Today's Tidbit... The First College Team To Fly To A Game

The aviation world advanced tremendously during WWI as planes grew sturdier, faster, and larger. Those advances leaked over to the civilian sector after the war, along with a desire by the military to promote flying by civilians to ensure a steady supply of trained pilots. Government agencies joined the game by advocating for taxpayer-funded airports to support the flying craze, ensuring their communities would not be left out if heavier-than-air flight took off as expected.

There were, of course, skeptics in the general public who did not see the value of air travel, but those folks slowly changed their minds as flying enthusiasts performed one demonstration after another of the advantages of flight.

One demonstration occurred in April 1921 when the Army scheduled an air race between an airplane and three carrier pigeons from Portland to San Francisco. Piloting the plane was Maj. Henry "Hap" Arnold, who had been taught to fly by the Wright Brothers, and would later direct the strategic bombing campaigns in Europe and Japan during WWII. Oregon's Governor, Ben Olcott, was a passenger on the plane. Flying under perfect conditions, the plane reached San Francisco in six-and-one-half hours, while the first pigeon showed up the following morning.