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Show fhoCo from taimaQ&J wm&faafe mi ihnjmsB i; '" i vt-... iX ' i , i . ' : -j K W if --.-- V A ,utu!' j , v - 'vi: -r y - ,11 i vr, Ni is, -y MAHA-Center of the Air Industry. v ! v 1 s 13 Omaha's slogan these days. w, x jy wVksiUS M y? Because this enterprising .i - .VT" M - ll " Jyii Nebraska city of 200,000 people will 'r-i.ia . t Btage November 3-5 the First Inter- ermW S AT AHA Center of the Air Industry. m. . A This is Omaha's slogan these days, if 'l NVhy? Because this enterprising VI. m, Nebraska city of 200,000 people will Vj stage November 3-5 the First Inter- M national Aero Congress. This con- lnnnnr gress 13 mana's own ldea and WL clty has carried 11 out- 111 Eplte of yJjyi maiiy apparently insuperable obsta-4 obsta-4 cles, to the point where success is assured. In consequence, Omaha is proudly claiming claim-ing to be America's most progressive aviation center. The purposes of the congress are praiseworthy. The congress itself is likely to be of great importance. im-portance. One purpose Is to bring the flyers together for a big reunion, the first since the World War. Another An-other is to show everything In connection with aviation, in order to interest the people of the nation in flying. A third Is to form a national air body for the advancement of aviation in America. Amer-ica. The big purpose is: "Aviation supreme for America." The formation of a national air body appears to be well under way, through preliminary organizations organi-zations in the states. At this writing twenty-five states are forming state organizations of the con- . gress end will be represented by delegates. p; That tere is necessity for the formation of such j a body see.s hardly open to argument Eudyard 5 Kipling, year ago, wrote of aircraft : "We are at the opening verse of the opening page of the " chapter of endle& possibilities." We have read ' far beyond that ntrzs and the march of events forces us to keep on Cnrning the leaves, if we would keep our place In ffis forefront of the pro- cession of the nations. In the opinion of those who seem best qualified to know, the United States has not kept abreast with other countries In the development of aviation, avia-tion, especially In the matter of development of airways. For example, the best we can show In the way of a transcontinental route Is that following follow-ing the general line of Cleveland, Chicago, Omaha, Eeno and San Francisco. The experts declare it to be not more than 40 per cent complete in organisation. organi-sation. An essential of the success of big business is Imagination. Imagine, if you can, what the part of aviation in the life of the nation will be five years from now. It Is no wonder that men of large affairs want the organization of a national air body and want it now. Omaha's slogan was Inspired by the Aero Club of Onmha, an organization of 100 former pilots and observers of the World War. Nevertheless, all the city is talking aviation these days. .Three months ago. of course, it was not so. Omaha was no more enthusiastic over aviation than any other city. When its citizens heard an airplane droning overhead they gazed skyward for a moment Otherwise Oth-erwise they were uninterested. Then Earl W. Porter, president of the Aero dub of Omaha, conceived the idea of the congress con-gress and went to work on It. Now aviation Is In the blood of the citizens. They talk of the many phases of air travel with the nonchalance of aces. In other cities the people may call anything that traverses the air an airship. But not so in Omaha ; they rightly use the word aircraft. Do you hear blimp In Omaha? Well, hardly. Omaha, knows that blimp Is not only slang, but obsolete slang, whereas people in other cities are still applying the word Indiscriminately to all balloons, rigid and nonrigld airships and llghter-than-alr craft. You never catch an Omahan these days saying hydroplane when he means seaplane; he knows that the former never leaves the water. And you find him correctly using airplane, seaplane and airship Instead of aeroplane, hydro-aeroplane and dirigible. You may even OTerhear a conversation about the captive helicopter. In short, everyone In Omaha appears to- be enthusiastic about aviation avia-tion In general and the coming congress in particular. par-ticular. President Porter went to his fellow clubmen. They Indorsed his Idea and his plans and pledged their support. They also fixed on him as the logi-cal logi-cal head of the movement and he was duly made president of the congress. He accepted the position, posi-tion, turned over his business affairs to his parti.er and went to work. The first step was to get twenty-five Omaha business men to back the project for $1,000 each. This was easily done. It was also easy to get the indorsement of all Omaha business and social organizations. A speakers' bureau was formed to educate the clti-tens. clti-tens. Arrangements to raise funds for financing the congress were made. Attention was then turned to the preparation of a program worthy of the occasion. Incidentally it became necessary to provide a landing held large enough to stage the program. A little thing like this, however, did not deter the air men, who located a farm of 136 acres showing possibilities as a field, although it was uneven and contained 1D0 large trees. A "field day" was duly announced, and the air men and their friends rolled up their sleeves and with the assistance of two Holt caterpillar trac- v. tors donated for the occasion, pulled the trees and leveled the land. An open drainage ditch traversed the center of : the field, which lies on the edge of one of the 1 residence districts, only fifteen minutes' ride from the heart of Omaha. The city council was Induced ' to vote unanimously to build a covered sewer ' through the field at a cost of ?21,000. So the t problem of a flying field was satisfactorily solved. ' In the meantime, an office force was busy mail-- mail-- ing thousands of Invitations and pamphlets to the air men and celebrities, such as President Harding, Marshal Foch, Orville Wright, Glenn Curtlss and Judge K. M. Landis. The graduates of Fort Omaha balloon school, the center of America's wartime ballooning, were invited for their first reunion. Squadrons and escadrilles of flyers were asked to hold their first reunions in Omaha. The fifty-two American aces were Invited, as well as everyone else interested in aviation. The aid of Kansas City was enlisted In sending the American Legion convention delegates on to Omaha. The Indorsements of national headquarters headquar-ters of the American Legion, of the Aero Club of America, of the World's Board of Aeronautical Commissioners and of the Aircraft Manufacturers' Association were obtained. The co-operation of the Army and Navy air headquarters was asked for and received. The railroads helped out by offering a fare and a half rate for the round trip from all parts of the country to Omaha. Gutzon Borglum, world-famed world-famed sculptor, offered a commemorative medal design symbolical of the work of the American air man during the war, as his "bit" James Hanley, song writer of New York, wrote a special song praising the work of the flyers, to be 6ung for the first time at the congress. In preparing its program, Omaha had a piece of rare good luck right at the outset As everyone every-one knows, the Pulitzer Trophy Race became the world's most famous air event with its first running run-ning in November of 1920 at Mltchel Field, New York, under the auspices of the Aero Club of America. There were twenty-five Army, eight Navy, seven Marine Corps and one civilian entrants en-trants In the contest The winner was Lieut C C Mosely of the Army air service, who ftew 132 miles In a Vervllle-Packard machine at an average speed of 178 miles an hour. The Army won seven of the first ten places In the contest and the Navy two. There were 30,000 spectators, including celebrities celeb-rities from all walks of life. Well, the Pulitzer Trophy Race for 1921 had been scheduled for Detroit but difficulties had arisen and the Aero Club of America had cancelled can-celled the race for the year. Omaha stepped In and offered the necessary funds. In consequence, the first announcement on the program Is this: "The First International Aero Congress announces an-nounces the second annual aerial contest for the Pulitzer Trophy. In connection with the first con test for the Aero Club of Omaha Trophy and also other aerial events. Sanctioned by the Aero Club of America under the rules of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and those of the First International Aero Congress. To be conducted at Omaha Field, Omaha, Nebraska, D. S. A-, November 3, 4 and 5, 1921." The Pulitzer Trophy Race Is a free-for-all contest con-test for high-speed airplanes. The distance is approximately 150 miles, five times around a closed' course of 30 miles, from Omaha Field, thence northwest to a captive balloon on railroad track north of Calhoun, Nebraska, thence east to a captive balloon on the southern outskirts of Love-land, Love-land, Iowa, thence return to Omaha Field. All pilots must hold an aviator's license, issued by the Federation Aeronautique Internationale and duly entered upon the competitor's register of the Aero Club of America. All airplanes may compete' with pilot only. The Pulitzer Trophj-, given by Ralph Pulitzer, editor of the New York World, Is a four-foot silver trophy, to be raced for annually. Any flyer winning the trophy two years in succession may keep it In addition, these prizes are offered: First 53,000; second, 52,000; third, 51,000. Event No. 2, set for 3 p. m. Thursday, is an acrobatic contest, with cash prizes as follows: First, 5250; second, $150; third, 5100. It is a free-for-all contest for all types of airplanes. The contest will be decided on points and the points will be given as follows: Immelmman turns, 15; barrel rolls, 15; falling leaves, 20; loops, 20; vertical reversements, 15 ; tall spin, 15. Event No. 3, set for Friday at 10 a. m., is a commercial derby for all types of commercial planes. The distance Is approximately 250 miles. Starting at Omaha Field, contestants will fly to Des Moines, Iowa, land on Curtl6s Field and return re-turn to Omaha Field. The prizes are: First, 52,000; second, 51,000; third, 5500. The contest will be decided on points. Event No. 4, set for Friday at 10:45 a. m., is a free-for-all race, with prizes aggregating $475, open to JN4's, OX5-Stnndnrds, Orioles with Curtlss Cur-tlss OX5 motor, Canucks and other planes with a speed of from 60 to 75 miles an hour. The distance dis-tance Is approximately 90 miles. Event No. 5, set for Friday at 1 :30 p. m., Is a free-for-all race, with prizes aggregating $475, open to planes with a speed of from 75 to 90 miles an hour. The distance Is approximately 90 miles. Event No. 6, set for Friday at 3:30 p. m., is a parachute Jumping contest, with prizes aggregating aggregat-ing 5350. The jump is from 1,000 feet or more and the winner is the contestant who lands closest to a given mark on the field. Event No. 7, set for Saturday at noon, is a race for a trophy, with cash prizes aggregating $2,025, It Is a closed handicap, open to all machines. The distance is approximately 150 miles. Event No. 8, set for Saturday at 2 :30 p. m., Is a bombing contest, open to Army and Navy planes only. The first prize Is a gold cup and the second a silver cup. Inasmuch as the congress Is to arouse Interest in flying and stimulate the development of commercial com-mercial flying, the program thus contains events for diversified types of aircraft The intention is to attract a varied field of entries to compete for prizes to be awarded for desirable airplane performance per-formance as well as for high speed. A feature of the congress will be a half-mile row of various types of airplanes lined up In front of the grandstand, with exhibits of accessories. Actual airplane construction will be shown. For the entertainment of the crowds the great aerial spectacle, "The Bombing of Courcelay," will be shown, with 100 costumed people in the cast and a model of the French village set up on the field. Parades, baDquets, boxing contests and a variety of other functions round out a mosl attractive program for three days and three nights |