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With the experience of the 1932 Washington Air Derby, Chet and his committee could feel confident that future air meets in Washington could be a success. However, there were a few important changes that had to be made. The first was the venue; they moved the meet to College Park, which took them away from having to disturb central Washington (the way Reagan National Airport still does) and the other woes of Washington-Hoover. The second was the name; they decided to name the event in honour of Samuel Langley, late president of the Smithsonian and an aviation pioneer in his own right. Finally, they decided to have the contest the first Sunday in May, certainly a better time in Washington than August. 1933 Langley Day (May 7)Although preparations had doubtless started at the end of the 1932 Derby, the contest was first announced in the Washington Star on 21 April. Chet's usual energy led the way in getting things together. As with the Air Derby, Chet left no stone unturned; staunch Republican though he was, on 29 April he visited "that man in the White House," Franklin Roosevelt, to invite him to Langley Day. The event started on schedule at noon on Sunday.However, there were two events that marred the proceedings. The first was the NAA's decision to not sanction the OX-5 and "slow" races, which Chet chose to ignore and run anyway. The second was Amelia Earhart's resignation from the NAA's board, which took place as the event closed Sunday evening. Nevertheless, the first Langley Day was a success and Chet was proud of his achievement, if somewhat exhausted by the whole process. One of the observers of the first Langley Day was L. Ron Hubbard, later the founder of Scientology. He was a reporter/photographer for the Sportsman Pilot magazine and/or the Washington Herald. In the October 1933 issue of the Sportman Pilot, he wrote an article about Chet. (Click here for further reflection and some background on this subject.) 1934 Langley Day (May 6)The events and schedule for this year's competitions were similar to the previous one; however, on the Friday before they had a reception at the Willard Hotel in honour of Laura Ingalls, the New Jersey "society girl" who had just (22 April 1934) from setting a world's record by flying 15,000 miles from the U.S. to South America and back, which included crossing the Andes Mountains. In addition to the crowds such as you see here, the 1934 event drew foreign dignitaries as well: Lieutenant Colonel Paolo Sbernadori from the Italian Embassy and Captain G.R.M. Reid from the British Embassy. Both of these countries would be a war with each other in eight years, and the U.S. with the Italians in nine. Two years after this event Mussolini's Italy would invade Ethiopia, where they used their air power against Haile Selassie's primitive army. U.S. Army and Navy aviation were also represented amongst the 7,500 spectators. Langley Day represented an advance in aviation for the nation's capital in an era when this type of event drew a great deal of interest from the general public. Below: the contestants line up for a final briefing and a photograph.
Below: looking out onto the field, with the military band to the left. The Texaco plane, which also appears in the top photograph on the right column, was flown by Duke Jernigan and Jim Wheeler.
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Langley Day! After months of preparation, the day is here! Below are some photos of the event.
Above and below: The spectators
Above: The trophies Below: Model airplanes; there was a competition for these also.
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Chet's interest in the Washington Air Derby Association didn't end with 1934 Langley Day. Below is a sequence of photos from the 1939 Langley Day. Notice the Goodyear Blimp hovering above--a fixture at many American sporting events.
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