The Story of the 1939 National Air Races

Despite the difficult economic times and the ever present threat of another world war, hundreds of thousands of enthusiastic air race fans packed the grandstands and stood in the fields surrounding Cleveland Airport for the 1939 National Air Races. The fans had come to witness the world’s top aeronautical event which promised the latest developments in aviation and featured the fastest planes and the most skilled pilots.

The Story of the 1939 National Air Races DVD captures all of the thrills and excitement of the last “Golden Age” air race. A unique and extra-special feature of the DVD is over 45 minutes of extremely rare, very high-quality, color film from the 1939 event. This breath-taking film has been seamlessly woven together with hundreds of archival photographs and a specially-written and narrated story to create an unforgettable, in-depth, visual record of the climactic 1939 National Air Races that you won’t want to miss!

Along with the Thompson, Bendix and Greve races, you’ll see all of the great race pilots and planes…Roscoe Turner and his LTR-14 racer, Tony LeVier and the Schoenfeldt “Firecracker”, Steve Wittman and “Bonzo”, Art Chester and “Goon”, Frank Fuller, Jackie Cochran, Paul Mantz, and all of the rest.

You can study the crowd scenes and marvel at the fashions worn by the race fans in 1939. Then, you’ll be awed by the massed might of the military’s demonstration flights and aerial maneuvers. The Army Air Corps was equipped with state-of-the-art Curtiss P-36 Hawks “dressed” in one-of-a-kind, camouflage paint schemes. The Navy pilots flew their latest Grumman F3F “Flying Barrel” fighters.

Not to be outdone by the military, the world’s top aerobatic pilots performed their breathtaking acts. These skilled performers include Mike Murphy, Jess Bristow, Bevo Howard, Dick Granere, and “Squeek” Burnett.

You’ll even have a chance to go behind the scenes with the race pilots as they test and then qualify their planes in the days before the races opened.

In addition, two appendices which cover the detailed race results and the daily schedules are included as special extras.

So now sit back and join us at show-center for over 90 minutes of exciting action!