![\"\"](\"http:\/\/cafe.foundation\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2011\/07\/Paris-Madrid-1911.jpg\" "\\"Paris")
<\/a><\/p>\n21 aviators were motivated to sign up in hopes of winning the 200,000 franc prize, but between May 21 and May 26, 1911, only six actually started, and only one flew the entire course.<\/p>\n
According to Transpress<\/a><\/em>, a New Zealand blog, \u201cAfter a full year of airshows, advertisers had become bored with seeing flying machines going in circles on a racetrack: they wanted city to city races, as was happening with automobiles. Funded and supported by the newspaper Le Petit Parisien<\/em>, the international aviation race Paris-Madrid, despite the risks, attracted twenty-one competitors. The announcement of a 200,000 francs prize on the poster was actually the total prize pool: the first three airmen sharing 50,000 francs, the rest going to the teams.<\/p>\n \u201cThe race included three lengthy stages: Issy-les-Moulineaux to Angoul\u00eame (Charente), on 21 May, starting at daybreak, 400 kilometers that competitors should be able to cover in seven hours; Angoul\u00eame-San Sebastian (Spain) on 23 May, starting at daybreak, a stage of 335 km designed to circumvent the Pyr\u00e9n\u00e9es mountains in a six-hour flight; and San Sebastian-Madrid, on 25 May, starting 6 am, a long stage of 620 km and a real challenge, it traversed a pass that the best had to travel over in less than eleven hours. In all a total estimated 24 hours of actual flight for the whole race. \u201c<\/p>\n \u201cThe race began with tragedy. The airplanes were overloaded with fuel.\u00a0 The French War Minister, Maurice Berteaux, only in office since 2 March 1911, had come to Issy-les-Moulineaux to salute the French pilots’ performance. He was struck by the airplane that Emile Train, weighed down by a passenger, Marc Bonnier, was struggling to lift off the ground. The Minister of War was killed instantly. The “The race was stopped: only six pilots had been able to start before the abandonment of the race.”<\/p>\n http:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=HfUHc5Imgi8<\/p>\n \u201cOnly Jules V\u00e9drines finished. He covered the 1,360 km between Paris and Madrid in fifteen hours of flight at an average speed of 80 km\/h. His monoplane, which peaked at 125 kilometers per hour, was only powered by a 50 horsepower Gnome Omega engine.\u201d<\/p>\n Craig Peyton flew this year\u2019s Paris-Madrid Green Race<\/a>, sponsored by Morane-Saulnier (winner of the original event) and honoring the pioneer aviators 100 years ago who first flew that route.<\/p>\n Craig says of his vocation, \u201cWith my production name, EarthFlight, <\/a>I’ve been producing aviation videos and shooting stills for 20 years now. I work from a Mooney M20-J. Clients are Socata, Bahamas, JPI, etc. Many videos are here<\/a>.\u201d\u00a0 Craig is also a musician, and has provided background music for TV and films.<\/p>\n Several electric teams had initially indicated they would compete, but all withdrew before the start of the race.\u00a0 In response to this editor\u2019s comments about some of the terrain over which the race was flown, \u201cI was sad that the Paris\/Madrid had no electrics, but agree it would have been a very tough race over the mountains for any electric.\u00a0 I made this video to help pilots see there are \u2018real world\u2019 machines out there right now, that are efficient and safe.\u201d<\/p>\n The contest, as noted by Pipistrel, used these criteria for a final result: “Speed, Payload Capability, Fuel Consumption, Range distance, Noise Emissions and Safety Features.”<\/p>\n
\nInterior Minister, Monis, Deutsch de la Meurthe and several other people including a child were seriously injured. The crowd broke through the barrier and flooded onto the field. Marshalls charged from sides to try to contain it.<\/p>\n