Incentive prizes

Throughout aviation history, and especially in its early years, monetary prizes were offered by both companies and wealthy individuals in order to stimulate aviation technology development. Such prizes differ from medals and trophies awarded after-the-fact to aviators of merit.

Armengaud prize, a purse of 10,000 francs for first machine to fly a quarter hour in France. Won by Henry Farman on July 6, 1908 Issy-les-Moulineaux, who flew 20 minutes, 19.6 seconds.^[1]
Coupe d'Aviation Ernest Archdeacon, a prize established by Ernest Archdeacon consisting of a silver trophy that would go to the first person to fly a powered airplane 25 meters (80 feet). It was won on September 13, 1906 by Alberto Santos-Dumont in his Santos-Dumont 14-bis.^[2] The prize distance was then lengthened to 150 m (490 ft), and this cup was won by Henry Farmon by flying 1,030 m (3,380 ft) in one minute, 14 seconds. This was also the first flight of more than 1 minute made in a non-Wright aircraft.^[3]
Aéro-Club de France offered a prize of 1,500 francs to the first person to fly 100 m (330 ft). It was won on November 12, 1906 by Santos-Dumont in the 14-bis.^[2]
Grand Prix d'Aviation, a prize of 50,000 francs for the first person to fly a circular 1-kilometer course, established by Deutsch de la Meurthe in collaboration with Ernest Archdeacon.^[2] It was won in January 1908 by Henry Farman.^[1]
Deutsch de la Meurthe prize, a challenge that called for flying from the Parc Saint Cloud to the Eiffel Tower in Paris and back in less than thirty minutes. The winner of the prize needed to maintain an average ground speed of at least 22 km/h (14 mph) to cover the round trip distance of 11 kilometres (6.8 mi)^* in the allotted time. It was won by Alberto Santos-Dumont on October 19, 1901 using his dirigible Number 6.
Orteig Prize, a $25,000 reward offered on May 19, 1919, by New York hotel owner Raymond Orteig to the first allied aviator(s) to fly non-stop from New York City to Paris or vice-versa. On offer for five years, it attracted no competitors. Orteig renewed the offer for another five years in 1924 when the state of aviation technology had advanced to the point that numerous competitors vied for the prize. Charles Lindbergh won the prize in 1927 in his aircraft Spirit of St. Louis.
Daily Mail aviation prizes, as series of prizes offered between 1907 and 1925 by the Daily Mail newspaper, initially on the initiative of its proprietor Alfred Harmsworth, 1st Viscount Northcliffe,^[4] awarded numerous prizes for achievements in aviation. The newspaper would stipulate the amount of a prize for the first aviators to perform a particular task in aviation, or to the winner of an aviation race or event. The most famous prizes were the £1,000 for the first cross-channel flight awarded to Louis Blériot in 1909 and the £10,000 given in 1919 to Alcock and Brown for the first transatlantic flight between North America and Ireland.
Coupe Femina, an award of 2000 francs established in 1910 by Pierre Lafitte the publisher of French women's magazine "Femina" to honour women pilots. It was awarded to the woman who, by sunset on 31 December each year, had made the longest flight, in time and distance, without landing. It was first awarded to Belgian pilot Hélène Dutrieu on 31 December 1910 for her record breaking non-stop flight.
Hearst prize, a US$50,000 aviation prize offered by publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1910 to the first aviator to fly coast to coast in the United States, in either direction, in fewer than 30 days from start to finish. The prize expired in November 1911 with no winner. Calbraith Perry Rodgers tried to win it, having started too late, but did complete the flight in 49 days, including several crash landings and maintenance delays.^[5]

Trophies and cups

Trophies and cups are typically annual awards to aviators who have either achieved at the top of their class, or have won a particular race.

Medals and awards

Medals and awards are typically given by an aviation-related organization to individuals or teams to commemorate a particular aviation achievement.

References

^ ^a ^b HENRI FARMAN 1874-1958 at Early Aviators.com
^ ^a ^b ^c "Prize Patrol", from Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company, a virtual museum of pioneer aviation
^ Henri Farman at Centennial of Flight
^ "Direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe Flight PDF Archive, 6 September 1913
^ "Prize Competitions and NASA's Centennial Challenges Program" (PDF). NASA. 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-23.

Avid Aircraft

[early-1] HENRI FARMAN 1874-1958 at Early Aviators.com

[wright-2] "Prize Patrol", from Wright Brothers Aeroplane Company, a virtual museum of pioneer aviation

[centennial1-3] Henri Farman at Centennial of Flight

[4] "Direct initiative of Lord Northcliffe Flight PDF Archive, 6 September 1913

[5] "Prize Competitions and NASA's Centennial Challenges Program" (PDF). NASA. 2005. Retrieved 2007-09-23.

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