Planned IMS Aviation Meet - 1909

This article is about the Indianapolis Motor Speedway's plans to stage a fall aviation meet in the wake of their controversial first auto meet August 19-21 1909. It was originally published in the September 5, 1909 Indianapolis Star. Check out another September 5 article that focuses more on plans for a new garage area as well as a September 3 article that also provides information about the air show.
 
The August races were controversial due to the devestating fatal accidents the first and third days of the meet. In all, five men were killed:
 

• William Bourque, driver.
• Harry Holcomb, riding mechanic
• Claude Kellum, riding mechanic
• James West, spectator
• Homer Jolliff, spectator

 
Despite this Speedway management continued on with their plans looking ahead to more auto races in the fall as well as the aviation show with the still-new invention they called the "aeroplane." As mentioned in the September 3 article noted above Glenn Curtiss , the American hero of the recently completed Rheims, France.
 
Curtiss was a big "get" in the day, the winner of "airship races" in Rhiems, France. This was the first great air race in history and would serve as the gold standard for such endeavors for many years hence. It was here that Curtiss won the James Gordon Bennett Cup for aviation, recognized as the highest honor for such events. No date was announced but later the Speedway would promise October 14-16 but eventually this event was cancelled.
 
Speedway Director of Contests Ernie Moross was working on the project. The track promised a spectacular the likes of which America had never seen before. Not only would it include the still-new invention of the airplane but balloons and dirigibles as well. Speedway President Carl Fisher was a licensed balloonist and the facility had hosted the national ballooning championship races the previous June. Indications were that Fisher planned to be a participant in the balloon element of the event. Albert Lambert is also mentioned as a likely entrant with his airships.
 
As for the airplanes the article implies that entries created by the Wright Brothers and European airplane builders were expected to take part. This was a top priority for Moross at the time. While a likely reason this event never took place is that the track was distracted with the massive repaving job they faced it is also very possible that assembling a quality field and the logistics of staging and promoting such an event proved too much to deliver with just a few weeks notice. The Speedway finally did deliver an air show in June 1910.