles per hour.

In the speed and efficiency race for commercial ships for the trophy offered by the Detroit News, F. N. Hawks of Houston, Texas, won first place in his Ryan brougham, with an average speed of 104.837 miles per hour. Jack Frye, Los Angeles, in a Fokker Universal, was second, with 100.065 miles per hour, and John H. Miller, Milwaukee, third, in a Hamilton at 96.509 miles per hour.

The following day in the speed contest for the Liberty engine builder’s trophy, two specially motored Curtiss ships won the first two places with ease. Lieut. H. A. Johnson of Wright Field won first with 170.156 miles per hour, with Lieut. G. A. McHenry of Fort Crockett, Texas, second.

The race for commercial planes was won by Eugene Dettmers of Tarrytown, N. Y., in a Travelair, who averaged 102.548 miles per hour for 80 miles. Paul Richter, Jr., of Los Angeles, won second in his Eaglerock, and C. W. Meyers, of Troy, Ohio, in a Waco, was third.

The army’s giant tri-motored Fokker from Boling Field, Washington, piloted by Lieut. W. H. Beaton, of Langley Field, won the Packard Motor Company trophy race for capacity planes over a distance of sixty miles. The speed average was 115.198 miles per hour. Lieut. W. H. Doolittle of Selfridge Field came in second in the Douglas transport, with an average of 100.343 miles per hour, while Lieut. T. K. Koenig of Crissy Field, was third in a Douglas, with an average of 81.285 miles per hour.

E. B. Heath of Chicago won two races without competition in his midget Heath parasol, owing to the withdrawal of Jack Irwin of Sacramento Cal.

Immediately at the close of the races at Spokane the field of over 65 planes left for Portland, Ore., for the additional races that were to be held at that city as a dedication of the new Swan Island Airport.

“Speed” Holman was the first airman to arrive, making the trip from Spokane in order to look the route of the race over before making the attempt the following day. 

On September 27 the military planes arrived in Portland and the inhabitants were treated to 

formation and stunt flying by the crack flyers of the army and national guard. 

In the afternoon the racers in both Class A and B began to arrive, Holman winning first place by 27 seconds. E. E. Ballough was second and Nick Mamer third, with Lippiatt and Schoenhair coming in fourth and fifth.

Terrific rains in both Seattle and Portland led to the postponement of the class B race. A temporary decision to postpone the Class A race left several of the entrants out of it, and they retired from the field without being notified later that the Class A race would be held.

Defying adverse weather conditions, Portland’s air derby was carried out on September 30th and witnessed by thousands of spectators who waited for the flyers for hours in a drenching rain on Swan Island aviation field.

The first to cross the finish line in the Class “B” events, Spokane to Portland race, was Leslie C. Miller of Des Moines, Ia., in his Eaglerock biplane. Close behind Miller came the winner of second place, C. W. Meyers of Detroit, flying a Waco biplane. Others of the 13 contestants continued to arrive during the afternoon. 

The crowd at all times was intensely interested in the speedy field program, which was run of in nice shape despite the heavy rain. At one time there were 65 machines lined up along the field, and each the best of its type.

The stunt contest between Lieut. Doolittle of the army and Lieut. Sanderson of the marine corps proved most popular, as they both turned loose everything they had in the pursuit plane race. While the race was won by Lieut. Jeter flying a navy Boeing, the big performance of the race was staged by Doolittle, who pressed Jeter all the way and showed his rudder to the other two navy contestants, both piloting planes of superior power.

Doolittle was piloting an army Curtiss, with a horse power of 435 as compared with the 512 horse power of the navy planes. Theoretically fourth place was the best the stunt flyer could expect.

But theory was not traveling as a passenger with the determined and misnamed Mr. Doolittle. He made up for his lack of power by skillful handling. He flew close to the ground along the river every foot of the 35 mile race-about 500 feet lower than the other pilots. He banked at steep angles on the turns. The net results was that he came in on the heels of

his faster rival with an average speed of 140.93 miles an hour. Lieut. Jeter averaged 146.96 miles an hour for the course. Another army flyer, Lieut. Cornelius, made a great race against Lieut. Regan of the navy, but the faster plane won third with an average speed of 140.41. Cornelius was fourth with an average of 136.16. Lieut. Woodring came in fifth and Lieut. Commander Bogan of the navy sixth.

Despite continuous downpour both the army and navy stunt flyers entertained the huge crowd and it was difficult for the judges to pick out the winner, both Sanderson and Doolittle’s work being practically on a par. However Doolittle was given first place on account of his entering all events of the day.

In the ten lap speed race for commercial airplanes J. P. Wood of Wausau, Wis., flying a white Waco, won with an average time of 111.3 miles an hour. M. B. (Nick) Mamer of Spokane, flying a Buhl airster, was second, averaging 100.04 miles hour.

The race for observation planes, a strictly military event, brought out a dozen army, navy, and marine corps biplanes, evenly divided between DeHavilands and Douglas o-2s. The ten lap race was won by Lieut. Taylor of the army in a Douglas. A DeHaviland, piloted by Lieut. Beverly of the army, annexed second, and two Douglases, with Lieuts. Burgess and Grant, both army, got third and fourth. Taylor’s average for the distance was 106.92 miles an hour.

Only three planes were entered in the smal commercial ox5 race, which was won by C. W.

Meyers, Detroit, in a Waco 10 biplane. Paul E. Richter, Jr., Los Angeles, flying his Eaglerock biplane, took second. Tex Rankin, third entrant, dropped out before the completion of the race, when he saw that his low-powered Waco was unable to keep up the pace. Meyers made the five laps in 13 minutes 26.27 seconds for an average of 83.87 miles an hour. Richter made the course in13 minutes and 40.63 seconds, an average of 82.45 miles an hour. Prizes were $100 and $50. 



The 1927 National Air Races, as covered in the article from Popular Aviation, November 1927, were a significant event in early aviation history. Held in Spokane, Washington, this competition showcased the skill and determination of pilots in various categories and the challenges they faced in the early days of aviation.

Race Winners:

  • N.C. Lippiatt won the Class “A” race from San Francisco in a Travelair.
  • Top finishers from New York in Class “A” were C.W. Holman, E.E. Balough, N.B. Mamer, and J.P. Wood.
  • Class “B” winners included C.W. Meyers, J.S. Charles, E. Dettmers, and L. Miller.

Significant Events:

  • James Ray won the Aviation Town and Country Club event with a speed of 138.394 mph.
  • Lieut. W.C. Cornelius won the pursuit race for military planes with a speed of 155.412 mph.
  • F.N. Hawks won the commercial ships race in a Ryan Brougham at 104.837 mph.

Challenges:

  • Despite their best efforts, the New York to Spokane nonstop flight entrants had to land due to unforeseen weather conditions, which unfortunately disqualified them from the race. The New York racers faced many challenges, from tire blowouts to mechanical issues. These were not just races but tests of endurance and resilience. These challenges indeed highlight the determination and courage of these early aviators.

Additional Races:

  • After Spokane, races continued for the Swan Island Airport dedication in Portland, Oregon.
  • Notable performances included the military plane race and stunt flying by Lieut. Doolittle and others, despite adverse weather.


Overall, the article highlights the achievements and challenges of the pilots in various categories, emphasizing the skill and determination required in early aviation competitions.

Here is a list of all the pilots mentioned in the article, in no particular order:

  1. N.C. Lippiatt
  2. C.W. Holman
  3. E.E. Balough
  4. N.B. Mamer
  5. J.P. Wood
  6. C.W. Meyers
  7. J.S. Charles
  8. E. Dettmers
  9. L. Miller
  10. Lee Schoenhair
  11. Vance Breese
  12. Jack Frye
  13. C.L. Langdon
  14. D.C. Warren
  15. Lee Willey
  16. James Ray
  17. Lieut. W.C. Cornelius
  18. Lieut. I.A. Woodring
  19. Lieut. L.C. Mallory
  20. F.N. Hawks
  21. John H. Miller
  22. Lieut. H.A. Johnson
  23. Lieut. G.A. McHenry
  24. Paul Richter Jr.
  25. Lieut. W.H. Beaton
  26. Lieut. W.H. Doolittle
  27. Lieut. T.K. Koenig
  28. E.B. Heath
  29. Jack Irwin
  30. Lieut. Jeter
  31. Lieut. Regan
  32. Lieut. Commander Bogan
  33. Lieut. Sanderson
  34. Lieut. Taylor
  35. Lieut. Beverly
  36. Lieut. Burgess
  37. Lieut. Grant
  38. Tex Rankin

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