Page 31 - August 2015 Volume 9, Number 8
P. 31
Thaden posed with the winning C17R after the Bendix race. She and co-pilot Blanche Noyes earned $9,500 and temporary possession
of the Bendix Trophy in September 1936, defeating both male and female competitors. They were the first women to compete and win the coveted trophy.
(EDWARD H. PHILLIPS COLLECTION)
Co-pilot Blanche Noyes was caught on film as she conducted a final preflight inspection of the C17R before she and Louise Thaden departed for the East Coast. The ship was assigned Race Number 62 and completed the westward coast-to-coast dash in
14 hours, 55 minutes, one second. The second place finisher, Laura Ingalls, landed in Los Angeles 45 minutes behind the speedy Beechcraft.
(SPECIAL COLLECTIONS AND UNIVERSITY ARCHIVES, WICHITA STATE UNIVERSITY LIBRARIES)
30 • KING AIR MAGAZINE
SEPTEMBER 2015
