In October 1925, Lt. Cyrus Bettis won the American Pulitzer Trophy race in a Curtiss R3C-1 racer traveling at more than four miles per minute (248.9 mph). The army air service officer effectively outran his competitors from the navy and the marines in front of thousands of excited spectators as part of the festivities of the National Air Races at Mitchel Field, Long Island, New York.

The R3C was actually two air racers in one. It could operate with two wheels and the tail skid seen here from an airfield (R3C-1) or a pair of floats, or pontoons, from the water (R3C-2) and it won races as both.

Display Status

This object is not on display at the National Air and Space Museum. It is either on loan or in storage.

Object Details

Date

1925

Country of Origin

United States of America

Type

CRAFT-Aircraft Parts

Physical Description

Tail skid for Curtiss R3C-1 landplane configuration
Skid is 34 7/8” long from wooden nose to the extreme tip of the steel “shoe”

Dimensions

skid is 34 7/8” long from wooden nose to the extreme tip of the steel “shoe”

Materials

Wood, metal

Inventory Number

A19280002003

Credit Line

Transferred from the U.S. War Department

Data Source

National Air and Space Museum

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