The Schneider Trophy Contest: Some Retrospective Thoughts and Prospective Suggestions Available to Purchase

IT cannot be denied that, in spite of the popular interest and enthusiasm and the high speed attained, the Schneider Trophy contest was in many ways a failure. It is a regrettable fact that France, who was the pioneer of the seaplane and who won the first race in 1913, has never since provided the winner, and since 1920 has not brought a machine to the starting line. This year she took a belated interest, but started her effort far too late to have any chance of making a welcome reappearance. America, after setting the example of Government participation with officially financed machines and Service pilots, got tired after 1926, just as Italy and other Governments began to wake up. This year the American entry, designed apparently as a spare‐time job in the Navy Yard, was also started too late, and when it appeared proved unsatisfactory and was withdrawn. This left Italy and Great Britain again as the only participants; but, in spite of the two years' interval, neither of them was really ready. Italy suffered serious setbacks during the preliminary trials of what was probably her fastest, though least seaworthy, machine, and on the day of the race had but one engine and one seaplane thoroughly in trimonly unfortunately they did not happen to be combined in the same machine. One of Great Britain's entries was suffering from fuel‐supply troubles not solved until a day or two after the race; while the other, which did, however, compete, was the subject of float experiments until almost the last minute. Finally, the weather for a week or two prior to September 6 was almost always unsuitable so that both teams had to start short of practice.