Page 35 - August 2015 Volume 9, Number 8

jumped out of her seat when Blanche punched her and exclaimed, “You’ve shot the airport instead of the finish line on the race field. It’s over here!” as she gestured frantically down and to the right.9
Without hesitation Louise pulled the C17R up, rolled the ship into a hard right 180-degree turn and, after avoiding a flock of U.S. Marine Corps fighters, ripped the air asunder as the airplane crossed the white line on the ground. Relieved to be on terra firma once again, the two pilots could not have imagined that they had won the Bendix. About 45 minutes later, Laura Ingalls’ fast Lockheed crossed the line to finish second, while Amelia Earhart and Helen Richey finished a distant fifth behind William Warner in a Vultee V-1A, and George Pomeroy in a Douglas DC-2 airline transport. When Walter Beech received news that the C17R had won, he was surprised, but was quick to express his confidence in Thaden and Noyes: “Those girls did a wonderful job and deserve every bit of praise they get.” The next day he boarded a TWA DC-2 and flew to Los Angeles, where he joined Olive Ann.
He warmly congratulated Louise and Blanche. “Nice work, fella,” he told Thaden. “The old man knows what he’s talking about, doesn’t he?” She replied, “You certainly do, except we cruised out from Wichita, too.” Beech was stunned. “The devil you did,” he exclaimed, laughing until his face was red and tears rolled down his
cheeks. Walter, however, had the last laugh. “A woman winning the Bendix flying a stock airplane at cruising speed ... that’s the best I’ve ever heard, particularly since the engine has more than 1,200 hours on it!” Thaden gasped, “1,200 hours! Why, that engine’s practically a grandfather! Darn you for giving us a worn out engine!”10
In the wake of the Bendix win, Walter Beech planned to send Louise and the C17R on a nationwide tour to celebrate the triumph. The only problem was that he had already sold the ship to the Honduran Government, and their agent was growing increasingly impatient for delivery. Beech had to deliver the Beechcraft and had no other C17R available. The solution was pure Walter Beech. He ordered that C17R-81, then on the production line, be painted in Sherwin Williams blue with white accent stripes identical to the Bendix winner, as well as the same registration, NC15835. Early in October, Louise and the imposter Beechcraft departed Wichita and spent the next few weeks visiting Beechcraft dealerships and airports across the country.
As for the genuine victor, after the race C17R-77 was refurbished at the factory and finally delivered on September 12, 1936. It served with the Escuela Militar de Aviacion and was still in service as late as 1947. For her success in the Bendix race Louise received the Harmon Trophy from the Ligue Internationale des
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SEPTEMBER 2015