There's a Tsunami Coming

Closed course air racing in the 1920s and 1930s was dominated by airplanes built specifically as racers. Charles Willis (Speed) Holman won the 1930 Thompson Trophy flying the Laird Solution, so called because it was the "solution" to the Travel Air Mystery Ship that won the 1929 race. Travel Air supposedly built the Mystery Ship in complete secrecy.

In 1932, Jimmy Doolittle won the Thompson Trophy flying the notorious Bee Gee R-1. Doolittle later set a speed record for a land plane, 296 mph. Interestingly the speed record for all airplanes was held by the Supermarine S.6B that had floats inste...