On any given Sunday, millions are captivated by the “kisses” of NASCAR, a running back breaking past linemen, or Tiger’s dominance on the links. The audience acquiesces to the thrill of victory and agony of defeat; there is no other form of excitement that can collectively pool millions of spectators at the exact same moment. Like a large social movement towards a sense of belonging and purpose, sports fans forget about their weekday troubles and tune in. All the while, product advancements, technological upgrades and improving talent level raise the bar and make the experience all that more exciting.

This raising bar is met with lengthened golf courses, Indy cars averaging 250 miles per hour, and other eye-catching challenges adding to the spectacle. Over 108 million viewers watched at least one college bowl game last season. And the 2008 NCAA Basketball Tournament reached a staggering 136.8 million viewers , driving the medium’s ad revenues through the roof with a 34% increase over the last five years. The average cost of a 30-second spot during the tournament was over a million bucks. The droves of fans that bombard the NASCAR track each week with boundless enthusiasm throw on their favorite ball cap drooling at every turn. Over 8.5 million viewers watched NASCAR from the luxury of their La-Z-Boy and, according to FOX, the 2008-09 season was the top-rated and most watched regular season sport for the ninth consecutive year. Sports fans are easily distracted come Sunday by these gladiatorial events. They are like moths to a flame gazing into their magic boxes to see scores and statistics. However, sports fans are missing out. However, sports fans are missing out on something that was conceived exactly 100 years ago. It’s odd to think how a sport with break-neck speeds, steep climbs and dives, G-force loads, noise that punctuates excitement and has existed since the turn of the century has not captured the Sunday, armchair-quarterback quietly escaping household chores.

A History with a Future

As the industry ponders the future of general and business aviation and the timeliness of its recovery, the answer just may lie in its own history. In 1920, publisher Ralph Pulitzer sponsored the Pulitzer Trophy Race for military airplanes at Roosevelt Field on Long Island as a way to publicize his newspaper and promote aviation. Pulitzer additionally birthed the National Air Races which introduced pylon and cross-country races in 1920, lasting to 1949. Like their modern day successors, these races spurred the advancement of aerospace and aviation during this period and made an indelible impression on its future. Even before Pulitzer’s self-promoting venture, air racing was on the minds of the French who hosted the first ever air race on May 23rd, 1909. The Prix de Lagatinere was held at an airport, Port-Aviation, south of Paris. Four pilots entered the race. Unfortunately, only two actually started and nobody officially completed the full race distance. Leon Delagrange covered over 5 laps of the 1.2 kilometer course, only half the total distance. He was crowned the victor. Other names like Louis Bleriot and Glenn Curtiss dominated the National Air Races at Cleveland in events like the Thompson Trophy Race.The first of its kind, this closed-circuit 10 mile long race course was designed for aviators to battle it out around a series of 50 foot high fixed pylons. The Thompson Trophy was sponsored by a prominent Cleveland manufacturer and the event provided an excitement that eclipsed many contemporary barnstorming events. It was the climatic, final race of the National Air Race series. Aircraft averaged over 200 miles per hour and created a spectator sport of the highest order. Prize money was no joke either earning winning pilots well over $5,000. In 1930, that was quite a bit of spending cash. Instead of taking off at timed intervals, race organizers felt that to create a race with more spectacle they would develop a “massed” start. Lined up on the field side by side at about 100-foot intervals, the competitors took off about 10 seconds apart. Each cleared a staging pylon which eventually equalized the interval, and like trying to garner a favorable starboard tack for a racing sloop, these air racers, once they established a position at the first pylon, would create wing tip to wing tip action that wasn’t found anywhere else. Close flying and low altitudes kept the spectators at the edge of their seats. Automotive racing and air racing have always worked side by side developing their own excitement; however, mass audiences have gravitated towards auto racing with much more fervor. Its fan base has exploded since the turn of the century. Air racing, albeit exciting, has not seen such mass movement. Until now.

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