The Great Atlantic Air Race
The Adventure and Its Lessons
Bostock, Peter
Commemorating the fiftieth anniversary of the first nonstop flight across the Atlantic, during eight days in May 1969 an irrepressible cavalcade of self-styled adventurers raced between the top of the Empire State Building and the London Post Office Tower. Organized by the Daily Mail of London, with $144,000 in prizes donated for twenty-one separate categories, the race involved 390 competitors, the cooperation of the aviation industry, and the work of hundreds of volunteers interested in the future of air travel.
Humor, tension, cunning, and even sabotage marked many of the 349 attempts to cross the Atlantic in one direction or the other. Competitors used everything from regular airliners to light aircraft, from supersonic military jets to powered gliders. Though often only seconds separated the winners from the losers at the end of a 3500-mile dash, speed was not always essential. Six of the twenty-one prizes were for the most original and ingenious performances. As a result, in London and New York some competitors used hot-air balloons, Roman chariots, rickshaws, and vintage cars. Such novel forms of transport contrasted sharply with the 200 helicopters, 300 motor-cycles, sirenblaring ambulances, and a string of high-powered cars employed by the jet set.
The Royal Navy smashed the America-Britain world speed record three times; the Royal Air Force created a sensation by hopping from the city center of London in the jump-jet Harrier; and the progress of twenty-six light-aircraft entrants kept the world on tenterhooks äs violent storms broke out across their great circle route. Disaster stalked three light aircraft, but each competitor finished the race using a scheduled air service.
The author was one of the organizers of the event, and he provides intimate pen portraits of many key competitors and their attempts. He also highlights the lessons that emerged from the race which must be taken into ac-count if we are going to cope successfully with the problems of the jumbo and supersonic jets.
hardcover with dust jacket
224 Seiten / pages
many photos
good condition, dust jacked with some tears at the top
New York - 1970 - William Morrow & Company
Art.Nr. 21434
