The Golden Age of Air Racing Pre-1940 Volume 2 ONLY

Bolume 2 only. Volume 2 vii, 274-554 pages. Illustrations. Tabular data. Technical Specifications. Sticker residue on front cover. Some cover wear and soiling. Covers illustrated. Volume 2 has a cover tear at bottom spine area. The Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA) is a growing and diverse organization of members with a wide range of aviation interests and backgrounds. Founded in 1953 by a group of individuals in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, who were interested in building their own airplanes, EAA expanded its mission of growing participation in aviation to include antiques, classics, warbirds, aerobatic aircraft, ultralights, helicopters, and contemporary manufactured aircraft. Membership in EAA enables you to share the spirit of aviation with the most passionate community of recreational pilots, builders, and restorers. The thrill for speed, whether experienced personally or vicariously, runs through American culture. Air racing, in particular, is a motorsport that is as old as aviation itself. Speeding through the sky, Americans have quenched their need for speed for well over a century. Daredevil aviators raced their frail contraptions since the early flight era around 1909. After World War I, air racing transformed from an individual to an organized sport. American and European military teams competed for international prestige and the advancement of technology. During the Great Depression, enthusiasts took easily available technologies and built air racers, seeking fame and fortune. Since World War II, the sport has evolved to be ultra-competitive, dominated by purpose-built air racers and heavily modified fighter aircraft. Held in different cities in the 1920s, the National Air Races became a high point in American aviation for a given year. They quickly centered on Cleveland, Ohio during the 1930s and after World War II. Before achieving fame in aeronautics, Glenn Curtiss started his career with motorcycles. The early aviation community sought out Curtiss because of his reputation for designing powerful, lightweight motor cycle engines. In 1906, he designed his first V-8 engine in response to several requests from early aeronautical experimenters. Curtiss went on to win the world’s first air race, receiving the Gordon Bennett Trophy at Reims, France, in August 1909. He flew at an average speed of 46.5 mph (74.8 km/h). He became a successful airplane manufacturer and even sponsored a team of pilots.…