 The Contest
Jacques Schneider was a French industrial manager, licensed plane and balloon pilot. After being deprived of his flying career due to a serious accident, he supported various competitions and aero clubs financially. In his view the development of Seaplanes was lagging behind other aircraft development and so in a bid to breathe life into seaplane development on 5th, December 1912, at the Aéro-Club de France, he offered a trophy for a seaplane race and proposed a course of at least 150 nautical miles.
The aero club winning 3 races in 5 years would retain the cup and the winning pilot would receive 75,000 francs. Each edition of the race was to be hosted by the previous winning country.
The contest ran from 1913 to 1931, the year when Britain won the contest for the third consecutive time and retained the trophy. This was a huge achievement for Mitchell and his groundbreaking S series planes.
More detail about the history of the contest and early races > |
A replica programme from the 1931 race at Southsea can be bought from the Solent Skies Museum for £5.00 contact:
Solent Sky
Albert Road South
Southampton
Hampshire
SO1 1FR
Tel: 02380 635830
Fax: 02380 223383 |
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