Famed Hollywood stunt pilot Paul Mantz wins the first post-war Bendix Trophy transcontinental race from Los Angeles to Cleveland, Ohio, in a North American P-51 Mustang with an average speed of 435.501 mph. Total flying time is four hours, 42 minutes. Col. Leon Gray wins the first Bendix Trophy Jet Division race, flying a Lockheed P-80 Shooting Star over the same course with an average speed of 494.779 mph. Total flying time is four hours, eight minutes.
The Department of the Air Force wants to launch a construction boom with its fiscal 2027 budget, more than doubling its request over 2026, according to budget documents.
