This past Saturday, May 23, 2009, marked the 100th anniversary of competitive Air Racing. Although other Aeronautical Competitions had been attempted, this was the first time that the Rules of the Competition had been adequately adhered to by at least one registered pilot and prize money was awarded.
 Photos courtesy of Anders Bruun.
The site for this event, where else, but the world's first airport. Or should I say, the world's first patch of grass with hangers erected for the storage of aircraft. "Port-Aviation", as it was named, was built in a park about 10 miles south of Paris. The hangers held two Voisin bi-planes used by the flying school. The Voisin was a craft similar to the Wright Flyer in that, it was a bi-plane with large constant chord wings, a rear mounted engine and a pusher prop.
 Delagrange on takeoff.
The course layout for the "Prix de Lagatinerie" consisted of two pylons located 600 meters apart. The prize of 5,000 francs was offered to the pilot who could complete 10 laps of the course in the shortest time. If no pilots completed the distance the winner would be decided on distance covered. On May 23, 1909, only 4 of the 9 pilots that registered, showed up. Three of the four where flying 50 hp Voisins, and the fourth, Alfred de Pischoff, was flying his own de Pischoff et Koechlin, which was a 20 hp monoplane. Because of some organizational problems and a pretty stiff cross wind, the racing was postponed until 5:45 pm. Finally, to the delight of the somewhat irritated crowd of an estimated 30,000 to 60,000 spectators, de Pischoff took to the field. After a takeoff roll of a couple hundred meters, he realized he could not lift off and immediately retired. Leon Delagrange was next up, but aborted his takeoff when he discovered elevator control issues. Henri Rougier was next and made a successful takeoff but on the back side of the first lap he struck the ground while flying very low and slightly damaged his Voisin. The fourth pilot, Capitaine Ferdinand Ferber, unexpectedly withdrew. The elevator controls of Delagrange's plane were not easily repairable, so after some negotiations, he was permitted to compete with a Voisin from the flight school. Flying almost 5 laps, a total 5800 meters, he had to land due to overheating. His average speed, somewhat skewed, (because it was calculated only on the geometric distance between the pylons and not the actual route flown), was 21 mph. Rougier, meanwhile, had repaired his plane but the cross wind had picked back up and he was unable to fly.
 The winning flight.
The committee decided that the rules of the competition had been met, although since Delagrange only completed half the distance they only awarded half the prize money. But Leon Delagrange was officially the Winner of the World's First Air Race. For a complete story of the event go to IPMS.
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Today in Aviation History :
July 30, 1935... Lieutenant Frank Akers of the U.S. Navy becomes the first person to make a "blind" landing at sea. His biplane has a hooded cockpit allowing him to see only his controls and instruments. He lands on the USS Langley.
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