Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race set for October in Ohio
The Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race is scheduled for October 10 through 13 at Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport in Springfield, Ohio, marking 100 years since the last race in the original 1920s series was run.
The Advanced Air Mobility Institute, which is organizing the event, said the airport, which is home to the National Advanced Air Mobility Center of Excellence, won the competition to host the race, beating out bids from finalists Stockton and Salinas, California. The three finalists all have strong backgrounds in electric aircraft. Archer Aviation conducts testing of its Midnight eVTOL aircraft in Salinas while hydrogen-electric aviation company ZeroAvia has a research and development facility in Stockton. The U.S. Air Force tests electric aircraft at Springfield-Beckley.
Organizers said the race, which previously was announced in 2021 and planned for 2022 before encountering delays, will include 24 crews competing in any type of fully electric, zero-emission, heavier-than-air aircraft. Competitors will race for three laps on a 30-nautical-mile triangular course using a staggered format that includes eight heats of VFR flying to determine the fastest times. Three aircraft will race at a time in preliminary and semifinal heats with the fastest three meeting in the final. The winner will later be honored at a ceremony at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Washington, D.C.
The original Pulitzer Trophy Race was a landmark annual event that ran from 1920 to 1925—a period of rapid development for aviation technology. This was also an era of dominance for U.S. Army pilots and Curtiss aircraft, each of which won four of the six races.
In 1920, Army Lt. Corliss Moseley took the trophy flying a Verville VCP-R at 157 mph. On October 12, 1925, Army Lt. Cyrus Bettis won in a Curtiss R3C-1 at 249 mph. Two weeks later, James Doolittle won the Schneider Cup race in a seaplane version of the Curtiss model.
Organizers have drawn parallels between the original Pulitzer era and the current period of promise and swift development for electric aircraft.
“We are thrilled to welcome the Pulitzer Electric Aircraft Race to Springfield, Ohio, after a century-long hiatus. The 1924 race took place at Wright Field, now part of Area B of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. In that time Ohio has upheld its role as a leader in aerospace innovation and has become a trailblazer in the third revolution of flight,” said Ted Angel, executive director of NAAMCE. “We hope the race to claim the Pulitzer Trophy inspires aviation enthusiasts of all ages!”
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