#thompson trophy

[stone-cold-groove]

1932 Gee Bee Model R-1 Super Sportster. Package artwork detail from a Pyro Plastics model kit - circa 1958.

[redarmyscreaming]

"Lucky Gallon" FG-1 Corsair Racer Competed at the National Air Races Cleveland in the Thompson Trophy Reciprocating Division race. The primary pilot was Cook Cleland. Qualified in 6th place with an average speed of 361.809 mph. Raced in the Championship race. Finished in 6th place with an average speed of 357.465 mph.

[bigglesworld]

Howard DGA-6 NR273Y cn70 'Mister Mulligan'. Built in 1934. A racing ac designed to win the Bendix and Thompson trophies (won both in 1935). Crashed and destroyed during the 1936 Bendix race

[projecthabu]

       In an amazing chain of events, the story of these WWII fighters continues to be written. The Goodyear F2G Super Corsair was an upgraded version of the famed F4U, optimized for fighting Japanese aircraft at low level. Before the aircraft could go operational, the war ended, and only 10 were built. Of these prototype airframes, only two still exist today.

     Race 57, shown in her striking red paint job, was the fifth prototype to roll off the assembly line as serial number 88458. After the war, she was purchased by Navy Captain Cook Cleland, who won the 1947 and 1949 Thompson Trophy race with this aircraft. She would become the last propeller driven aircraft to ever win the Thompson Trophy. 

     The dawn of the jet age caused these aircraft to be mothballed. Race 57 lay dormant for many decades until Bob Odegaard would return her to flight in 1999. I took these photos of Race 57 on August 26, 2007, at the Alpine Airpark Airshow in Wyoming. Earlier that day, I watched in awe as Odegaard flew low level aerobatics in this beautiful bird. I was 17 years old. 

      Nearly ten years after seeing my first Super Corsair, I was privileged to visit the Museum of Flight Restoration Center in Everett, Washington, where I photographed the first F-2G prototype as they breathed new life into the plane. Serial number 88454 proudly wears her original Naval Air Test Center livery (as shown in the final five photos in this set).

     As I experienced this later encounter with a Super Corsair, I did so with a heavy heart. Bob Odegaard, who thrilled me as a teenager with his aerobatics, was no longer with us. Odegaard owned a second Super Corsair called Race 74. He exhibited the aircraft all over the country until on September 7, 2012, he tragically lost his life while practicing for an air show in his home state of North Dakota.

      Odegaard’s legacy lives on, forever entangled with the story of the Super Corsair. Race 57 has recently changed hands once again in an effort to keep her flying. Wars begin and end. Races are won. Lives are lost. As one chapter closes, another begins.

[stone-cold-groove]

Caudron C.460 Thompson Trophy winner - 1936.

[bigglesworld]

Granville Brothers Gee Bee Z. City of Springfield.  Built to win the 1931 Thompson Trophy Race at the National Air Races in Cleveland, OH. World speed record at 267 mph

[stone-cold-groove]

Travel Air Type R Mystery Ship Thompson Trophy winner - 1929.

[stone-cold-groove]

Granville Gee Bee Model Z Thompson Trophy winner - 1931.