Mr. Bendix, who makes starter springs and airplane parts, gives away a wonderful trophy each year at the air races. Along with it goes a check for $50,000. Sky Writing is always going to give away a trophy. But don't start taking it apart to look. There ain't no check for 50 grand in it.

Our Warsaw Daily Times Sky Writing trophy will be awarded for--as is appropriately engraved on one side--"Flying Excellence."

The trophy stands about 17 inches high, made of black stuff and anniversary gold. I think this is a trick name for high-grade brass with a wee gold content, but it's pretty. Has a model airplane perched on the tip-top and two copper plaques on either side of a tall column, where winners' names are to be permanently engraved.

The idea of the trophy is to rotate it. Each winner's name will be engraved on the side. He then takes it to his home field and keeps until the next air meet, when the other boys try to take it back.

Sky Writing is open for suggestions on just exactly how this is to be done, what kind of contest and what agency shall promote meets. Originally we planned to work it through the Warsaw Aero club, but the boys will have to get together.

For years, trophies have been given away for flying achievements of one kind or another. In the early days of flying, some big dough went along with the trophies. In the memory book are listed winners from way back in 1909 to now. Let's take a look.

Orville Wright brought home $25,000 on July 30, 1909, by flying 10 miles in 14 minutes. Glenn Curtiss won the Gordon Bennett trophy at Rheims, France, and helped divide $37,000, on Aug. 22, 1909. One Louis Paulhan, of France, captured $50,000 from England's Lord Northcliffe in an air race from London to Manchester, on April 30, 1910.

The city of Baltimore paid another Frenchman a prize of $5,000 for the first flight over their fair Maryland city. His name was Hubert Latham, and he stayed aloft nearly one hour. That's a right nice hourly rate, $5,000!

Frenchmen led the field at this time, with more than 3000 pilots registered in France around 1910. Jules Vedrines picked up some loose change, $30,000, in a race from Paris to Madrid. Roland Garros smoked more expensive cigarets, so he flew the right way to Room and won a tidy $100,000. both these races were held in the mid-summer of 1911.

Wouldn't you know that the Americans would win the big speed contests, though? Charles Weyman went to England in 1911, July 11, and won the third Gordon Bennett cup, with the astounding speed of 78 miles per hour. This exceeded Glenn Curtiss's speed to win the first cup, 47 miles per hour, and Grahame White's time of 61 miles per hour on the second cup.

The London Daily Mail got careless with its money and a flyer by the name of Beaumont walked off with $50,000 for making the great circuit of England in an airplane, 1,010 miles, in 22 hours. My!

The Schneider trophy for seaplane speeds was first given away in 1913 at Monte Carlo. This was appropriate, for flying was certainly a gamble. Orville Wright won the Collier trophy for the first airplane stabilizer in 1913.

Captain Ross Smith and his brother, Lt. Keith M. Smith, from the land down-under, won $50,000 in 1919 fro what was really a notable flight. They made 11,000 miles from London to Port Darwin, Australia, in 29 days.

Of course, every youngster knows Lindbergh. Charles A. Lindbergh, "Lindy," flew solo from New York to Paris and captured a $25,000 prize offered by Chevalier Orteig. Modern flying had really begun in 1927.

And doing just the opposite, two Frenchmen, Dieudonne Coste and Maurice Bellonte, made it from Paris to New York in 1930, then to Dallas, Texas, to pick up $25,000 offered by Col. W. E. Easterwood, of that city.

By the time that Charles Holman had taken the Thompson trophy in Chicago in 1930, the national air races had become a fine science, with big money attached. Out of these exhibitions, races and so-called "daring" events, came most of the present-day improvements in flying.

The Sky Writing trophy is designed to assist in building precision flying among our local pilots. to give them something to shoot at as they improve their technique from meet to meet.

How do you want to win it boys? Let's have some suggestions. Don't you think a unified and friendly organization of pilots remains a necessity to take advantage of the many fine things which may be offered to us in the years to come--like the Warsaw Aero club?

Warsaw Daily Times Wed. Nov. 26, 1947