1910 CLIPPING AVIATION MEET BELMONT PARK HOXSEY HARMON AUBRUN GRAHAME-WHITE PIC

A little history lesson first ...The last major U.S. airshow of 1910 took place at a large racetrack on Long Island, in Belmont Park, New York, from October 22-31. The Belmont International Aviation Tournament offered approximately $75,000 in prize money and attracted one of the period's most talented fields of pilots. Events ranged from competitions for the best altitude, speed, and distance, to contests for the most precise landing and the best mechanic.More than two dozen of the world's top aviators attended the New York meet. They came from England, France, and the United States. The key pilots from France included Count Jacques de Lesseps and Roland Garros. Claude Grahame-White from England also attended, as did several Americans--Glenn Curtiss,John Moisant, Arch Hoxsey, Ralph Johnstone, and Charles Hamilton among them.One of the meet's highlights was an altitude duel between Ralph Johnstone and Arch Hoxsey. Johnstone eventually won the contest by soaring to approximately 9714 feet (2961 meters), a new record. Another highlight occurred when Charles Hamilton won the precision landing event. For a while, it looked as if Americans might sweep all of the contests, but then the prestigious Gordon Bennett Cup event, or speed race, took place.On October 29, Claude Grahame-White flew his Bleriot monoplane to victory in the $5,000 Gordon Bennett Cup contest in just a little over an hour. He had averaged 61 miles per hour (98 kilometers per hour) over the 100-kilometer race. In the process, he beat nine other competitors, only three of which even flew the entire distance. American John Moisant placed second but took more than an hour longer than Graham-White because of mechanical problems. Although many contemporaries considered the Gordon Bennett event aviation's most prestigious race, another showcase contest at Belmont was just as significant thanks to its $10,000 purse.The meet's final event was a quick dash that took competitors from the Belmont Park Racetrack, over New York City Harbor, around the Statue of Liberty, and back. On October 30, some 75,000 people crowded around the racetrack to witness the start and finish of the competition. Countless others viewed the contest from various points around the city.Once again, Claude Grahame-White, piloting his 100-hp (75-kilowatt) Bleriot monoplane, put up the best time and completed the course in 35 minutes, 21 seconds. He seemed to have won the contest, but then John Moisant surprised him at the last moment. Moisant had seriously damaged his own plane earlier in the week and was busy trying to purchase another aircraft while Grahame-White was winging his way to an apparent victory. At the last minute, however, Moisant acquired a 50-hp (37-kilowatt) Bleriot and took off in pursuit of Grahame-White's time. Flying a more direct route than the Englishman thanks to a new navigational system, Moisant, much to the delight of the crowd, bettered Grahame-White's mark by 43 seconds. Despite the Englishman's prestigious victory in the Gordon Bennett race, Moisant was the meet's hero.Afterward, Grahame-White protested Moisant's victory because the American had started the race 21 minutes after the close of allowable start times. Meet officials, nevertheless, sided with Moisant. After appealing his case all the way to the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (aviation's main ruling body at the time), Grahame-White finally achieved his victory when the FAI reversed the Belmont Park Meet officials' decision in 1912. Graham-White collected the race's prize money and an additional $500 in interest. For most of the people who saw the contest firsthand, however, Moisant was the real victor.And now on to this auction ....This auction is for a newspaper clipping that has articles dated October 26 (1910) on the back. It depicts five aircraft in flight at the 1910 Belmont Park air show. The caption reads, "Five Fliers Passing The Grand Stand at Belmont Park. From Top to Bottom - Hoxsey, Harmon, Aubrun, Latham, Grahame-White.... read more