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Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition

The Guggenheim Safe Aircraft Competition was a competition held in the United States in 1929 to promote the design of safer airplanes.[1] Officially, it aimed "to achieve a real advance in the safety of flying through improvement in the aerodynamic characteristics of heavier-than-air craft, without sacrificing the good, practical qualities of the present-day aircraft."[1][2]

The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics offered a prize of $USD 100,000 for the most outstanding aircraft design, plus five prizes of $10,000 for safety innovations.[1] The competition was announced on April 20, 1927 to run between September 1, 1927 until October 31, 1929 unless the judges deemed that the competition objectives had been met earlier.[1]

Criteria

The aircraft were to be judged against the following criteria:[1]

  • Use a reliable powerplant
  • Be structurally sound
  • Carry 5 pounds (2.3 kg) of load per 1 horsepower (0.75 kW) of engine power
  • Have adequate visibility for the pilot and observer
  • Demonstrate good stability
  • Be able to recover from abnormal flight conditions
  • Remain maneuverable, controllable, and safe if the engine failed during a steep climb
  • Have a maximum speed of at least 130 miles per hour (210 km/h), a minimum speed of at most 30 miles per hour (48 km/h), and a minimum gliding speed of at most 32 miles per hour (51 km/h)
  • Be able to take off within 75 feet (23 m) and land within 40 feet (12 m)
  • Be able to clear a 35-foot (11 m) obstacle within 240 feet (73 m) of take-off and 150 feet (46 m) of landing

Judges

The judging panel comprised:[3]

Entries

The organizers originally anticipated over 100 entries,[4] but by the closing date only twenty-seven applications were received.[1] These were mostly from American manufacturers, but also five from the UK and one from Italy.[1] Of these, only fifteen applicants presented an aircraft before the closing date of the competition.[1] Although the judges had expected to evaluate designs throughout the competition period, the first aircraft was not presented until August 1929, and almost all aircraft arrived in the last month before the competition closed.[1] This, combined with poor weather at the testing location (Mitchel Field), and the barely-ready state of many of the aircraft caused significant challenges for the judging process.[1] One entry, the Dare Safety Plane suffered a structural failure in flight before arriving at the competition, killing its test pilot and its designer.[1]

The entries received were:[5]

Entrant Nation Aircraft Result
Heraclio Alfaro USA Alfaro X-13 DQ; insufficient speed
Bourdon Aircraft Company USA Bourdon B.4 Kitty Hawk[6] DQ[7]
Società Italiana Ernesto Breda Italy Breda Ba.18 DNS[8]
Brunner-Winkle Aircraft Corporation USA Brunner-Winkle Bird[9] DQ[7]
Vincent Burnelli USA Burnelli GX-3[10] Withdrew[7]
Cierva Autogiro Company UK Weymann-LePère C.18 DNS;[8] built for Cierva's entry, but transferred to Pitcairn for their entry instead (see below).[11]
Command-Aire USA Command-Aire 3C3[12] DQ[7]
Cosmic Aircraft Corporation USA DNS[8]
Cunningham-Hall Aircraft Corporation USA Cunningham-Hall Model X-90(N)[13] DQ[7]
Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company USA Curtiss Tanager Winner
Dare Airplane Company USA Dare Safety Plane DNS;[8] fatal crash July 17, 1929
de Havilland UK - DNS;[8] canceled entry before August 3, citing too much work from British government contracts.[14]
Fleet Aircraft USA Fleet Model 2[15] DQ[7]
Ford-Leigh Safety Wing USA modified Brunner-Winkle Bird DQ[7]
Gates Aircraft Corporation USA Stampe et Vertongen RSV.26/100 "mono-biplane"[16] Withdrew[7]
Gloster UK DNS[8]
Charles Ward Hall USA DNS[8]
Handley Page UK Handley Page Gugnunc DQ; failed glide test requirement
J. S. McDonnell Jr and Associates USA McDonnell Doodlebug[17] Crashed[7]
Mercury Aircraft/Schroeder-Wentworth USA Schroeder-Wentworth Monoplane Crashed[7]
Moth Aircraft Corporation USA de Havilland Moth fitted with Handley Page automatic leading-edge slots[16] Withdrew[7]
Pitcairn-Cierva Autogiro Company of America USA Pitcairn PCA-1[18] DNS;[8] not ready in time. Pitcairn arranged to enter the Weymann-LePère C.18 imported as Cierva's entry, but this was not ready either.[18]
Rocheville Aircraft Corporation USA DNS[8]
Taylor Bros Aircraft Corporation USA Taylor C-2[19] DQ[7]
Vickers UK - DNS;[8] canceled entry before August 3, citing too much work from British government contracts.[14]
Whittelsey Manufacturing Company USA Whittelsey Avian fitted with Handley Page automatic leading-edge slots[16] DNS[8]
John H. Wiggins Company USA DNS[8]

DNS=Did not start; DQ=Disqualified

Results

Flight tests were completed on January 1, 1930. The Curtiss Tanager and Handley Page Gugnunc were the only two aircraft to complete the entire testing program.[20] The Gugnunc was unable to meet the glide test requrements, leaving the Tanager as the only fully qualified entry and therefore the winner.[1] Of the other thirteen aircraft that presented for testing, three withdrew, two were damaged during testing and could not complete the program, and eight others were disqualified.[20] The result was announced on January 6, 1930.[20]

However, the win led to legal action by Handley Page, because the company accused Curtiss of using their patented automatic wing slot design on the Tanager without permission.[1] In a separate action, A. J. Leigh accused Handley Page of copying his "Safety Wing" design.[1] These matters were never resolved in court.[1]

Notes

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o Jenkins 2002
  2. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.7
  3. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.5
  4. ^ Gavin 1927, P34
  5. ^ Jenkins 2002, except as noted
  6. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.55
  7. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.14
  8. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, pp.6,14. Manufacturer is listed as an entrant, but does not appear in table of flight test results.
  9. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.57
  10. ^ Gunston 1993, p.63
  11. ^ Brooks 1988, p.90–91
  12. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.61
  13. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.63
  14. ^ a b "Safety Contest Entries Reach Total of Sixteen" 1929, p.273
  15. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, pp.67,69
  16. ^ a b c "The International Safe Aircraft Competition" 1929, p.848
  17. ^ Bodell 2025
  18. ^ a b Brooks 1988, p.91
  19. ^ The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.25
  20. ^ a b c The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report 1930, p.8

References

  • Bodell, Luke (March 16, 2022). "The Doodlebug: James McDonnell's 1st (Failed) Plane". Simple Flying. Montreal: Valnet. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  • Brooks, Peter W. (1988). Cierva Autogiros: The Development of Rotary-Wing Flight. Washington D.C.: Smithsonian Institute.
  • Gavin, Arthur (January 1927). "Safe-Aircraft Competition for $150,000". U.S. Air Services. Vol. 12, no. 1. Washington D.C.: Air Service Publishing. p. 34.
  • The Daniel Guggenheim International Safe Aircraft Competition: Final Report. New York: The Daniel Guggenheim Fund for the Promotion of Aeronautics. January 31, 1930.
  • Gunston, Bill (1993). World Encyclopedia of Aircraft Manufacturers. Annapolis: Naval Institute Press.
  • "The International Safe Aircraft Competition". The Aeroplane. Vol. 37, no. 14. London: Temple. October 2, 1929. p. 848.
  • Jenkins, Tim (May 5, 2022). "The competition that tried to make flying safer". Key.Aero. Stamford UK: Key Publishing. Retrieved 2025-05-01.
  • "Safety Contest Entries Reach Total of Sixteen". Aviation. Vol. 27, no. 5. New York: McGraw Hill. August 3, 1929. p. 273.