Hearst Transcontinental Prize

The Hearst prize was a US$50,000 aviation prize offered by publisher William Randolph Hearst in 1910 to the first aviator to fly coast to coast across the United States, in either direction, in fewer than 30 days from start to finish.

History

James J. Ward attempted to win the prize but failed.^[1] The prize expired in November 1911 with no winner. Calbraith Perry Rodgers tried to win it, having started too late, but did complete the flight in 49 days, including several crash landings and maintenance delays.^[2] Another notable contender was Robert George Fowler.

References

1. "Flier, Seeking to Reach San Francisco, Lands at Calicoon Late in the Afternoon". New York Times. September 15, 1911. Retrieved 2010-11-25. James J. Ward, who left New York for San Francisco Wednesday, flying for the W.R. Hearst $50,000 prize for a transcontinental flight, reached Callicoon, N.Y., a few miles from here, at 4:35 o'clock this afternoon. He covered 59 1-10 miles in 57 minutes, having left Middletown, N.Y., at 3:38 o'clock.
2. "Prize Competitions and NASA's Centennial Challenges Program" (PDF). NASA. 2005. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-03. Retrieved 2007-09-23.