The 1937 Cleveland Air Races

The world's first air race was held in Reims, France, in August 1909, with competitions for distance, duration, altitude and speed.  Glenn Curtiss was the only American pilot who had made the trip across the Atlantic to participate.  The first American air race was held near Los Angeles, CA, in January 1910.

The most famous air races in America were known as the National Air Races and  were first held in Cleveland Ohio starting in 1929 and in most of the following years until 1939.  After a hiatus during World War II, the races resumed in 1946 and continued each year through 1949.

The races included a variety of events including cross-country flights that ended in Cleveland, landing contests, glider demonstrations, airship flights and parachute-jumping contests.  The most popular event was the Thompson Trophy Race, a closed-course competition in which aviators raced around pylons. 

My parents attended the 1937 Cleveland Air Races, which were held from September 3-6 of that year.  In a letter written on February 9, 1962, to Tom Hamer, Aviation Editor of the Huntington, WV Herald Dispatch, my mother, Eugenia Kenyon, states that my father, Warner Kenyon, entered a light plane derby that year and won a trophy.   I remember seeing the trophy, which had become tarnished with time.

While at the Cleveland Air Races, my parents met some of the more colorful aviation personalities of the day.  My mother, in her letter, cited three famous airmen they met: Bevo Howard, Harold Johnson and Milo Burcham.

Beverly "Bevo" Howard (1914-1971)  was a famous aerobatic pilot.  He began airshow flying in 1933 and in 1938 became the first pilot to fly an outside loop in a light plane, flying a 37 1/2 HP Taylor Cub.  Eventually Howard became one of the best-known air show pilots in the United States.  On October 17, 1971, he was killed when he crashed while performing at an airshow in Greenville, NC.  Illustrated website about Howard and about his Bücker Jungmeister single-seat biplane, both curated by Howard's son.

Harold Johnson (1910-?), born in Chicago, was renowned for being the first pilot to perform a number of aerobatic maneuvers, including loops, spins and snap rolls, in his cumbersome, all-metal Ford Trimotor, nicknamed the Tin Goose, registration number NC-9610.  Known as the King of the Fords, Johnson was once greeted by Henry Ford himself when descending from his Tin Goose.  Johnson reportedly performed 17 consecutive loops during one demonstration.  Harold Johnson is last known to have been alive and living in Santa Monica, CA, in 1965.  I have been unable to locate the place or date of his death or his burial.  Illustrated article about Johnson from 1965.  Short video clip showing Johnson's aerobatics.  Even nowadays, his performance is astonishing.

Milo Burcham (1903-1944)  was an American stunt pilot, airshow pilot and test pilot.  In 1933, Burcham and Lt. Tito Falconi of the Italian Air Service competed in setting inverted flight records.  Burcham's flight in his Boeing Model 100 of 4 hours five minutes and 22 seconds in December 1933 was not broken until July 24, 1991!  Burcham, as Lockheed's Chief Pilot,  was killed on October 24, 1944, in a flame-out on take-off of a prototype version of the Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star, the first American jet fighter to be used operationally.   More on Milo Burcham.

Reading the accounts of the extraordinary exploits of these early aviation pioneers inspires admiration for their courage, their daring and their exceptional skills as pilots in aircraft that lacked many of the modern systems, controls and safety features. These men--and women such as Jacqueline Cochran and Amelia Earhardt--were, indeed, genuine 20th century heroes and heroines.

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Source: Wikipedia

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