Air regatta, first in the Northwest, held at Sand Point on November 13, 1926.

HistoryLink.org Essay 2243 : Printer-Friendly Format

On November 13, 1926, the first air regatta in the Pacific Northwest is staged at the Naval Air Reserve Station at Sand Point under the sponsorship of the National Aeronautics Association and the Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA). The events begin at noon when some 3,000 people arrive to listen to talks by flyers about aeronautics and to view static displays of aircraft.

At 3:00 p.m., the races began with a competition between Army and Navy trainer aircraft from Sand Point to Renton through Kirkland and back to Sand Point. Then observation planes flew a relay race from Sand Point to an airfield south of Tacoma, where the planes landed to pick up a letter from the Postmaster addressed to the Mayor of Seattle.

The only mishap of the day was when Army Lt. L. C. "Goldie" Goldsmith damaged his wheels landing in Pierce County. Goldsmith was obliged to take the train back to Sand Point.

Civilian pilots raced their aircraft and some Army bombers showed off formation flying. The latest Boeing pursuit airplane appeared and flew at speeds said to approach 200 mph.

Sources:
Naval Station Puget Sound at Sand Point (Seattle: U.S. Navy, 1993), p. 21; The Seattle Times, November 13, 1926, p. 1, 2; Seattle Post-Intelligencer, November 13, 1926, p. 15; Ibid., November 14, 1926, p. 3.

By David Wilma, January 01, 2000

Travel through time (chronological order):
< Browse to Previous Essay | Browse to Next Essay >

Related Topics: Firsts | Aviation | Recreation |

Licensing: This essay is licensed under a Creative Commons license that encourages reproduction with attribution. Credit should be given to both HistoryLink.org and to the author, and sources must be included with any reproduction. Click the icon for more info. Please note that this Creative Commons license applies to text only, and not to images. For more information regarding individual photos or images, please contact the source noted in the image credit.

This essay made possible by:
Seattle Parks & Recreation Dept.