Gordon Bennett Trophy
James Gordon Bennett, Jr. (May 10, 1841 – May 14, 1918) was publisher of the New York Herald, founded by his father, James Gordon Bennett, Sr., who emigrated from Scotland. In 1906, he funded the Gordon Bennett Cup in ballooning (Coupe Aéronautique Gordon Bennett), which continues to this day.
In 1909, after he established the Gordon Bennett Cup for international yachting and the Gordon Bennett Cup for automobile races (held between 1900 and 1905), Bennett offered a trophy for the fastest speed on a closed circuit for airplanes. The first race took place during the famous first airshow, the "Great Aviation Week", held in August 1909 on the Reims-Betheny aerodrome (Champagne - France).
The challenge consisted in performing a 20 km distance covered in two laps of the local track in less than an hour. There were 30 pilots from 6 different countries to compete in this event, flying the best airplanes of the time. Glenn Curtiss was the first to win the race flying his Curtis Herring biplane at an average speed of 75.27 km/h.
Winners of the 1909 race:
- Curtiss (USA) at an average 75.75 km/h.
- Blériot (France) at 75.50 km/h.
- Latham (France) at 68.44 km/h.
- Lefevre (France) at 57.71 km/h.
French victory
In September 1920, the Aero Club de France definitely won the cup, as it was stipulated that the country that scored three victories would be awarded the cup permanently. France had won the event in 1912 with Jules Védrines in Chicago. The 1913 race had seen Maurice Prévost winning in Betheny and finally, in 1920, Joseph Sadi-Lecointe's victory, flying a 300 hp Hispano-Suiza powerd Nieuport biplane.
Ballooning
It's in the domain of gas ballooning that the Bennet Cup was the most successfull, with competitions ranging until 1938. After WWII, no competition were held until 1983 when the event was resurrected.
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