It was Tournament Park, next to the present day Caltech, and it was the celebration of the landing of the first transcontinental flight from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The date is November 11, 1911. The pilot was Calbraith Perry Rodgers, who died the following year.
By an amazing coincidence, today's Pasadena Star-News has a similar photo on the front page. It's of Burbank's Bob Hope airport, which opened as United Airport on Memorial Day 1930. The flyover must have been part of the opening celebrations. So Michael was right - well done, Michael! And Ann, hope you don't mind being scooped by the local paper?
I wasn't too confident in my answer, and now we know why: I was wrong. The biplanes look identical to the plane that made the transcontinental flight, with the two wings close together. But I didn't think Tournament Park was that big or had an established runway. Oh well. Win some, lose many. I liked altadenahiker's answer. Pancho Barnes must have been the first barnestormer.
7 comments:
We're at Burbank Airport. As for what's happening -- a Memorial Day airshow?
It was Tournament Park, next to the present day Caltech, and it was the celebration of the landing of the first transcontinental flight from the Atlantic to the Pacific. The date is November 11, 1911.
The pilot was Calbraith Perry Rodgers, who died the following year.
Stuntwork by Pancho Barnes and the Happy Bottom Riding Club.
Durn. If Kevin isn't right, he should be.
By an amazing coincidence, today's Pasadena Star-News has a similar photo on the front page. It's of Burbank's Bob Hope airport, which opened as United Airport on Memorial Day 1930. The flyover must have been part of the opening celebrations. So Michael was right - well done, Michael! And Ann, hope you don't mind being scooped by the local paper?
Burbank? On Pasadena PIO? I'm scandalized!
I wasn't too confident in my answer, and now we know why: I was wrong. The biplanes look identical to the plane that made the transcontinental flight, with the two wings close together. But I didn't think Tournament Park was that big or had an established runway. Oh well. Win some, lose many. I liked altadenahiker's answer. Pancho Barnes must have been the first barnestormer.
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