Cleveland Air Races Prize Money (post WW2)
Have been reading up about the Cleveland Air Races, particularly the 1949 meet.
This post-war National Air Races really pulled a good crowd and an impressive list of participants in the races.
What was the prize money offered for the Sohio, Tinnerman and Thompson races?
It must have been attractive because even in those days it cost a lot to buy a suitable aircraft (I gather the average was around $1000).
Some of the comments/articles suggest that it wasn’t just the crash of Beguine that ended the Cleveland Air Races in 1949 but also the shift in priorities for the sponsors – from piston engine to jet engines.