air navigation and meteorology 2th ed 1928

While attending the 1928 National Air Races (NAR), Earl entered number 99 in the 75-mile, “Free-for-All” race and easily won the event, adding another $1,200 to his winnings. Including additional cash awards for achieving lowest elapsed times between certain control points, Earl corralled $10,910 to split between himself and Clyde Cessna.

Later that day he was given checks totaling $4,000 from the Richfield and Kendall oil companies, sponsors of the event. Rowland was officially declared the winner in the Class A division, earning $5,000 for his efforts.

After a grueling five days of hard flying, Cessna number 99 landed gently on the grass of Mines Field near Los Angeles, followed only one minute later by Dake and the American Moth. At the El Paso control point, Earl had stretched his lead to more than one hour, but the western half of the nation still lay ahead. When the silver Cessna landed at Fort Worth, Texas, it had amassed a lead of more than 30 minutes over the American Moth. Earl was flying a tough, disciplined race, calculating every step and navigating with extreme precision between control points. (Joan Laird Post)Īfter flying for 10 hours, Rowland was 28 minutes ahead of arch rival Dake. One of the famous air racing pilots of that era was James Harold “Jimmy” Doolittle, who posed for the camera with the Laird “Super Solution” biplane he raced during 1931. 1 Air racing became increasingly popular in the late 1920s and into the early 1930s and evolved into a national pastime that rivaled major league baseball. Lloyd Stearman had no objection, and Clyde quickly assigned Earl to fly the silver monoplane bearing race number 99. Rowland had been a pilot for the Stearman Aircraft Company in the summer of 1928 when he became interested in flying the Cessna Model AW in the Air Derby. Cessna was confident that Rowland would be victorious in the Class A division because of the monoplane’s speed and the fuel economy of its Warner powerplant. Minutes later 26 other airplanes followed, including Earl Rowland and the Model AW. At precisely 5:43 a.m., the official starter dropped the red flag as the first airplane took off for Los Angeles, 2,840 statute miles away. Both airplanes featured seven-cylinder static, air-cooled Warner Scarab radial engines. Clyde and his fellow aviators reviewed estimated fuel and oil consumption, the best power settings to use, and emphasized the necessity of accurate dead-reckoning navigation between the 16 control points that defined the route westward.Īmong the 35 pilots competing in the Class A segment, Rowland knew he and the Model AW would face tough competition from Robert Dake and his American Moth parasol monoplane. Clyde had entered six monoplanes in the event – one Model AA flown by Cessna and Curtiss Quick, a Model AW piloted by Earl Rowland, and four Model BW ships flown by Cessna dealers and distributors. It was still dark when the president of the Cessna Aircraft Company called a meeting of his pilots to discuss final preparations for the race. By 4 a.m., the flight line was bustling with activity as pilots double-checked their aircraft, mechanics changed spark plugs and adjusted carburetors, and fuel trucks darted from ship-to-ship topping off fuel and oil tanks.Ī total of $57,500 in prize money was up for grabs, and Clyde Cessna was determined to win his share of the bounty. On September 5, 1928, 47 pilots prepared to depart Long Island’s Roosevelt Field on the first leg of the New York-to-Los Angeles Air Derby. Cessna once said, “Speed is the only reason for flying,” and from 1928-1932 Wichita’s grand patriarch of aviation backed up that claim by competing in air races that propelled the Cessna Aircraft Company to new heights of success.

Air navigation and meteorology 2th ed 1928